Republican Party embraces 'felon in chief' as inspiration to flout scandal

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at The Villages Charter School at The Villages, Florida, U.S., May 1, 2026. REUTERS_Nathan Howard

President Donald Trump appears to have a flawless four-point plan for surviving the worst political scandals, and Republicans are determined to follow it.

It’s a kind of Konami code, reports Bulwark writer and researcher Will Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.

After three women accused Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) of physically abusing them, Miller told Trump he would stay in. Then Saletan said he went on TV and called Trump his model. He boasted that Trump had survived similar allegations in 2016 and that he, Miller, would now do the same.

“Miller is the latest in a line of scandal-plagued Republican congressmen who have played the Trump card. In the face of investigations, indictments, or convictions, they have denounced law enforcement and invoked the felon-in-chief as their inspiration to fight on,” Saletan said. “It hasn’t always worked out for them. But in doing so, they’ve clarified the ethos of today’s GOP: It’s a party of reprobates, led by a crook.”

In 2018, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) got indicted on charges of stealing money from his campaign for personal use. Similarly, Hunter vowed “I am not going anywhere.” Hunter accused the Justice Department of bias against him, and he embraced Trump — the party’s crook commander — who was also being investigated for obstruction of justice in the Russiagate scandal.

“The ploy paid off,” said Saletan. “Soon after Hunter delivered those remarks, Trump publicly rebuked Sessions for allowing DOJ to indict the congressman. Two months later, Trump dumped Sessions. And two years later, after Hunter pleaded guilty to the charges, Trump pardoned him.”

And in 2021, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) faced scrutiny in a federal sex-trafficking investigation he quickly announced “I am absolutely not resigning,” in a Washington Examinerop-ed. Then he accused the accusers and invoked Trump’s name in one go by claiming he was falsely accused, “just as they once falsely attacked President Donald Trump as a Russian asset.”

“Again, Trump rewarded the suckup,” said Saletan. “In November 2024, he nominated Gaetz to be the attorney general. Trump dropped the nomination only after it became clear that Gaetz couldn’t get confirmed. A month later, the House Ethics Committee reported “substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

In 2023, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) — the same. When he was indicted on charges of money laundering, wire fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, and theft of public funds, Saletan said he refused to step down and then immediately invoked the fraudster-in-chief: “I’m entitled to that same process that Joe Biden is entitled [to], that Donald Trump was entitled to, but Donald Trump was denied,” he said.

The House expelled him, and in August 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and got seven years in prison.

Five months later, Trump commuted Santos’s sentence, bouncing him from prison.

The formula also held true for Republican Gov. Eric Greitens (R-Mo.) and his allegations of violent and coercive sexual behavior, said Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.

“In the years before Trump, Republicans talked a lot about character. They denounced Bill Clinton’s adultery, his perjury, and his exploitation of an intern. They said moral rot was infectious. They warned that a party led by a scoundrel, and dedicated to defending that scoundrel, would come to resemble him,” said Saletan. “Under Trump, they’ve proved it.”

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