Prominent senators and representatives are feeling the full force of the legacy media in recent weeks. Whether it is countless hours of airtime focusing on alleged indiscretions, or column inches highlighting character flaws and questionable motives, it’s not an easy time to be a potential presidential candidate.

Since Joe Biden’s inauguration, we have seen Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) lambasted for his poor travel decisions, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) get embroiled in the alleged trafficking of a minor (closely followed by accusations of “Revenge Porn”), and, of course, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis taking flak for a maliciously edited segment courtesy of CBS’s 60 Minutes. What do these aspiring politicians all have in common? They were ardent supporters of President Donald J. Trump.

Ron DeSantis

Consider the treatment of other Republicans in recent months. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) pilloried for her support of firearms, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) under constant fire with two “mistaken” suspensions of her social media accounts in as many weeks. Both, again, outspoken Trump supporters.

A Fractured Party

Attempts are being made to unify a fractured Republican Party. How do committed Trumpers, small-“c” conservatives, and right-leaning independents manage to cobble together a coalition to challenge the Democratic Party in 2024? If high-powered Washington elites and their friends in the all-too-helpful Fourth Estate have anything to do with it, they won’t.

Potential frontrunners for the GOP nomination appear to be under both the scrutiny and crosshairs of the media machine; those of a more conspiratorial bent may suppose that a coordinated effort is underway to leave the party rudderless. Without a clear leader, the Republicans’ chances of marshaling a strong performance in 2022 or 2024 seem dim. And this, of course, is just what Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer desire.

Cutting Away the Base

It seems there is a strategy in play that seeks to achieve one of four possible aims.

1. Democrats fear a Trump resurgence and are seeking to undermine potential allies for his possible 2024 election bid.
2. In conjunction with Dems, the Fourth Estate is trying to prevent Trump-like (or America First) candidates from gaining steamroller popularity as they worry a successful challenge could be made.
3. They are attempting to make Donald Trump the only viable America First candidate in the assumption that he can be beaten at the ballot box.
4. By making Trump the only viable America First candidate, Democrats hope to force the Republican Party to anoint a “mainstreamer” like Mitt Romney or John Kasich, who they know full-well they can easily beat.

Whatever the final aim, any prospective candidate who openly supported the former president is considered persona non grata in the Swamp, and the D.C. elites and their cohorts in the media are quite willing to go the extra mile to keep them off the ballot.

Whose Business Is It Anyway?

What matters is whether voters – regardless of political affiliation – will have a candidate who represents them come 2024. That the Republicans are facing a long dark night of the soul is undeniable; that the Democrats are doing everything in their power to keep the GOP in this fugue state is fast becoming an open secret.

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Read more from Mark Angelides.