If the Senate Republicans were smart...
... they would convict Trump and do everything they could to distance themselves from him. This might be the only chance they get.
i. Under Trump, all three branches of the government have been lost. He totally mismanaged the COVID crisis which has had a domino effect on undoing his other notable but few accomplishments.
Republicans could make a distinction that the failure of their government for the past four years is Trump's legacy, not that of the Republican party.
ii. The likes of Ted Cruz, Lindsay Graham think they have to stay loyal to Trump so as not to disengage his followers. But, Trump's followers -- as distinct from Republican voters -- are probably going to abandon him anyway.
They marched on the Capitol as he directed, tried to "take back the steal", but when things went wrong their glorious leader deserted them.
A lot of them now are facing criminal charges, having to pay for their own lawyers to defend them. They get to watch the billionaire disavow them after they pledged loyalty to him. They get to watch him afford the sort of legal talent they cannot to get him off the hook. And, no pardons for any of these people unlike the 'elites' -- Trumps loyalists and goons who were convicted but then freed by Trump.
I suspect that a lot of Trump supporters are going to come around to their senses, and realize what a disloyal self-serving douchebag the guy was.
So, Cruz and co, are trying to appeal to a group of people who will soon be very pissed with Trump. The Trump brand will be toxic and the savvy politicians will distance themselves from it.
The Republicans have only won the popular vote once in the last eight elections. It's only through the peculiarities of the Electoral College that they have formed government. And, demographics and time are working against them in the swing states.
They need to stop being short-term stupid and learn to play the long game.