{"id":4667,"date":"2026-08-13T04:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4667"},"modified":"2026-08-13T04:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:10:10","slug":"republican-party-embraces-felon-in-chief-as-inspiration-to-flout-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4667","title":{"rendered":"Republican Party embraces ‘felon in chief’ as inspiration to flout scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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

Read more Widow\u2019s Bay actor draws link between Trump and show\u2019s most horrifying creep<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a kind of Konami code, reports Bulwark writer and researcher Will Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiller 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,\u201d Saletan said. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t always worked out for them. But in doing so, they\u2019ve clarified the ethos of today\u2019s GOP: It\u2019s a party of reprobates, led by a crook.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) got indicted on charges of stealing money from his campaign for personal use. Similarly, Hunter vowed \u201cI am not going anywhere.\u201d Hunter accused the Justice Department of bias against him, and he embraced Trump \u2014 the party\u2019s crook commander \u2014 who was also being investigated for obstruction of justice in the Russiagate scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ploy paid off,\u201d said Saletan. \u201cSoon 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in 2021, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) faced scrutiny in a federal sex-trafficking investigation he quickly announced \u201cI am absolutely not resigning,\u201d in a Washington Examiner<\/em> op-ed. Then he accused the accusers and invoked Trump\u2019s name in one go by claiming he was falsely accused, \u201cjust as they once falsely attacked President Donald Trump as a Russian asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s failing truce threatens the GOP\u2019s grip on the GA governor\u2019s race<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, Trump rewarded the suckup,\u201d said Saletan. \u201cIn November 2024, he nominated Gaetz to be the attorney general. Trump dropped the nomination only after it became clear that Gaetz couldn\u2019t get confirmed. A month later, the House Ethics Committee \u201csubstantial 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) \u2014 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: \u201cI\u2019m entitled to that same process that Joe Biden is entitled [to], that Donald Trump was entitled to, but Donald Trump was denied,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The House expelled him, and in August 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and got seven years in prison.<\/p>\n

Five months later, Trump commuted Santos\u2019s sentence, bouncing him from prison.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the years before Trump, Republicans talked a lot about character. They denounced Bill Clinton\u2019s 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,\u201d said Saletan. \u201cUnder Trump, they\u2019ve proved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump \u2018rotting\u2019 into a meal ticket for MAGA vultures: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s a kind of Konami code, reports Bulwark writer and researcher Will Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Tru…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRepublican Party embraces 'felon in chief' as inspiration to flout scandal - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4667\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republican Party embraces 'felon in chief' as inspiration to flout scandal - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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\u2019s a kind of Konami code, reports Bulwark writer and researcher Will Saletan: Never resign. 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