GOP Thinks Prosecutors Saved Their Party - Will Still Acquit

The Republican officials know Donald Trump has been disastrous for their party. They are just too cowardly to deal with him, and make sure he doesn't hurt them more in the future. They are afraid they will be primaried in 2022, and lose their cushy job. 

And they appreciate the excellent job the House prosecutors have done in Trump's impeachment trial. They believe those prosecutors made an excellent case, and has sufficiently destroyed Trump in the eyes of the public (except for his most rabid supporters). 

They think those Democratic House members may have done the job they were afraid to do -- cleanse their party of Donald Trump. But don't expect them to participate in that. Those GOP cowards will still vote to acquit!

Here's how the GOP hypocrisy is described by Alexander Bolton in The Hill:

Senate Republicans, including those who do not plan to vote to convict former President Trump, say this week’s impeachment trial has effectively ended any chance of him becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.

From the viewpoint of some Republican senators, the compelling case presented by House prosecutors carries a silver lining: It means they likely won’t have to worry about Trump running for president again in three years, while at the same time eroding his influence in party politics more generally.

Several Republican senators became irate watching videos of the violence and chaos inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including footage of police officers being called “pigs” and “traitors” and one officer screaming as he was crushed by rioters battering a police line.

Interspersed with the traumatic scenes were clips of Trump urging his supporters to march to the Capitol, warning them “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” and telling them “we love you; you’re very special” shortly after the attack. 

“It just makes you realize what an asshole Donald Trump is," said one GOP senator after watching day two of the House managers' presentation.

The lawmaker suggested that Democrats may ultimately help the GOP by sidelining Trump.

"Unwittingly, they are doing us a favor. They're making Donald Trump disqualified to run for president" even if he is acquitted, the senator said. 

Other Republican senators, even those who have indicated they will vote to acquit, say it would be a good thing if the impeachment trial helps distance the party from Trump, who has thoroughly dominated GOP politics over the past five years.