GOP strategists fear Donald Trump's fixation on lying about the 2020 election is on track harm Republicans at the polls, The Washington Postreported Thursday.
"Former president Donald Trump has in the last week threatened electoral defeat for Republicans who dismiss his election falsehoods, inserted himself into the Virginia governor's race to the delight of Democrats, and promised to root out disloyal GOP officials in legislative primaries in Arizona and Michigan," the newspaper reported.
At a Wednesday rally with Steve Bannon in Virginia, supporters of Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin pledged allegiance to a flag flown in DC on January 6th.
"With more than a year to go before the midterm elections, the former president is leaving no corner of the party untouched as he moves to assert his dominance, both in public and behind the scenes. His stepped-up efforts create a conundrum for many of the party's strategists and lawmakers, who believe they could have a banner election year in 2022 if they keep the focus on President Biden and his agenda. But Trump has repeatedly turned the focus back onto the 2020 election," The Post noted.
The report came one day after Trump implied his voters could tank the GOP in the midterms if candidates don't share his focus on the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
"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 or '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do," Trump said.
The newspaper granted anonymity to a "top party strategist."
"It gives everyone cold sweats over the Georgia situation and the prospect he could have some impact again," the strategist said. Many Republicans believe Trump's "Big Lie" of election fraud depressed GOP turnout in the January runoff elections that Democrats swept in Georgia.