Conservative columnist: 'An astonishing number of Republicans' ready to dump Donald Trump

In his column for the Daily Beast, conservative political commentator Matt Lewis expressed surprise -- and joy -- at how many former Donald Trump administration aides and officials have been willing to come forward at the House Jan 6th hearings where they have spilled the beans on possible criminal conduct by the former president.

Coming on the heels of the devastating testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, the former senior aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Lewis suggested that there appears to be a concerted effort by former Trump White House insiders to derail any hopes the former president may have about running again in 2024.

As Lewis noted, he can't remember any former president who has been on the receiving end of so many attacks by former staffers. That, he suggests, shows they consider him dangerous should he somehow be re-elected.

"I don’t think there has ever been a past president who has engendered such little loyalty from his inner circle (yes, I’m counting Richard Nixon). But never mind presidents. How many people have you worked with who think you’re unfit and unstable?" he wrote before adding, "I’m guessing that number does not even approach Trump’s."

"The good news, for those of us who can’t fathom another four years of Trump, is that so far—thanks to the way they’ve been conducted—this seems to be slowly making a dent," he speculated. "... what we have seen with a year-long accretion of evidence is an almost glacial movement away from Donald Trump (akin to Homer Simpson disappearing into a bush)."

According to Lewis, conservatives likely see Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as Trump's heir apparent and are doing what they can to make his path past Trump easier in the hopes of reclaiming the Republican Party.

Writing, "To be sure, it’s early. Trump has been written off prematurely too many times for me to make that mistake again. But should this trend continue, the Jan. 6 Committee will deserve much of the credit. Likewise, Nancy Pelosi and Democrats will deserve credit for letting Cheney and Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger do most of the talking," he added "This time around, the public is watching bonafide Republicans ask bonafide Republicans who worked for Trump to describe just how erratic and criminal his presidency was. That seems to have made a difference."

"The public is getting to see why an astonishing number of Republicans who signed up to Make America Great have decided that the best way to do that is to put America First and make sure he’s not the GOP nominee in 2024," he concluded.

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