Amy Walter, Cook Political Report: “The degree to which folks continue to view American politics through the Trump prism is both understandable and frustrating. On the one hand, despite losing the election, the former president has remained an omnipresent figure in our daily lives. He spent almost every day from November 3rd until January 20th attacking the integrity of the election, browbeating state officials and tweeting out various conspiracy theories. January began with an attack on the U.S. Capitol and ended with Trump’s impeachment. Early February was occupied with the Senate trial. As Katie Rogers wrote in the New York Times, this past weekend was the first in more than four years where Donald Trump wasn’t the story.”

“However, that weekend reprieve was short-lived as Trump will take the stage on Sunday in Orlando at the annual CPAC conference. And, once again, the political conversation will revolve around GOP infighting and the challenge for Republican leaders like Mitch McConnell to put Trump in the rearview mirror. In an attempt to pre-but that narrative, NRSC Chairman Rick Scott sent out a memo on Tuesday declaring that while ‘a parade of pundits and even Republican voices suggesting we should have a GOP civil war…This does not need to be true, should not be true, and will not be true.’ Of course, just because the leader of the campaign arm of the GOP Senate committee declared that ‘the Republican Civil War is now canceled’ does not make it so. However, before we declare that the GOP is in free-fall, it’s important to remember we are only ONE MONTH into Biden’s first term. We are more than 20 months away from the midterm elections. Trump’s role in 2022 could be a definitive issue in the next election. Or, it may not be. I don’t mean to sound snarky. But, honestly, we need some perspective here.”