Where do Republicans really stand?

[Tekken_Guy]

Are congressional Republicans standing with Trump, only breaking to appease anti-Trump people, or do they really stand against him but stay in line out of fear of his supporters?

[GeorgiaModerate]

This is too complex for a binary question.  Some are undoubtedly die-hard supporters of everything Trump does.  Others may oppose him on some policies and support him on others, or dislike him on character grounds while favoring most of his policies.  But yes, many of those who oppose him on any ground are afraid to say so for fear of being primaried.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

With Trump, obviously.

The Republican Party has spent decades cultivating racism and bigotry, catering to ignorance, championing the invented causes of fake Christian zealots, and undermining freedom and democracy, all while enabling the absolute worst capitalism and America has to offer. Sure, Trump came along and stole their zombies and colored over their sacred texts in crayon to found his cult, but only a very select few of them actually resent it. The overwhelming majority of them are just fine with Trump as their prophet.

[Progressive Pessimist]

With Trump, obviously.

The Republican Party has spent decades cultivating racism and bigotry, catering to ignorance, championing the invented causes of fake Christian zealots, and undermining freedom and democracy, all while enabling the absolute worst capitalism and America has to offer. Sure, Trump came along and stole their zombies and colored over their sacred texts in crayon to found his cult, but only a very select few of them actually resent it. The overwhelming majority of them are just fine with Trump as their prophet.

As usual, Ghost of Ruin distills it pretty efficiently.

[junior chįmp]

They dont stand as they are too busy on their knees for Trump

[Panda Express]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

[junior chįmp]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

This is great news as it shows how utterly screwed the GOP is. Nobody votes GOP except old racists who will ignore the 2012 autopsy calling for a ''more open'' Republican Party.

The GOP made its bed decades ago and now they've been force to lay in it. Gerald Ford was pro-choice and was pro-gay rights and one of the earliest ex-presidents to call for gay marriage but the Reagan Republican fraudsters decided to team up with the Evangelical fraudsters and they've gotten nothing but a giant turd sandwich. Good riddance!

3 decades of Republican politicians enjoying the benefits of right-wing demagoguery on TV and radio but now its come to bite them in the ass. They can no longer run on right-wing clownfoonery like they used to it and it pisses them off

[IceSpear]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

This is great news as it shows how utterly screwed the GOP is. Nobody votes GOP except old racists who will ignore the 2012 autopsy calling for a ''more open'' Republican Party.

The GOP made its bed decades ago and now they've been force to lay in it. Gerald Ford was pro-choice and was pro-gay rights and one of the earliest ex-presidents to call for gay marriage but the Reagan Republican fraudsters decided to team up with the Evangelical fraudsters and they've gotten nothing but a giant turd sandwich. Good riddance!

3 decades of Republican politicians enjoying the benefits of right-wing demagoguery on TV and radio but now its come to bite them in the ass. They can no longer run on right-wing clownfoonery like they used to it and it pisses them off

Lol, even if the GOP gets wiped out in 2018 and/or 2020, they'll bounce right back in 2022. Trump will be a distant memory then. Such is the nature of American politics.

And I'm being very generous with "wiped out" anyway, considering they have a hard floor of like 45% of the vote.

[junior chįmp]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

This is great news as it shows how utterly screwed the GOP is. Nobody votes GOP except old racists who will ignore the 2012 autopsy calling for a ''more open'' Republican Party.

The GOP made its bed decades ago and now they've been force to lay in it. Gerald Ford was pro-choice and was pro-gay rights and one of the earliest ex-presidents to call for gay marriage but the Reagan Republican fraudsters decided to team up with the Evangelical fraudsters and they've gotten nothing but a giant turd sandwich. Good riddance!

3 decades of Republican politicians enjoying the benefits of right-wing demagoguery on TV and radio but now its come to bite them in the ass. They can no longer run on right-wing clownfoonery like they used to it and it pisses them off

Lol, even if the GOP gets wiped out in 2018 and/or 2020, they'll bounce right back in 2022 when Trump will be a distant memory. Such is the nature of American politics.

