Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Friday that he’ll meet with former President Donald Trump to talk about the future of the Republican party and his role in it.
“I’m going to try and convince him that we can’t get there without you, but you can’t keep the Trump movement going without the GOP united,” Graham said, according to Politico.
“If we come back in 2022, then, it’s an affirmation of your policies. But if we lose again in 2022, the narrative is going to continue that not only you lost the White House, but the Republican Party is in a bad spot.”
Although the Republicans lost the Senate and White House during the 2020 elections, they gained seats in the House. Trump also received the second most votes in a presidential election in U.S. history, even while he trailed Biden significantly in the popular vote and the Electoral College.
Since then, however, Trump’s actions contesting the election, culminating in the ugly and deadly mob attack on the Capitol that led to his second impeachment, has raised new questions in GOP circles about moving on from the former president.
At the same time, Trump retains a high level of support in the GOP grassroots.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has talked before about Trump’s future in the party saying that the party will keep a neutral stance on the former president as he has caused strife in the party.
“Trump’s got to work with everybody,” Graham said. “You got to put your best team on the field. If it’s about revenge and going after people you don’t like, we’re going to have a problem. If this is about putting your best team on the field, we’ve got a decent chance at coming back.”
The Senate is expected to vote Saturday in Trump’s impeachment trial, but is not expected to have the two-thrids majority to convict the former president.