By: NOLAN PAGE
The transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration was unlike any other in history. Up until about two weeks before Biden’s inauguration, Trump was still claiming to have won the election having filed 50+ lawsuits to contest the election results. Since Biden’s inauguration was set in stone, Trump announced that he would not be in attendance of the ceremony.
This breaks a 200 year old tradition of attending your successor’s inauguration with Trump being the fourth exception ever and the first in over 150 years. Though this circumstance is nearly unheard of, Biden was in support of it saying that it is “one of the few things he and I agree on.” This tradition break is not an isolated or incidendental event either. Before the inauguration happened, Melania Trump did not invite Jill Biden to tea at the whitehouse as is tradition.
These decisions paint the picture that though Trump has left office, he wanted to make it clear that he felt the course of events was unacceptable, going as far as to disrupt the traditions that are meant to demonstrate how we are able to perform a seamless, peaceful transference of power.
This is a window into Trump’s current mentality. He wants to continue to present a strong image; that he refuses to bend to the situation instead remaining dead set and uncompromising until the very end. Unlike presidents past when leaving the whitehouse, Trump wants to keep himself in particular, and not just his party afloat in political relevance. Especially with the impeachment trial on the horizon, keeping himself important in order to prevent his party from abandoning him is a must.
This idea is complemented by the fact that Trump has been considering creating his own party called the Patriot party. He has begun planning how his patriot party candidates might take the seats of Republican representatives that are likely to oppose him in the impeachment trial and reportedly has funds upwards of $70 million prepared in order to campaign for his candidates.
Trump has also taken a first step in the process of making this third party happen in providing his “complete and total endorsement for Kelli Ward, the state party chairwoman of Arizona. Ward has been avid in her support of Trump and has supported the creation of a MAGA Party.
This isn’t the first time Trump has prioritized his own interests over those of the Republican party. He’s always been a bit of a loose canon. This can been seen in the leadup to the 2016 election Trump threatened to run as an independent if he did not manage to secure the position of Republican nominee, but this time the stakes are higher as he’s out of office and potential impeachment looms on the horizon for him.Trump’s deliberate actions since losing the 2020 election in refusing to relent have played into this idea that he can stand on his own without the support of the party if need be and continue being a major political even while out of office.
Whether Republicans truly will abandon him and if the potential Patriot Party could get off the ground remains to be seen, but the ambitious gears of Trump’s operation continue to turn.
beniciapaw.com 