And I'm being very generous with "wiped out" anyway, considering they have a hard floor of like 45% of the vote.

They really wont. American politics is all about demographics and the GOP knows this which is why they act so desperate. The GOP just doesn't have the demographics to sustain victories over to 2022. The future of American politics looks alot like the Massachusetts legislature and not like Texas.

[Kodak]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

This is great news as it shows how utterly screwed the GOP is. Nobody votes GOP except old racists who will ignore the 2012 autopsy calling for a ''more open'' Republican Party.

The GOP made its bed decades ago and now they've been force to lay in it. Gerald Ford was pro-choice and was pro-gay rights and one of the earliest ex-presidents to call for gay marriage but the Reagan Republican fraudsters decided to team up with the Evangelical fraudsters and they've gotten nothing but a giant turd sandwich. Good riddance!

3 decades of Republican politicians enjoying the benefits of right-wing demagoguery on TV and radio but now its come to bite them in the ass. They can no longer run on right-wing clownfoonery like they used to it and it pisses them off

Lol, even if the GOP gets wiped out in 2018 and/or 2020, they'll bounce right back in 2022 when Trump will be a distant memory. Such is the nature of American politics.

And I'm being very generous with "wiped out" anyway, considering they have a hard floor of like 45% of the vote.

They really wont. American politics is all about demographics and the GOP knows this which is why they act so desperate. The GOP just doesn't have the demographics to sustain victories over to 2022. The future of American politics looks alot like the Massachusetts legislature and not like Texas.

What most likely happens is what happened in the past- the Democrats win big, New Republican candidates start to moderate or shift left on a number of issues, the Democrats split along their biggest fault, and then we depolarize.

[IceSpear]

Dave Wasserman recently reported that many Republicans vent about Trump in private/off the record. But their rationale becomes

1.) Trump is a disgrace.
2.) I give fiery press conferrnce tomorrow saying that.
3.) Nothing changes, Trump remains nuts and remains POTUS.
4.) A nut beats me in next primary. So how does my political suicide help?

Why do you think a record number of Republicans are retiring? Surely, if there was “winning” going on, these people wouldn’t be retiring en masse.

This is great news as it shows how utterly screwed the GOP is. Nobody votes GOP except old racists who will ignore the 2012 autopsy calling for a ''more open'' Republican Party.

The GOP made its bed decades ago and now they've been force to lay in it. Gerald Ford was pro-choice and was pro-gay rights and one of the earliest ex-presidents to call for gay marriage but the Reagan Republican fraudsters decided to team up with the Evangelical fraudsters and they've gotten nothing but a giant turd sandwich. Good riddance!

3 decades of Republican politicians enjoying the benefits of right-wing demagoguery on TV and radio but now its come to bite them in the ass. They can no longer run on right-wing clownfoonery like they used to it and it pisses them off

Lol, even if the GOP gets wiped out in 2018 and/or 2020, they'll bounce right back in 2022 when Trump will be a distant memory. Such is the nature of American politics.

And I'm being very generous with "wiped out" anyway, considering they have a hard floor of like 45% of the vote.

They really wont. American politics is all about demographics and the GOP knows this which is why they act so desperate. The GOP just doesn't have the demographics to sustain victories over to 2022. The future of American politics looks alot like the Massachusetts legislature and not like Texas.

Yeah we heard the same thing after 2006/2008. Didn't quite turn out that way. And Bush was far more toxic than Trump is.

"Demographics is destiny" was supposed to ensure Hillary's victory and also ensure a Republican would never run simply on trying to max out the white vote like Romney did (lol) ever again. Oops.

Also that the Dems were doomed after 2004. And 2016. And countless other times. There's simply no way that in a heavily polarized two party system like the US that a single party is going to keep power indefinitely. The GOP will gain votes simply due to being the only alternative for our schizophrenic "swing voters", regardless of the magical "demographics." When the Democrats inevitably screw up and/or voters inevitably get tired of them, which these days seems to happen within a few months of anyone being elected, there's only one party available to reap the rewards. It's a zero sum game.

