WATCH: Jim Antle says Jan. 6 hearings are shifting some Republicans on Trump

Julia Johnson

July 22, 12:55 PM July 22, 12:55 PM

The Washington Examiner's politics editor Jim Antle predicted that some Republicans may ditch former President Donald Trump to avoid constant discussion of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in the 2024 presidential election.

“There is a possibility Republicans are going to say to themselves, ‘Is this what we even want to be talking about in 2024?'” Antle said on C-SPAN's Washington Journal Friday. There's also been a decline in Republican polling favoring Trump, he said.

OFFICER BEATEN BY RIOTERS ON JAN. 6 SLAMS HAWLEY FOR RUNNING FROM MOB

“I don’t know that very many people who don’t already agree with the basic argument the committee is making are watching, but I think some are,” Antle added.

He further referenced a recent poll from the New York Times that showed Trump was only 49% of Republicans' favored candidate for 2024. This is still a lot, Antle conceded. However, it's notable that several Republicans would like to see someone else face off with President Joe Biden.

He also touched on the production quality factor of the Jan. 6 hearings. The higher production value “brought it into the 21st century,” Antle explained. "Congressional hearings still mostly look like they did in the 1960s.”

The quality is only one of the factors that help the committee present a relatively cohesive narrative. According to Antle, the absence of Republicans apart from Rep. Liz Cheney (WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL) allow for the narrative to be spun uninterrupted.

Because the hearings don't “have the cross-examination element” that other Republican members would likely bring to the table, there is nothing contradicting any of the committee's findings.

He later said that former Vice President Mike Pence would likely make a 2024 presidential run regardless of what his former running mate decides to do.

Antle added that Pence really has no choice but to distinguish himself from his former boss.

G3 Box News

Pence has been walking the line between the old Republican Party and the more modern Republican Party, according to Antle. He is attempting to be a “bridge between” the party of Reagan while also presenting some of the new ideas that were ushered in with the Trump administration.