Acquiescence to the controversial president is now the defining feature of the GOP as the 2020 campaign begins to kick into gear.
President Trump gestures at the Conservative Political Action Conference annual meeting at National Harbor on Saturday. By Robert Costa Robert Costa National political reporter covering the White House, Congress and campaigns Email Bio Follow March 2 at 4:24 PM When President Trump’s longtime fixer Michael Cohen testified last week that his former boss was a “racist” and “con man” who routinely skirts the law, Republicans showed little interest in following up on his claims.
Trump’s ownership of the GOP was on vivid display again Saturday, when the president appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, an annual gathering that has transformed into a raucous celebration of Trump, featuring propaganda-style art and a speaker who declared that the president was “chosen by God.”
In interviews over the past week, Republicans on Capitol Hill offered an array of reasons for their unflinching loyalty to Trump as the 2020 campaign begins to take shape: a deep-seated fear of his pull with their supporters in primary races; fraying consensus about conservatism as nationalism takes hold of the party; and shared partisan disdain for Trump’s perceived enemies in the news media and the Democratic Party.
“They fetishize this nonconservative in the Oval because it’s tribal,” said Mike Murphy, a veteran GOP strategist and Trump critic. “It’s us versus them, we’re right and they’re evil, and it’s created this Trump cult that dominates the party.” Nonetheless, most Republicans backed Trump’s move last month, seeing it as a political exit ramp for the president as he flailed during the latest shutdown fight. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Trump not to do it, only to eventually accept it. When House Democrats forced a vote Tuesday on legislation to overturn Trump’s declaration, just 6 percent of House Republicans dared to break publicly with Trump.
But Trump had an ominous warning for those GOP critics in an interview last week with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity: “I think they put themselves at great jeopardy.” Any high-profile voices in the party objecting to Trump are increasingly scattered or silent, while the “Never Trump” faction from the 2016 campaign has all but fallen into obscurity.
The Republican National Committee, led by Romney niece and Trump ally Ronna McDaniel, is using aggressive measures to stave off any possible primary threat. RNC members passed a resolution giving Trump the party’s “undivided support” and effectively merged with Trump’s campaign.
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