[junior chįmp]

Yeah we heard the same thing after 2006/2008. Didn't quite turn out that way. And Bush was far more toxic than Trump is.

"Demographics is destiny" was supposed to ensure Hillary's victory and also ensure a Republican would never run simply on trying to max out the white vote like Romney did (lol) ever again. Oops.

Also that the Dems were doomed after 2004. And 2016. And countless other times. There's simply no way that in a heavily polarized two party system like the US that a single party is going to keep power indefinitely. The GOP will gain votes simply due to being the only alternative for our schizophrenic "swing voters", regardless of the magical "demographics." When the Democrats inevitably screw up and/or voters inevitably get tired of them, which these days seems to happen within a few months of anyone being elected, there's only one party available to reap the rewards. It's a zero sum game.

'
I can understand the skepticism but while its true that Demographics couldn't carry Hillary over in 2016...after a certain point they simply do. Ask yourself...is the Republican Party acting like a party that is sure of its future? Nope...they know the end is near and they are trying to get a SCOTUS that will grandfather their failed ideology and dying religion for a decade or two.

The Demographic calls after Obama in 2008 were premature just like the calls after Nixon 1972 about the South were....but irrespective, we are getting close to a time where the GOP just cant win elections.

[Virginiá]

Yeah we heard the same thing after 2006/2008. Didn't quite turn out that way. And Bush was far more toxic than Trump is.

"Demographics is destiny" was supposed to ensure Hillary's victory and also ensure a Republican would never run simply on trying to max out the white vote like Romney did (lol) ever again. Oops.

Also that the Dems were doomed after 2004. And 2016. And countless other times. There's simply no way that in a heavily polarized two party system like the US that a single party is going to keep power indefinitely. The GOP will gain votes simply due to being the only alternative for our schizophrenic "swing voters", regardless of the magical "demographics." When the Democrats inevitably screw up and/or voters inevitably get tired of them, which these days seems to happen within a few months of anyone being elected, there's only one party available to reap the rewards. It's a zero sum game.

I don't know how other people interpret demographics=destiny for Democrats, but I tend to interpret it as the country's default majority party shifting away from Republicans. That means, for instance, that Republicans will no longer be the "default" majority party in the US House, as has been since 1994. It would mean that Republicans would have to do better than just a neutral year to win control of that chamber. It doesn't mean the GOP as a party is literally destroyed.

The idea that Republicans will always have their current level of control should be just as bad as how you perceive the demographics=destiny argument. I don't understand why the idea that Democrats are gaining more voters than Republicans long-term, and building a sustainable base of support among young people, many of whom will carry that support well into their adulthood, is so hard to believe. It seems absurd to me to look at what has been happening with the Republican Party, and to conclude that they are building a sustainable coalition for the future. Consolidating support among old voters pretty much by definition means their power is limited by those people's ages, as Republicans will have a lot of difficulty turning retiring Millennials into a reliable Republican base of support. These people will grow into old age with pretty stark memories of a Republican Party they hated, and who dragged this country in a bad direction for decades.

The only issue I see is that people have often been too quick to jump on the idea that demographics has finally neutered the GOP. It doesn't make the GOP's demographic issue any less real, it just means people are constantly too quick to say when it will finally materialize beyond the thoughts of analysts and demographers.

[IceSpear]

Yeah we heard the same thing after 2006/2008. Didn't quite turn out that way. And Bush was far more toxic than Trump is.

"Demographics is destiny" was supposed to ensure Hillary's victory and also ensure a Republican would never run simply on trying to max out the white vote like Romney did (lol) ever again. Oops.

Also that the Dems were doomed after 2004. And 2016. And countless other times. There's simply no way that in a heavily polarized two party system like the US that a single party is going to keep power indefinitely. The GOP will gain votes simply due to being the only alternative for our schizophrenic "swing voters", regardless of the magical "demographics." When the Democrats inevitably screw up and/or voters inevitably get tired of them, which these days seems to happen within a few months of anyone being elected, there's only one party available to reap the rewards. It's a zero sum game.

