WASHINGTON — Last week — before the third set of criminal charges were filed against former President Donald Trump — Richard Porter, an influential Illinois GOP leader, said it was time for Republicans to break from Trump.
As Trump was in a Washington courtroom pleading not guilty Thursday to four federal criminal charges stemming from his attempts to overturn the 2020 election — up to and including the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by his supporters trying to thwart Joe Biden’s certification as the winner — I phoned Porter in Chicago to see if other top Republicans in Illinois were poised to join his call.
Takeaways:
Most Illinois GOP leaders still silent on Trump
“I actually think that process is happening,” Porter said. “Politicians don’t want to get too far ahead of their constituents.” Porter, a Republican National Committeeman from Illinois, likened himself to an “icebreaker,” saying it may take “six months, not six days” for others to go public.
Most top Illinois Republicans are remaining silent when it comes to saying anything negative about Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination despite now three indictments in the federal Washington election and Florida classified documents cases plus the New York state hush money case. Polls suggest Trump’s criminal charges enhance his martyr status with his base.
Another exception is state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris — the deputy Republican leader in the state Senate — and like Porter, a backer of GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.
“Our country needs to move past this polarization that we are seeing, and we need to solve complex problems that our nation faces,” she said.
Ron Gidwitz was the Trump-appointed U.S. ambassador to Belgium and the acting envoy to the European Union. In 2016, Gidwitz was the Illinois finance chair for the Trump Victory fund. He’s backing GOP presidential contender Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor.
“A large number of people are not in favor of Donald Trump,” Gidwitz said, “but are not coming out publicly because people don’t like publicity. I think the guy is bad for the country.”
Top Illinois Trump backers Miller, Bost, Bailey rally around Trump
It’s a race to see who can be the biggest Trump booster when it comes to three Downstate Illinois Republicans.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said in a tweet: “Biden’s DOJ did what Joe Biden used to condemn other countries for doing: arrest his political opposition to silence and intimidate them.”
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., is being challenged in the March Illinois primary by Darren Bailey, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor.
Bost tweeted Tuesday: ”I have never wavered in my support for President Trump, & today’s indictment doesn’t change a thing.”
Said Bailey in a Thursday tweet: ”I’m proud to support President Trump. What is happening today is not justice, it’s political persecution against an opponent.”
Chilling find in new CNN poll: A government overthrow could be “likely”
This is where we’re parked in this Trump era.
According to a new CNN poll, taken before Tuesday’s indictment, when asked, “How likely do you think it is that, in the next few years, some elected officials will successfully overturn the results of an election in the United States because their party did not win?” — 50% said “likely.”
And in another troubling sign, 69% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe Biden’s 2020 election win was not legitimate.
