Could Trump Financially Ruin the G.O.P.?

The G.O.P. has a Donald Trump money problem. The former president is facing multiple indictments, and fighting those legal battles hasn’t been cheap. Unfortunately for Trump — and the Republican Party — big donors have noticed and are losing interest in filling the G.O.P.’s draining coffers. That means trouble for states like Michigan and Arizona, which are in desperate need of party money for down-ballot races.

In this audio essay, the Opinion politics correspondent Michelle Cottle makes the argument that the Republican Party needs a better, more stable leader to guide it through this financial crisis and that Trump is not that leader.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Credit…Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by atosan/Getty Images

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha and Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin, Alison Bruzek and Annie-Rose Strasser. Engineering by Carole Sabouraud with mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music by Carole Sabouraud, Pat McCusker and Sonia Herrero. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta.

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