Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman with a solid analysis on Trump’s ‘Get rid of them all’ line and his plans to target insufficiently loyal House and Senate Republicans with primaries: “We’ve been waiting for this moment because it gives us the opportunity to write about the challenges of this approach for Trump and for D.C. Republicans. For Trump, the principal question we have here is whether Trump is going to have the infrastructure and, more importantly, the sustained interest in launching and facilitating primary challenges against these Republicans. That would include endorsing and most likely clearing the field for candidates in various congressional districts across the country.”
“Saying you want to get rid of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is one thing. But ensuring that Cheney or any candidate faces just one challenger is critical. Remember: Many of the Senate Republicans Trump named are not real targets. Mitt Romney is up for election in 2024, and Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins and Ben Sasse are up for re-election in six years. Two of them – Richard Burr and Pat Toomey – are not running for re-election. In the Senate, the only real target is Lisa Murkowski, who is up in 2022. In the House, Reps. David Valadao (Calif.), John Katko (N.Y.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), and Fred Upton (Mich.) are all from moderate districts. Tom Rice (S.C.) and Cheney are at real risk. But if a bunch of Republicans turn out to claim the Trump mantle, the incumbent could easily prevail just on the strength of their name ID. Republican leaders have a series of thornier questions to answer in this Trump-versus-the-GOP universe. Will Republican leaders cut checks and raise money for these candidates?”