In a column headlined “The GOP is Actually Better Off if Kamala Harris Wins,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin on Wednesday writes that he’s been speaking to Republicans in Congress on background and found that “the most fervent private debate I came across in the party was how best to accelerate Trump’s exit to the 19th Hole. One high-level Republican, conceding it may only be ‘wishful thinking,’ even floated the idea of a Harris victory followed by Biden pardons of both his son, Hunter, and Trump. That would take the issue of both cases off Harris’ plate and, more to the point, drain the energy behind Trump’s persecution complex so that Republicans can get on with the business of winning elections.” Lol at that Trump pardon wishcasting.

Martin points out that they’re not going to shake the fat bastard as long as their voters won’t, and quotes from former GOP strategist Terry Sullivan, who says “You’re assuming Republicans have a top of the ticket problem and not a voter base problem. It’s not like our leaders have been leading the voters to the wilderness against the voters’ judgment,” as if Trump isn’t a leader himself.

In hyping the piece, Wednesday’s Politico Playbook morning edition quotes an anonymous “conservative leader” as saying “There’s a lot of anxiety about what Trump does to Republican ability to win in 2028 – and what he also may do to the party in terms of policy long-term. There is just this concern that like, ‘OK, if the party just goes in that direction, then what kind of party is it going forward? And can conservatives, then, have a home going forward?'”