Republican Party

Most of GOP senators voted to acquit Trump, in a clear signal of the grip he retains on the party. "The party is his. It doesn't belong to anyone else," Georgia Representative and Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene said last week. But several Republicans, including Indian-origin former UN envoy Nikki Haley, have distanced themselves from Trump and are lining up to take their own shot at the White House in 2024. Haley also dismissed speculation Trump will seek the presidency in 2024. "I don't think he can. He's fallen so far," she said. But Republicans advocating a complete break with Trump are in the minority and most remain fearful of the power he holds over his base. GOP senators who voted to acquit him may be protecting themselves against primary challenges from the more extreme wing of their party in 2022, or even 2024, observers said. A group of anti-trump former Republican officials has raised the idea of creating a centre-right third party, without much traction.