Top Republicans are warning pro-Trump candidates to ‘be brave’ in order to disrupt the party

Republican Senator Pat Toomey has warned against electing Donald Trump supporters in the upcoming first general election, speaking in public at Trump’s first post-presidential election this week.

Toomey warned that following Trump’s lead could jeopardize his party’s chances in the run-up to next year’s general election, as all Congress and general chambers are ready to go. He has been representing Pennsylvania since 2010 but does not want to be re-elected next year.

“If [Trump] accepting voters because of their loyalty to him, who are not independent, then we can have elections in 2022 that are worse than they should be, ”Toomey, a former retailer and Republican with a strong Senate banking committee, told the Financial Times. “Obviously this will do a lot of damage to him too, won’t it?”

Toomey’s warning came close to a rally that Trump had planned Saturday night across the Pennsylvania, Ohio border. The former president will lead a series of events in the small town of Wellington with the support of his “Save America” ​​political committee.

Trump is campaigning for Max Miller, one of his former allies who has caused a major uproar against Congressmen Anthony Gonzalez. Trump encouraged Miller, calling him a “true patriot”, in which he said Gonzalez “should not represent the people of the 16th century because they do not represent their interests or their heart”.

Gonzalez was one of the Republicans of House 10 who voted to deceive Trump in his actions January 6, when a group of his supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Trump will not be able to run for office again in 2024.

“If it turns out that Trump’s hard-won candidates approved by Trump did not do well in the election, well, then it is a very powerful lesson that the party will learn hard,” Toomey said.

The Republican Party is divided about how to move forward with Trump is no longer in the White House. Toomey was one of seven Senate Republican members who voted against him in a second criminal case. Toomey told FT that Trump was a “wrong man” who “completely got off the rails” after the November election. But he insisted he was still looking forward to his party’s future.

“We are going through a difficult time. But I guess where we end up. . .[with]Republican alliance. . . which looks back and says, you know, president Trump had a lot of very important things, like the best economy of our time.

“I wait until we can say, ‘Well, we had a very bad temper. But when they followed the Republican ideology, things went well, ”Toomey said of tax reform and Removal of rules as examples. “When the party comes to the point where we can accept this, and I think we will… Then I think the party will be fine.”

Toomey surprised many in Washington when he announced in October that he did not want to be re-elected or go to the embassy in Pennsylvania. His decision – which he asserted was his own choice, not a political one, – set the stage for competition.

Biden won Pennsylvania, a key government in last year’s presidential election, raising hopes of Democrats running for Toomey by the end of next year. Eight Democrats – including Governor John Fetterman’s ambassador and attorney Malcolm Kenyatta – have announced their opposition, including five Republicans.