Dem senator: Republicans are ‘deathly afraid’ of Trump and acquittal secures his spot as GOP leader

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Sunday that Republicans were ‘deathly afraid’ to vote against Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial due to his prevailing influence over the GOP.

‘I know that Senate Republican caucus well,’ Murphy told CNN‘s ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday morning.

‘The rest of them, I think, had effectively made the decision that Donald Trump is going to be in charge of their party for the next four years,’ he continued, referencing the 43 Republicans who voted to acquit the former president. ‘As they were deathly afraid of him for the last four years, they are going to continue to be afraid of him for the next four years.’

The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday in Trump’s impeachment trial – earning a majority but failing to reach the two-thirds threshold needed to convict the former president for the article of ‘incitement of insurrection.’

Seven Republicans voted with the 50 Democrats to convict.

The day after his second impeachment acquittal, Trump was spotted hitting the links at his West Palm Beach golf club on Sunday. 

Murphy said no matter how long the debate prolonged, he doesn’t think any more than seven Republicans would have changed their mind and voted against Trump.

Trump was seen golfing at his West Palm Beach club on Sunday

The former president was joined by a few, unidentified men for the morning outing

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Republican lawmakers are afraid of Trump. ‘As they were deathly afraid of him for the last four years, they are going to continue to be afraid of him for the next four years’

Murphy told CNN on Sunday morning their acquittal of the former president on Saturday secures ‘Donald Trump is going to be in charge of their party for the next four years’

‘There were seven of them who were willing to stand up for the Constitution, but I don’t know that there were more than seven no matter what they did or how much longer the trial went,’ the Connecticut Democratic senator said.

While House impeachment managers successfully swayed the chamber to vote in favor of calling witnesses, the Democrats quickly backed off their request after it became apparent witness depositions could extend the trial for several more weeks.

Trump immediately released a statement after he was acquitted in his second impeachment trial, suggesting he was just getting started on his venture into politics.

‘Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,’ the 45th president said in a statement Saturday.

‘In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people,’ he continued. ‘There has never been anything like it!’

Trump added: ‘We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future. Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.’ 

This impeachment trial was the shortest in U.S. history – taking less than a week to warp as it commenced on Tuesday and concluded on Saturday.

It was also historic in the fact that Trump is the first U.S. president ever to be impeached twice by the House.

On Saturday, the Senate voted 57-43 with seven Republicans crossing the line to vote Trump ‘guilty’ of incitement of insurrection. The chamber did not reach the two-thirds threshold needed for a successful conviction

Trump released a statement following his acquittal, claiming the movement ‘has only just begun’ and promised ‘we have so much work ahead of us’

Rumors are already swirling that Trump plans to run for president again in 2024 – something Democrats were trying to prevent with an impeachment conviction.There are also other speculations that his family members could see public office, like his daughter-in-law Lara Trump running for a Senate seat in her home state of North Carolina or his daughter Ivanka Trump running for office in Florida.

Despite slight pushback from within the Party, the GOP still belongs to Donald Trump.

In the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial on Saturday and only 10 House Republicans voted earlier this month in favor of sending impeachment to the upper chamber.

Ultimately, the resolution of the impeachment trial brings into clear relief a divide in the GOP that party leaders, donors and voters will have to navigate as they try to regain control of Congress next year and aim to retake the White House in 2024.

That tension was on display in the immediate aftermath of the vote.

After voting for Trump’s acquittal, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a condemning speech that echoed some of the very points Democratic impeachment managers emphasized in seeking Trump’s conviction.

McConnell said the former president was ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking the events’ that led to the January 6 insurrection, but argued there were no constitutional grounds for conviction in the Senate now that Trump’s out of office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was livid at this argument, claiming Trump’s impeachment trial was only conducted after his departure from the White House because Republican senators refused to receive it before Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Only a total of 17 Republican lawmakers supported Trump’s impeach, however, never before have so many members of a president’s own party voted for his removal. 

Trump’s grasp on the GOP and its future, however, remains as Republican lawmakers continue to side with and defend the former president despite potential fallout from within the Party.

For example, House Republicans voted overwhelmingly last week to defend diehard Trump loyalist Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene as Democrats moved to oust her from her committee assignments.

Evidence surfaced that Greene had repeatedly embraced on social media violence against Democrats and QAnon conspiracy theories.