Trump’s a Republican Now
Whatever Trump’s true ideological predilections, there’s no place for him to go.
By Rich Lowry
June 14, 2017
Donald Trump, the erstwhile Democrat, independent and member of the Reform Party, finally has a fixed partisan identity.
The president may be besieged, unpopular and prone to lashing out self-destructively, but all of this cements his bond to his party rather than erodes it. Commentators who ask wishfully and plaintively, “When will Republicans dump Trump and save themselves?” are missing the point: Trump’s weakness makes him more Republican than ever before.
It was possible to imagine Trump, with a head of steam after his upset victory in November, cowing swamp-dwelling Republicans and wooing infrastructure-loving, anti-trade Democrats into supporting a populist congressional agenda. Maybe this was always a pipe dream given the instantaneous rise of the #resistance against him. But this scenario would have required a strong, focused president marshaling his popularity and driving Congress.
more
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/14/lowry-hes-a-republican-now-215265