During an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” with hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar, former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) stated that the Republican Party leadership is “privately praying” that the Jan 6th Committee’s investigation of the Capitol insurrection will end Donald Trump’s political future.
Discussing the House Select Committee testimony given by Cassidy Hutchinson, the former senior aide to ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Walsh said the revelations so far are giving GOP lawmakers hope that they can finally put the former president in their rearview mirrors.
Pressed by host Berman “…does it make Trump’s path to the nomination more tenuous, what we’ve heard from the January 6th committee?” Walsh replied, “Maybe, John, maybe, but I think really important to say at the outset that, you know, [Pennsylvania Republican Se. Pat] Toomey and Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy and all of these Republicans privately are praying that this committee and these hearings will do what they haven’t had the courage to do for the last four or five or six years and that’s remove Donald Trump from the public scene.”
“Look, John and Brianna, I talk to Republican base voters every single day,” he continued. “They are the ones who are going to decide if Trump is the nominee, not Mitch McConnell or Pat Toomey. And I will admit that there is — Trump is losing some support among his base based on what I’m hearing because of these hearings, but it’s not because they disapprove of Trump’s behavior, they just think this is going to make it more difficult for Trump to win in ’24.”
Asked by host Keillar about Republicans keeping their distaste for the former president to themselves, Walsh snapped, “Brianna, I have to watch my language and, John, I can’t say what I really want to say. But I am so damn sick of Republicans talking privately or anonymously. None of that stuff matters. I mean, look at 26-year-old Cassidy Hutchinson, look at what she’s done this week.”
“I mean, five years ago I came out and publicly called out Trump and if I had a dollar for every damn Republican over the last five years who privately told me, ‘oh, joe, I agree with what you’re saying publicly about trump,’ I would be wealthy.”