Trump tightens grip on Republican Party

Washington, May 18 US President Donald Trump tightened his hold over the Republican Party after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy suffered a crushing primary defeat following years of political fallout from his vote to convict Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack.

Cassidy failed even to qualify for the Republican runoff in Saturday's Louisiana primary, marking the latest setback for Republicans who broke publicly with Trump during and after his presidency.

The outcome dominated Sunday political talk shows, where Republicans and Democrats alike described the result as another demonstration of Trump's continuing dominance over the Grand Old Party (GOP).

"This is Donald Trump's party," Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss said during a CNN programme.

Cassidy had become one of the most prominent Republican critics of Trump after voting in 2021 to convict him on impeachment charges linked to the Capitol riot.

"Our country is not about one individual," Cassidy said in remarks aired on both CNN and ABC News after his defeat.

"And if someone doesn't understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they are about serving themselves."

But Trump-backed Republicans celebrated the result as proof that GOP voters remained loyal to the President.

Republican Congressman Buddy Carter said on CNN that Republicans who opposed Trump politically should expect consequences.

"I don't think you should ever go against a President and vote for impeachment if you're going to plan on re-running and running for re-election," Carter added.

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that Cassidy's defeat reflected the will of Republican voters rather than simply Trump's personal influence.

"The people of Louisiana sent a very clear message that they didn't want Bill Cassidy as their representative in the United States Senate," Spicer said on CNN.

The Louisiana result also intensified attention on another major Republican primary battle in Kentucky involving Congressman Thomas Massie, one of the few remaining Republicans willing to openly criticise Trump.

Massie told ABC News that outside groups aligned with the pro-Israel lobby and wealthy donors were attempting to defeat him because he had resisted political pressure from Trump and Republican leadership.

"It's a question of whether you can have even the slightest bit of a dissenting vote," he said.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Massie on social media ahead of Tuesday's Kentucky primary, calling him "a disaster for our party".

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on ABC News that Republicans who believed accommodation with Trump would protect them politically were misreading the situation.

"You're not going to get his favour," Christie said while discussing Cassidy's defeat.

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