https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/mark-meadows-texts-trump-republicans-tpm-rcna61501
Mark Meadows' leaked texts destroy the Trump lone actor narrative
Trump was something closer to a nerve center of anti-democratic activity.
Dec. 14, 2022, 6:00 AM EST
By Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
The conventional narrative of former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election frames Trump as the culprit and most Republican lawmakers as tolerating it or tagging along out of political expediency. But the leak of a massive trove of text exchanges between Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and dozens of Republican lawmakers highlights how that narrative lets the GOP off too easily. The texts, published by Talking Points Memo, show Trump wasn’t a lone actor, but something closer to a nerve center of anti-democratic activity. Republicans didn’t just put up with Trump, but worked proactively with him to try to discredit the election both before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
This is a damning development for the Republican Party. It would be bad enough if its members were co-signing Trump’s lies because they thought it was politically advantageous. But it’s more chilling to see the full scope of many Republicans’ eagerness to dismantle democratic governance.
Mark Meadows' leaked texts destroy the Trump lone actor narrative
Trump was something closer to a nerve center of anti-democratic activity.
Dec. 14, 2022, 6:00 AM EST
By Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
The conventional narrative of former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election frames Trump as the culprit and most Republican lawmakers as tolerating it or tagging along out of political expediency. But the leak of a massive trove of text exchanges between Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and dozens of Republican lawmakers highlights how that narrative lets the GOP off too easily. The texts, published by Talking Points Memo, show Trump wasn’t a lone actor, but something closer to a nerve center of anti-democratic activity. Republicans didn’t just put up with Trump, but worked proactively with him to try to discredit the election both before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
This is a damning development for the Republican Party. It would be bad enough if its members were co-signing Trump’s lies because they thought it was politically advantageous. But it’s more chilling to see the full scope of many Republicans’ eagerness to dismantle democratic governance.
