The GOP is sending very mixed messages about Trump as he threatens to blow up its electoral future

This week, the National Republican Congressional Committee sent out two very different messages about former President Donald Trump — one bragging that Trump is likely to run for president in 2024, the other stressing that he is now a "private citizen."

These messages caught the attention of Christian Vanderbrouk, who noted what the NRCC had to say about Trump on Tuesday compared to Thursday:

In a fundraising pitch on Tuesday, as Vanderbrouk observed, the NRCC noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is "raising millions" and is "determined to ERASE Trump's legacy" before adding, "She knows if we TAKE BACK THE HOUSE, Trump will run for PRESIDENT."

Trump started making many Republicans nervous on Wednesday, though, when he fired a shot across the party's bow with the following statement:

If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 and '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have desperately tried to move on from Trump's debunked allegations that the 2020 election was stolen, but the former president still refuses to concede.

So when NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer was asked about Trump obsessing over the 2020 election and possibly distracting from the 2022 midterms, the congressman, according to journalist Jacob Rubashkin, replied, "He's a private citizen, and he's entitled to his own opinion."

Rubashkin tweeted: