In a sane world, Donald J. Trump, defeated for re-election, impeached twice and embroiled in multiple investigations, would sneak into politics. That the former president is seeking re-election and retribution is a reflection not only of his narcissism and the misguided devotion of his followers, but also of the failure of prominent Republicans to oust him.

Exhibit A is the humping of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. During the post-Jan. 6 debate on Trump’s impeachment, which he opposed, McCarthy rightly said that Trump bears responsibility for the attack on Congress as it was on its way to certifying Joe Biden’s victory. McCarthy also described the attack as undemocratic, unAmerican and criminal. Earlier, speaking to colleagues, he said he would recommend Trump resign, though he accused the New York Times of false and misreporting when it revealed that fact. (The reporters later released a recording of the conversation.)

But despite McCarthy’s criticism of Trump, the Bakersfield Republican soon made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, where he and Trump, in what Trump’s political action committee described as a cordial conversation, discussed the campaign to take control of the House. getting back. More recently, McCarthy provided Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson with 41,000 hours of January 6 security video that Carlson used to present the January 6 uprising as a mostly peaceful event. The vast majority of participants, Carlson said, were not insurgents. They were tourists.

Predictably, Trump thanked Carlson and McCarthy and called for the release of those convicted or pleaded guilty to charges in the attack. (In the past, he has suggested that if re-elected, he might pardon some of the January 6 defendants.) Whatever Carlson thinks of Trump privately, his laundering of the day’s events plays a role in Trump’s effort to to rewrite a traumatic moment in American history to its political advantage.

To their credit, some Republicans in Congress treated Carlson’s presentation with the contempt it deserved. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell associated himself with a statement by Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger complaining that Carlson’s presentation was handily plucked from the quieter moments of our 41,000 hours of video.

Senator Mike Rounds (RS.D.) was more concise in his comment: I was here. I saw what happened. I saw the violence. And you know, at the time I thought it was a riot. I still think it was a riot today. Senator Thom Tillis (RN.C.) called the January 6 Carlson version bullshit.

Still, it’s not enough for prominent Republicans to criticize a TV show that minimizes what happened on January 6, 2021. Anyone with a leadership role in the party should also work in the coming months to ensure that the president who propagated false allegations elect and urged his followers to show up in Washington on Jan. 6 for a wild protest that will never return to the White House.

An admission of what really happened on January 6 necessarily involves harsh judgment on the man whose untruths inspired the uprising. As former Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chairman of the House of Representatives’ Jan. cover country. nation again. He is unfit for any office.

Republicans are naturally concerned about alienating Trump supporters. Cheney lost her leadership position and then her seat in Congress after she voted to impeach Trump and continued to criticize him. But as the 2024 campaign approaches, it may be not only responsible but smart for Republicans to recognize that Trump is a fatally flawed candidate. Despite what his supporters may believe, Trump lost the 2020 election, lied to millions about it and tried to undermine the constitutional election process. What kind of future would the party have if it continued to accept him as its standard bearer?