Aides Suggest Trump Might Be Realizing He Has No Real Power Over Republican Party

Donald Trump has been in a months-long feud with Mitch McConnell, and he has encouraged Republicans to oust him as their leader if they retake the Senate. But so far, only Lindsey Graham and two Republican candidates have joined Trump's side. And, according to a new report by CNN, Trump's aides have suggested that the former President is having to rethink his strategy because he doesn't have the influence or power that he likes to think he has. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins discusses this.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

There is a chance, albeit a small chance, that Donald Trump might be starting to realize that he doesn't actually have any authority or power whatsoever over today's Republican party. And that by the way, is actually coming from aids to Donald Trump who spoke recently to CNN. Now let me read this from CNN. Trump's ineffective attempt thus far to challenge the top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has forced him to temper his criteria as he aims to be a kingmaker in this year's midterm elections, according to multiple people close to the former president who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity. Some of his aids have warned him that requiring unequivocal opposition to McConnell to secure or maintain his support is incompatible with his broader objectives, a warning that Trump himself appears to be considering.

So just to catch everybody up on what is in fact happening here. Donald Trump has been on a month's long crusade to basically dethrone Mitch McConnell as the head of the Republican party. He says that McConnell is weak. He is ineffective. He is a quote, broken old crow, whatever that means. And that it's time for new leadership and Trump has encouraged Republican to oust him from his leadership position. But as the aids are pointing out, uh, nobody's going along with it. So far, there's two candidates that are challenging Republican incumbents that have said, if I get in the Senate, I'm getting rid of Mitch McConnell. And then of course, last week we had Lindsey Graham who said, Mitch, if you want to stay in leadership, you've gotta bow down to Trump. Beyond that, nobody else is biting. Nobody wants to because they know where the real power lies within the Republican party.

And if these aids are to believed, to be believed, Donald Trump is starting to figure that out too, because the power in today's Republican party does not lie with Donald Trump, never has. It's with Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell has his dirty little fingerprints all over every piece of horrible Republican legislation that has come down the pipeline since the 1980s, because yes, that is how long he has been in office. He has the power. He has the connections. He has the money. He has the intelligence to make all of the worst things the Republican party wants to do become a reality. He is behind all of the judicial nominations during Donald Trump's four years as president. He helped pack the Supreme Court. He helped prevent Obama from getting an extra Supreme Court pick and he prevented Joe Biden from starting off his term with a Supreme Court pick. This is all Mitch McConnell. Donald Trump was not the strategist there, McConnell was.

And those inside the party recognize that McConnell has this kind of power. Donald Trump does not. Donald Trump is a serial campaign loser. The people that he endorses tend to lose more frequently than they win. Oh sure, he's good at raising money, but what we're actually seeing happen right now is that the money going to his Super PACs is being used to basically pay his own properties to host his own events, to raise more money, to then do the same thing. He's basically legally funneling it back into his own pockets. He's not sharing it with these candidates. Never will. It's his money and he wants it. McConnell on the other hand is not exactly doing that.