Donald Trump lost the election - the Republicans then divided into camps: Trump loyalists and those who had a deal with the ex-president.
Munich / Washington - Donald Trump calls for campaign donations - nothing unusual in itself.
It is an open secret that the ex-president is toying with the possibility of running again in the next election.
But Joe Biden's predecessor Trump did not call for donations to the Republicans, for whom he sat in the White House for four years - but for his "Save America" campaign organization.
Trump is aggressively soliciting funds from “his” party - this could be extremely damaging to the Republicans, not just financially.
This was not the only clear sign that the party was threatened with a split over the person of Trump.
The former president also threatened through his lawyers that the party would no longer be allowed to use his name to solicit donations or otherwise solicit.
Trump wants to strengthen his influence, weaken his internal party opponents.
Trump advertises himself in the election campaign: the wing fight of the Republicans could damage the party
What could the results of such a split be?
In the worst case scenario for Republicans, this could mean that they are hindering themselves on their way back to power.
A first tricky situation threatens when it comes to the mid-term elections.
There they have firmly planned the retaking of the Senate.
A third of the Senate will be re-elected in 2022.
There is currently a stalemate there: Democrats and Republicans each hold exactly 50 seats.
There are a total of 14 Democratic and 20 Republican seats to choose from, and historically speaking it is likely that the ruling party, i.e. the Democrats, will lose some ground again.
The Republican wing struggle, however, could change that.
Especially when some senators who were previously considered to be rather moderate withdraw.
At least five are unlikely to run again: Richard Shelby, Alabama, Richard Burr, North Carolina, Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania, Rob Portman, Ohio, and Roy Blunt, Missouri.
They fulfilled important functions: not only do they sit on committees, but have also negotiated several compromises with the Democrats in the past.
Trump has announced that he will interfere: Are the fronts hardening further?
Now what happens if these seats are filled with Trump supporters?
First of all, the Republicans could face the horror scenario that these candidates win their primary elections but then lose seats to the Democratic Party that were believed to be certain.
Or they win the election, but they contribute to the fact that the fronts continue to harden, compromises become more difficult and the 60 percent majority in Congress is reached less often.
The country could be legally paralyzed.
Trump has already announced that he will be actively involved in the elections and support his own candidates in a revenge election campaign, like his supporter Eric Greitens (Missouri), whom the Republican base supports despite allegations of rape.
Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump could also run.
The Republican Party - and the American political system - will face difficult times even after Trump's replacement.