I don't know how other people interpret demographics=destiny for Democrats, but I tend to interpret it as the country's default majority party shifting away from Republicans. That means, for instance, that Republicans will no longer be the "default" majority party in the US House, as has been since 1994. It would mean that Republicans would have to do better than just a neutral year to win control of that chamber. It doesn't mean the GOP as a party is literally destroyed.

The idea that Republicans will always have their current level of control should be just as bad as how you perceive the demographics=destiny argument. I don't understand why the idea that Democrats are gaining more voters than Republicans long-term, and building a sustainable base of support among young people, many of whom will carry that support well into their adulthood, is so hard to believe. It seems absurd to me to look at what has been happening with the Republican Party, and to conclude that they are building a sustainable coalition for the future. Consolidating support among old voters pretty much by definition means their power is limited by those people's ages, as Republicans will have a lot of difficulty turning retiring Millennials into a reliable Republican base of support. These people will grow into old age with pretty stark memories of a Republican Party they hated, and who dragged this country in a bad direction for decades.

The only issue I see is that people have often been too quick to jump on the idea that demographics has finally neutered the GOP. It doesn't make the GOP's demographic issue any less real, it just means people are constantly too quick to say when it will finally materialize beyond the thoughts of analysts and demographers.

Are the Republicans even the default majority party now? I'm skeptical of that claim. In the past five presidential elections the Democrats have had one big victory, one moderate sized victory, one small loss, and two technical losses solely due to a combination of bad luck and an outdated archaic electoral college system. If anything this suggests the Democrats are the default majority party in terms of popular support.

Their control of Congress? Their advantage is inflated by gerrymandering (i.e. election rigging) and favorable midterm years.  When Obama won, even though he won big, the pendulum swung against the Democrats and swept in Republicans. Just as I said in the initial post, this is what happens. Were voters in love with the Republicans then? They just gave them a massive slaughter, by even more than the presidential election margin, 2 short years ago. And the previous Republican president was sitting in the 20s. But it didn't matter. The only way to express frustration with Obama and the Democrats for the schizophrenic "swing voters" was to vote Republican. They benefitted despite doing NOTHING to deserve it, all they did was obstruct and pander to their insane Tea Party base. This was exacerbated even worse by the turnout gap, as these days midterms seem to just be a way for the losers of the previous presidential election to punch above their weight and deliver a rebuke to the president most never even voted for to begin with. Basically, the current state of the country is ~45% locked in partisan hacks on both sides, with the remaining ~10% "swing voters" vascillating based off "partisan fatigue" or shallow factors like a candidate's haircut or "charisma." Many of those ~10% will vote for whoever the other option is because "it's time for change", regardless of what kind of change it is. Meanwhile, sore loser McCain/Romney/Hillary voters, in disproportionate influence, join these numbskulls in voting against the incumbent party. And thus a midterm wave is born.

I think you might have misinterpreted my argument. I don't think the GOP will always maintain this level of control. I think the Dems will win the House this year, and Trump could easily lose in 2020 as well. A Dem trifecta by 2021 is clearly possible. But I see nothing that is going to change the fundamental dynamic of this current setup any time soon. Even if the demographics do eventually catch up to the GOP, it's not going to be any time soon. Decades down the line? Maybe. But as you said, it is far too often portrayed as if the GOP's extinction is imminent.

[Pyro]

As long as Trump continues to sign off on legislation like the tax cut, they will stand with him.

[twenty42]

Yeah we heard the same thing after 2006/2008. Didn't quite turn out that way. And Bush was far more toxic than Trump is.

"Demographics is destiny" was supposed to ensure Hillary's victory and also ensure a Republican would never run simply on trying to max out the white vote like Romney did (lol) ever again. Oops.

