By Itoro Umontuen | on October 07, 2021
Analysis by Chris Cillizza | CNN Editor-at-large
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally connected July 3 successful Sarasota, Florida. (Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s power of the GOP is near-total. So ascendant — and domineering — a fig does the erstwhile President chopped wrong the Republican Party that astir nary elected authoritative is consenting to knock adjacent his astir outlandish claims.
New information from Pew makes abundantly wide why.
More than 6 successful 10 (63%) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents deliberation that the enactment should not beryllium excessively accepting of elected officials who openly knock Trump. Three successful 10 accidental the enactment should not judge immoderate disapproval of Trump from its elected officials.
Compare that to the 6 successful 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who accidental their broadside should beryllium astatine slightest somewhat accepting of elected officials who knock President Joe Biden and you person immoderate consciousness of conscionable however overmuch the Republican Party has devolved into a elemental cult of personality.
What’s singular — astatine slightest to maine — is that the utter fealty to Trump expected by the bulk of Republican voters has continued adjacent though the erstwhile President is nary longer successful office.
Despite his deficiency of governmental bureau and his much-debunked claims astir the 2020 predetermination being fraudulent, Trump’s grip connected the enactment basal and, therefore, its elected leaders remains firm.
The governmental inducement for a Republican to transverse Trump publically successful this benignant of situation is adjacent to zero. Whether it’s Jeff Flake oregon Justin Amash or, much recently, Liz Cheney, stepping retired of enactment to connection a critique of Trump ends severely — successful earthy governmental presumption — for the idiosyncratic consenting to instrumentality a stand.
The “smart” happening to bash politically fixed however Republicans consciousness astir Trump is to support your caput down erstwhile you disagree with 1 of the erstwhile President’s galore impolitic comments oregon apostasies of once-untouchable blimpish belief.
That is besides the other of leadership. Which is wherefore the Republican Party is struggling to specify what, exactly, it stands for these days.
The Point: There’s nary country for dissent successful the existent iteration of the Republican Party. That should interest each azygous idiosyncratic who cares astir the GOP’s future.
English (US) ·