Donald Trump leaves office as a diminished force in the Republican Party

DonaldTrump could have spenthis final weeks in office boasting about his Republican administration's achievements and trying to solidifyhis statusas the most significantvoice inthe party and possiblefront-runner for the presidential nominationin four years.

Instead, the 45th president of the United Statesfocusedon fuelling conspiracy theories in a futile attempt to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3presidential election.

In doing so, he departed the White House on Wednesdaystill under the cloud of his supporters' riot in the Capitol building. He returns to private lifeas the only president to have been impeached twice, and with some senior members of a now significantly divided Republican Party seemingly turning their backs on him.

"It was just an unmitigated disaster of missed opportunities and terrible judgment," said Scott Jennings,a Republican strategistand former adviser to Senate Republican Leader MitchMcConnell.

He said Trump hadan opportunity to spendthese past weeks becoming the most successful lame duck president in history, by helping withcoronavirus relief negotiations and supporting a defence policy that included raises for troops.

But Trump didn'tplay aconstructive role in either file, he said.

Missed opportunity in Georgia Senate races

Trump could have alsotried to helpRepublicans win the two Senate run-off races in Georgia earlier this month instead of sabotaging the campaigns by casting doubt on the electoral process with unfounded fraud allegations, Jennings said. The Republicans ended up losing both run-offs and control of the Senate.

"And, of course, he could have decided not to incite a violent insurrection at the U.S Capitol," Jenningssaid, referring to the article of impeachment against Trump that is expected to go to the Senate for a trial."When you consider all of the things that he could have done, itcould have been a lot different for him."

Trump's behaviour was particularly counterproductiveif you consider that he clearly wants to continue being involved in politics, Jennings said.

"Everything he did in the lame duck period drastically diminished that possibility."

Had Trump conceded the election back in November, he may have been rememberedas a disruptive but consequential president, said Matthew Connetti, a resident fellow at theAmerican EnterpriseInstitute, a conservative think-tank based in Washington, D.C.

For Republicans, the Trump administration'slist ofachievements would include tax cuts;deregulation; brokering diplomatic deals in the Middle East;and, perhaps most importantly,the appointment of many conservative judges, including three Supreme Court justices.

"Hewould have been the undisputed front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination. But that's not how things turned out," Connetti said in an email to CBC News.

Impeachment trial looms

Although he isout of office, Trump faces the possibility of an impeachmenttrial and conviction in the Senate and a vote to bar him from running for office again.

"Trump's refusal to concede, his increasingly desperate and dangerous attempts to overturn the election, his incitement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and his decision not to welcome Joe Biden to the White House or to attend Biden's inaugurationnullified a record of policy accomplishments,"Connetti said.

Trump still has a large base of supportwithin the Republican Party and among the conservative grassroots. Millions of his supporters agreewith the baseless claims thatthe presidential election was rigged and stolen. Still, there are clear signs Trump'spower within the party has diminished since the riot in the Capitol.

At his departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, only about 300 people were in attendance. His guests included his family, outgoing White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and other current and former aides, the Washington Post reported.

But there were notable absences among top-ranking Republican officials.McConnell, who has been openly critical of Trump's role in the U.S. Capitol riot, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy were no-shows,having opted to attend churchwith Biden before heading over to the inauguration.

Perhaps the most significant absence was that of Trump'svice-president, Mike Pence, who alsoattended Biden's inauguration. (Pence's spokespeople had previously said logistical issues would prevent him from attending both events.)

Trump had blamed Pence for refusing to block congressional certification of the electoral college votes on Jan. 6 a power Pencenever actually had at his disposal.

The New York Times reported that aides had tried to get moreofficials to come to Trump'sdeparture, but many were still upset over his post-election behaviour and how it overshadowed the administration's achievements.

Some of his aides who had been with him the longest said they did not even watch the send-off on television, the paper reported.

WATCH | Trumpdelivers his final address as president:

Trump leaves office with vow to return 'in some form'

4 years ago

Duration 2:13

U.S. President Donald Trump formally left the White House after a struggle to hang on to office by trying to overturn the results of a democratic election.

At the national level, theRepublican Party is now split in two,saidMichael Cornfield, a political scientist at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C.

"And the traditional Republican Party went to [the inauguration]. But the loyalistscame with him to the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base."

Connettisaid there will alwaysbe a segment of the population that continues to believe Donald Trump was a great president.

"But it is a minority," he said, "and now the Republican Party, as a result of Trump's actions since November, is in a state of civil war."