Also that the Dems were doomed after 2004. And 2016. And countless other times. There's simply no way that in a heavily polarized two party system like the US that a single party is going to keep power indefinitely. The GOP will gain votes simply due to being the only alternative for our schizophrenic "swing voters", regardless of the magical "demographics." When the Democrats inevitably screw up and/or voters inevitably get tired of them, which these days seems to happen within a few months of anyone being elected, there's only one party available to reap the rewards. It's a zero sum game.

I don't know how other people interpret demographics=destiny for Democrats, but I tend to interpret it as the country's default majority party shifting away from Republicans. That means, for instance, that Republicans will no longer be the "default" majority party in the US House, as has been since 1994. It would mean that Republicans would have to do better than just a neutral year to win control of that chamber. It doesn't mean the GOP as a party is literally destroyed.

The idea that Republicans will always have their current level of control should be just as bad as how you perceive the demographics=destiny argument. I don't understand why the idea that Democrats are gaining more voters than Republicans long-term, and building a sustainable base of support among young people, many of whom will carry that support well into their adulthood, is so hard to believe. It seems absurd to me to look at what has been happening with the Republican Party, and to conclude that they are building a sustainable coalition for the future. Consolidating support among old voters pretty much by definition means their power is limited by those people's ages, as Republicans will have a lot of difficulty turning retiring Millennials into a reliable Republican base of support. These people will grow into old age with pretty stark memories of a Republican Party they hated, and who dragged this country in a bad direction for decades.

The only issue I see is that people have often been too quick to jump on the idea that demographics has finally neutered the GOP. It doesn't make the GOP's demographic issue any less real, it just means people are constantly too quick to say when it will finally materialize beyond the thoughts of analysts and demographers.

Are the Republicans even the default majority party now? I'm skeptical of that claim. In the past five presidential elections the Democrats have had one big victory, one moderate sized victory, one small loss, and two technical losses solely due to a combination of bad luck and an outdated archaic electoral college system. If anything this suggests the Democrats are the default majority party in terms of popular support.

Their control of Congress? Their advantage is inflated by gerrymandering (i.e. election rigging) and favorable midterm years.  When Obama won, even though he won big, the pendulum swung against the Democrats and swept in Republicans. Just as I said in the initial post, this is what happens. Were voters in love with the Republicans then? They just gave them a massive slaughter, by even more than the presidential election margin, 2 short years ago. And the previous Republican president was sitting in the 20s. But it didn't matter. The only way to express frustration with Obama and the Democrats for the schizophrenic "swing voters" was to vote Republican. They benefitted despite doing NOTHING to deserve it, all they did was obstruct and pander to their insane Tea Party base. This was exacerbated even worse by the turnout gap, as these days midterms seem to just be a way for the losers of the previous presidential election to punch above their weight and deliver a rebuke to the president most never even voted for to begin with. Basically, the current state of the country is ~45% locked in partisan hacks on both sides, with the remaining ~10% "swing voters" vascillating based off "partisan fatigue" or shallow factors like a candidate's haircut or "charisma." Many of those ~10% will vote for whoever the other option is because "it's time for change", regardless of what kind of change it is. Meanwhile, sore loser McCain/Romney/Hillary voters, in disproportionate influence, join these numbskulls in voting against the incumbent party. And thus a midterm wave is born.

I think you might have misinterpreted my argument. I don't think the GOP will always maintain this level of control. I think the Dems will win the House this year, and Trump could easily lose in 2020 as well. A Dem trifecta by 2021 is clearly possible. But I see nothing that is going to change the fundamental dynamic of this current setup any time soon. Even if the demographics do eventually catch up to the GOP, it's not going to be any time soon. Decades down the line? Maybe. But as you said, it is far too often portrayed as if the GOP's extinction is imminent.

The problem here is that once you hit the trifecta, you set Republicans up for a comeback. As you correctly stated in an earlier post, Americans tend to get fed up with the party in power after five minutes. If Dems win in 2018 and 2020, I think Republicans sweep in 2022 and the White House is tossup at best in 2024.

