S.C. Republican rift widens in wake of Trump’s second Impeachment trial

The second impeachment of Donald J. Trump has roiled Republican Party organizations in South Carolina, increasing the rift between Trump loyalists and moderates.

Little suggests the party’s focus will return soon to the concerns and issues before Trump’s presidency, including mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and his outrageously false claims about the 2020 election being stolen.

Trump’s presidency ended days after the unprecedented Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol while Congress was making its formal confirmation of the election of Joe Biden. Vice President Mike Pence was doing his Constitutional duty, to Trump’s dismay. At one point, Pence’s life was in danger, along with the lives of members of Congress. The House impeached Trump, a second time, and the Senate vote, a second time, fell short of the two-thirds majority required to convict.

Before the 57-43 Senate vote, former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley made news with criticism of Trump: “He let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him and we shouldn’t have listened to him.”

FADING VIABILITY

Haley has been careful to not offend Trump and blames the media for the Republican rift. She did not support him initially in his campaign. Her appointment in early 2017 as U.N. ambassador was a surprise. She resigned as governor, midway in her second term. After nearly two years, Haley left the ambassadorship in Trump’s good graces – notable given the rancor in the departures of most former Trump administration appointees.

Haley sees fading political viability. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham is 180 degrees the other political direction, claiming there is no way Republicans can win without Trump, warning that Republicans seeking elective office in 2022 will have a tough time if they are at odds with Trump.

Graham has flipped and flopped on Trump, even since the Jan. 6 riot; the veteran columnist Eugene Robinson termed Graham a human weather vane. For now, though, Graham is all in with Trump. Graham is openly at odds with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who sees differently the GOP’s way forward.

SCOTT’S SITUATION

Sen. Tim Scott may find himself trapped between Trumpists and Traditionalists. Scott’s Senate term is up after 2022. He’s said he’ll run for re-election. Scott could face challengers in both the GOP primary and the general elections.

Scott has supported Trump, but has criticized racist rhetoric in Trump tweets. Scott, who is the only Black Republican senator, faced criticism by the Black community following the senator’s vote to acquit Trump. Graham is thinking of “the Trump base” – whatever that may be, it surely is not the same as on Nov. 3, 2020 – but a candidate like Scott could have primary opposition from anti-Trump voters, as well as a Democrat in November 2022.

Jamie Harrison made a strong run against Graham in 2020. Graham pleaded for more financial contributions and Republicans were greatly offended about the money in Harrison’s campaign.

Granted, South Carolina is not Georgia, or North Carolina. The Palmetto State does not have an Atlanta or Charlotte, a big city with population demographics to drive political and cultural change. However, Trump’s South Carolina plurality was not as overwhelming as other red states.

‘THE TRUMP BASE’

Across the nation, the 74 million votes for Trump were before his post-election “Stop the Steal” rant and the Jan. 6 assault. Some number of voters have changed their minds about Trump. The question is, how many?

Biden received more than a million S.C. votes, some undoubtedly from anti-Trump folks. They were not all “Democrats” just as Trump voters were not all “registered Republicans” – a misnomer as S.C. voters are not registered by party preference.

Traditional Republicans, like those involved in the Lincoln Project, are saying the GOP should stand for values such as individual character, including truthfulness, respect for the rule of law and the Constitution. Trump’s disregard for decency is one of the reasons he lost.

For their own political reasons, Republicans like Haley and McConnell envision a Republican Party winning without entirely embracing Trump, if not rejecting him. Graham is saying it’s Trump or we lose. In 2022, Republican candidates may try to be both Traditional and Trump.

At some point, a foot in both camps won’t work for the party of Lincoln and Reagan, even in South Carolina.