No longer in the White House and banned from social media, former President Donald Trump will also be left out of the annual House Republicans’ policy retreat in central Florida this week, The Hill reports.
The retreat is designed to unify a fractured Republican Party after the chaotic Trump presidency while simultaneously confronting a new Democratic president and planning a strategy to win back majorities in the House and Senate in 2022.
But even without the disruptive presence of Donald Trump, the retreat is already in disarray after GOP leaders couldn’t get on the same page at the retreat’s opening news conference, the reports says, noting that
GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.) on Monday broke with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the scope of the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
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“The McCarthy-Cheney divide is symbolic of the broader discord within a Republican Party that remains at stark odds over how to approach the mercurial Trump since his exit from office more than three months ago,” The Hill reported.
In one camp are those, like McCarthy, who are embracing Trump’s big lie and continue to share the false claims that the election was stolen; defended the former president for his role in egging on the supporters who ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6; and stayed in close contact with Trump, including making at least two visits to his Mar-a-Lago resort this year.
In the other camp are those, like Cheney, who have been repeatedly critical of the former president and appear ready to move beyond the turmoil and controversy that accompanied his four years in office.
In recent weeks, Cheney has generated headline after headline with her public jabs at Palm Beach’s most famous resident. In February, a month after her impeachment vote, Cheney appeared on Fox News and said Trump “does not have a role as a leader of our party going forward.” Earlier this month, she appeared again on Fox and said she would not back Trump if he’s the GOP nominee in 2024.
Unlike past GOP retreats in West Virginia and Baltimore, Trump wasn’t invited to address this year’s gathering by the Congressional Institute, the nonprofit sponsor, despite the fact that he’s just a short flight away at Mar-a-Lago. A spokesperson said the institute also had not been asked by GOP leaders to invite him.
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