The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday (Jan. 19), citing people familiar with the matter, that President Trump has discussed with his subordinates in recent days the formation of a new political party that could continue to exert influence after he leaves the White House.
The sources said President Trump discussed the matter with several aides and others close to him last week. The president is said to have said he wants to call the new party the “Patriot Party.
The White House, however, declined to comment.
The report said it is unclear how serious Trump is about starting a new party, which would require a significant investment of Time and resources.
Polls show that Trump has maintained strong support among Republican voters. Trump has a large number of supporters, some of whom were not deeply involved in Republican party politics before Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Forming a third party is usually difficult because it does not have enough support to play a significant role in national elections. And efforts to establish a new party could face strong opposition from Republican party officials, who predictably would be very unhappy with Trump for diverting support from Republican candidates.
Trump has been at odds in recent days with, among others, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said publicly for the first time Tuesday that Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6 violence in Congress. He said, “Lies were fed to the mob, and they were incited by the president and other influential people.”
The Justice Department is currently investigating the case and has not yet pointed to President Trump in connection with the incident.
Recent Comments