VIEW FROM HERE-Sen. Mitch McConnell actually gave a truthful answer – “without Trump the GOP cannot win.”
While some pundits point out that in many states, the GOP candidates for governor, House of Representatives, the Senate as well as for state elected offices did far better than Trump, the leadership knows that does not mean that the GOP can win without Trump. Many people fail to look beneath the surface and assume that the GOP does not need Trump since he under performs the party as a whole. It is more complex.
The non-Trumpers in the GOP will vote for the regular GOP candidates even if they do not vote for Trump. There are not, however, enough reasonable GOP voters for the GOP to win elections. The GOP calculates that with Trump’s headlining the 2022 campaign rallies, the Alt Right base will turn out like a horde of latter-day John The Baptists preparing the way for their savior’s Second Coming.