A poisonous kingmaker
It is still Donald Trump's Republican Party - at least for now.
The vote by 43 of the 50 Republican senators to acquit Trump on the charge of inciting last month's deadly riot at the US Capitol, with only seven voting for conviction, highlights just how powerful a grip he has on the party he remade in his image over the past five years.
The former president commands fervent loyalty among his supporters, forcing most Republican politicians to pledge their fealty and fear his wrath. But after two impeachments, months of false claims that his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden was rigged, and an assault on the US Capitol by his supporters that left five people dead, Trump is also political poison in many of the swing districts that often decide American elections.
That leaves Republicans in a precarious position as they try to forge a winning coalition in the 2022 elections for control of Congress and a 2024 White House race that might include Trump as a candidate.
"It's hard to imagine Republicans winning national elections without Trump supporters anytime soon," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and aide to Senator Marco Rubio during his 2016 presidential primary race against Trump. "The party is facing a real Catch 22: it can't win with Trump but it's obvious it can't win without him either," he said.
"Whether he does run again is up to him, but he's still going to have an enormous amount of influence on both the direction of the policy and also in evaluating who is a serious standard-bearer for that message," one adviser said. "You can call it a kingmaker or whatever you want to call it."
While Trump maintains control over the party for now, several Republican senators said during the impeachment trial that the stain left by the Capitol riot would cripple his chances of winning power again in 2024.
Republican Senator John Cornyn, a Trump ally, said the former president's legacy had suffered permanent damage.
"Unfortunately, while President Trump did a lot of good, his handling of the post-election period is what he's going to be remembered for," Cornyn said. "And I think that's a tragedy."
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