White House Reporter: Behind Closed Doors, Republicans Are Considering Abandoning Trump

As Mueller’s Russia investigation comes to a close, Trump’s GOP friends are starting to get apprehensive—some are even considering abandoning the president to save the party, per Newsweek. White House reporter for the Los Angeles Times Eli Stokols told MSNBC’s Deadline program that the Republican party is starting to think supporting the president isn’t in its best interest, especially considering the most recent revelations in Mueller’s probe.

Stokols said, “There is some understanding, I think, inside the White House of just how dark it may be getting,” adding that there were “private conversations people there are having with Republicans on the Hill who are starting to be concerned.” Republican lawmakers “are starting to tell me privately—some of them—if there’s obvious evidence, the bottom’s going to fall out. They’re not going to be able to stand by this White House and that’s a looming problem for the president.”

Michael Cohen’s recent surprise guilty plea seemingly confirmed a lot of suspicions about Trump’s 2016 campaign dealings. Mueller himself called Cohen’s information “credible” and “useful.” Cohen noted that he committed several crimes, including breaking federal campaign laws, at Trump’s (or, as he’s referred to in the briefing, Individual 1) directive.

Individual 1 and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani are outright ignoring the facts. Trump tweeted “totally clears the President. Thank you!,” which contextually is nonsense, considering he could now be implicated in a felony, according to just about every news organization there is.

Totally clears the President. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018

If a majority of the party realizes how dire Trump’s situation is, and choose to act rather than play dumb, the president may actually see repercussions. As Stokols points out, Mueller’s probe is a train that’s already left the station; there’s no stopping it now.