Former President Donald Trump has actually gained -- not lost -- political clout since leaving office, a political observer asserted Friday.

Politico reporter Tara Palmeri's observation runs contrary to the assumptions of many in the Washington D.C. establishment and the mainstream media.

"People don't want to hear anything against Trump," Palmeri said during an appearance on MSNBC. "Actually, the more he stays out of the media, the more that he becomes this martyr, this looming figure over the GOP."

In fact, there is now a "crusade" being waged on behalf of the former president in places like Wyoming, where Trump is "way more popular" that the state's high-ranking congressional Republican, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Palmeri said.

She drew the conclusion after speaking with locals in the Cowboy State about Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump while covering an anti-Cheney rally led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

"I actually went out of my way to try to find someone who would defend her and I really could not," Palmeri told MSNBC. "She didn't have that much name recognition, considering she's a Cheney. ... I mean, I said her name at a hardware store, and someone shouted a threat."

The "overwhelming" consensus that Palmeri heard from voters was that Cheney's vote for impeachment was "not a vote for Wyoming" and "therefore she has to go."

She then described an apparent disconnect between what's perceived as truth in D.C. and what’s perceived as truth in Cheyenne. Palmeri mentioned locals not wearing masks, expressing distrust of the coronavirus vaccine, claiming both that the number of reported deaths from the pandemic were "inflated," believing the 2020 presidential election wasn't legitimate, and that the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill was "staged" by Antifa.

"I hate that they're so distrustful," Palmeri said. "It feels like another world but that's what's on the ground and I don't think that we can ignore it and I'm really happy that I went out there and saw it because I think that there's a huge disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country."

In Wyoming, she added, "A lot of people said they aren't really Republicans, that, like, they're for Trump. That's it ... I think the base is getting stronger, truly. I think an impeachment would make him even more powerful — a conviction, is what I mean."

Mortdooley wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 12:29am:



YAY !

The truth is, despite the fact that Trump has some character flaws,
TRUMP WAS GOOD FOR AMERICA,
AND TRUMP WAS GOOD FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

And that was and is the true judgement of Trump's worth [as president], by a majority of the American people.
....the false election figures not withstanding.



Biden and co., should take notice of those facts.

The core of the American people, love Donald J Trump, and they loved the moment to moment 'immediacy' of his presidency.


.



- Abraham Lincoln

Mortdooley wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 12:29am:



that sort of stupidity is the reason why republicans will be afraid to find trump guilty at his impeachment hearing. Republican senators will be afraid of losing their nominations the next time around and so most will ignore the attempted coup out of fear of losing their position at the trough.

John Smith wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 8:09am:

There was no 'attempted coup' , Chewbacca, ushered in by the guards, taking a selfie in the Speaker's chair is no coup, two planks.

The left can go to hell

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 11:21am:


Extreme left or extreme right are a problem for those of us who are not rusted on dickheads who cannot be reasoned with....When you take an extreme position there is no middle ground to find agreement....You and people like you are the problem not the solution!!!

NorthOfNorth wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 11:47am:


...however unlikely they are to do so...

Mix_Master wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 12:16pm:

Really? National Socialism and Stalinism didn't 'link arms' at one time?