# So how many Republicans are secretly praying that Trump will be disqualified? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 7, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745 "2024-01-07T20:22:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/1 "2024-01-07T20:22:53Z")
Title says it all. Openly breaking with Trump is political suicide for a Republican, but if he can’t get on the ballot… ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/2 "2024-01-07T20:39:53Z")
I’m speculating, but I’d guess lots. Mainly what we might have called “establishment Republicans.” They’re all too cowardly to say it out loud, but I think lots of them see Trump as likely to lose the popular vote for the third time in a row, and also the electoral college. And even if he wins, it’s four more years of instability and chaos. The country club Republicans don’t like that part. So, not the MAGA true believers like Boebert and MTG (and their ilk). They’ll go down with the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/3 "2024-01-07T20:42:48Z")
I’d guesstimate at least one-third. By handing it off to the courts, they can get rid of Trump without being perceived as “complicit” in the eyes of Trumpers. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/4 "2024-01-07T20:44:05Z")
That sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/5 "2024-01-07T21:06:19Z")
Former Republican Raises hand. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/6 "2024-01-07T21:42:40Z")
Convictions on criminal charges will also see more willing to back away from supporting him . ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/7 "2024-01-07T21:45:08Z")
Quite a few, trump now rules by fear. If you cross his you get death threats and get voted out. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/8 "2024-01-07T21:52:03Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Convictions on criminal charges will also see more willing to back away from supporting him . I believe it when I see it. Haven’t seen it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/9 "2024-01-07T22:02:25Z")
It was the nihilist vote that put Trump over the top in 2016. A ballot disqualification or a conviction will just energize that lot. Winning a presidential election with a write-in campaign for someone they are told they can’t vote for is just the kind of challenge that turns those people on. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/10 "2024-01-07T22:20:45Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Winning a presidential election with a write-in campaign -amounts to a third party candidate, and when has that _ever_ succeeded at the national level? At most, the Republican vote is split and the election goes to the 'Dems. I suppose it comes down to how many are die-hard Trump Or Nobody voters delusional enough to think he can win without being on the Republican ticket; or whether their hatred of Biden is enough that swinging the election to the 'Pubs is more important. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/11 "2024-01-07T22:25:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > amounts to a third party candidate, and when has that _ever_ succeeded at the national level? I was implying that there will never be enough Republicans relieved by the disqualifications for a non-Trump GOP candidate to win the general election. They need the nihilists to win, and the nihilist are going to write in Trump. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/12 "2024-01-07T22:31:21Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’d guesstimate at least one-third. By handing it off to the courts, they can get rid of Trump without being perceived as “complicit” in the eyes of Trumpers. This. If the courts bring him down, they can secretly breathe a sigh of relief without any blood on their hands while publicly blaming those damn, dirty democrats for his demise. It’s a win-win for them essentially. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/13 "2024-01-07T23:07:43Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > They need the nihilists to win, and the nihilist are going to write in Trump. Okay, but as I said which is stronger- their hatred of the Democrats, or their support of Trump (and level of denial that that’s the choice)? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/14 "2024-01-07T23:18:03Z")
But it’s not their support of Trump or even hatred of Democrats that drive the nihilists; it’s the chaos. Right now the GOP is a coalition of Conservatives and people who just want to burn it all down. Neither has the numbers to win a national election without each other’s support. So far, Republicans have been willing to tolerate a lot of chaos in exchange for power. That’s their only road to victory. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/15 "2024-01-07T23:39:41Z")
What “Republicans” are we talking about here? Republican primary voters? Vanishingly few. Even those who are inclined to support an alternative candidate would be outraged to see Trump disqualified by fiat. Republicans in Congress? Almost all of them. Because it would let them make political hay screaming frothing outrage at his being disqualified while knowing that now they won’t have to deal with his bullshit as President. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/16 "2024-01-07T23:43:41Z")
I mean, Republicans were the first to float the idea that Trump was disqualified, and have been involved in so much of this. So, yeah, I’m sure they want him gone. It wouldn’t surprise me if only the “Freedom Caucus” actually hopes he’ll stick around. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/17 "2024-01-07T23:56:29Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > So, not the MAGA true believers like Boebert and MTG (and their ilk). They’ll go down with the ship. I doubt it. They’re only as loyal to Trump as Trump is loyal to them. They’ll ride on Trump’s train as long as it works to their benefit. The second it stops benefitting them, they’ll turn on him. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/18 "2024-01-07T23:56:44Z")
I’ll go out and say that the Supremes don’t want 4 more years of Trump as they will be sidelined and/or replaced. King Trump will only tolerate a supreme court that does his bidding. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/19 "2024-01-08T00:19:53Z")
I don’t care how many of them are secretly wishing for any fucking thing. That has no effect on any thing. How many of them are speaking out about the obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745/20 "2024-01-08T00:44:21Z")
Yes, secretly wishing has about as much effect as thoughts and prayers. The real question is how many Republicans are secretly working on ensuring Trump isn’t the 2024 nominee. It’s not like the Republicans lack experience in rigging election. And it would be easier for them to rig the primaries than the general election. So if the party leaders decide Trump will cost them the election, they’ll make sure he doesn’t win the primaries. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-republicans-are-secretly-praying-that-trump-will-be-disqualified/995745.md?page=2)