The 2020 election might be even more of a poisoned chalice than 2016. If a Dem gets elected president and then the economy tanks at some point in 2021, we could see a reverse 1930-32 in 2022-24. I doubt that either party is headed for a demise anytime soon.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

They stand with Trump, due to McConnell's leadership

[Inmate Trump]

They stand with Trump, and while it will benefit them in the short term, they are damned in the long term.

They're on top now, but as soon as they're on the bottom, they will ditch Trump and his policies the same way they ditched both Bush's.

[DINGO Joe]

They stand about ball high to Trump.

[TJ in Oregon]

Are congressional Republicans standing with Trump, only breaking to appease anti-Trump people, or do they really stand against him but stay in line out of fear of his supporters?

Most of them secretly hate Trump for making their lives a whole lot harder, but are appeasing him in order not to lose reelection. Trump's narrative that won him the nomination included that the GOP establishment was corrupt and sold out to special interests (corporate donations, DC jobs for their friends, etc.) and not actually interested in implementing the platform they were elected upon. So if they jump en masse to disavow Trump, the general conclusion the Republican base would come to is that they're corrupt and deserve to lose. So they're pretending to like Trump and will implement his will most of the time in order to get reelected.

[pbrower2a]

As long as Trump continues to sign off on legislation like the tax cut, they will stand with him.

Yes. As long as others get hurt and they can derive some profit or indulgence from it they will be happy. Making opponents miserable is a successful strategy for Republicans -- to a point. That point is 50% disapproval, against which there are far too few strategies other than fraud and intimidation with which to win. 

[here2view]

With Trump. I have friends that voted for him, one of which think's he's a "dumbass" but view him as better than the alternative (the Democrats.)

I think there are a lot of Republicans who are willing to put up with the headaches from him in order to get some policies enacted.

[twenty42]

With Trump. I have friends that voted for him, one of which think's he's a "dumbass" but view him as better than the alternative (the Democrats.)

I think there are a lot of Republicans who are willing to put up with the headaches from him in order to get some policies enacted.

These voters will be the ones who break the Democrats’ hearts in 2020, as they wonder how he outperforms his approval rating by five points in the NPV.

[Calthrina950]

With Trump. I have friends that voted for him, one of which think's he's a "dumbass" but view him as better than the alternative (the Democrats.)

I think there are a lot of Republicans who are willing to put up with the headaches from him in order to get some policies enacted.

These voters will be the ones who break the Democrats’ hearts in 2020, as they wonder how he outperforms his approval rating by five points in the NPV.

This point is very true. 2016 proved that approval ratings do not necessarily equal percentages of the vote. I honestly think that the 2020 election is a tossup at this point, and that Trump could very well win again in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. Many Republicans don't like Trump personally, but his policy views align much more closely with theirs than do those of the Democrats.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I think they are doing a mostly respectable job of mitigating his weaknesses. A Republican majority with a swing bloc of anti-Trump Rs, like we have now, is my ideal Congress. They bring the president in line with orthodox policy on most issues.

This, more or less.

Regular Republicans of both stripes (Establishment and Movement Conservatives) don't like Trump, and they resent his hostile takeover of the GOP Presidential Nominating Apparatus.  But they've gotten most of what they want, and what they really wanted (total repeal of Obamacare) was blocked by John McCain, and not Trump.  As much as they may hate Trump, personally, and find him a loose cannon, they've gotten most of what they want, and that really can't be overstated.  Trump isn't like Jimmy Carter was to McGovern liberals; he's not half a Republican in the way Carter seemed to be half a Democrat.  The tariffs are a big deal to them, but most of them probably believe that they can get Trump to come around on that issue over time (declare victory in the trade war and go back to the previous arrangements), and they realize that the base is with Trump on immigration, even if they aren't.

Rest assured, however, that there's no personal loyalty here.  The whole of the GOP will turn on Trump to save themselves if it comes to that.  He's far from out of the woods in terms of a serious primary challenge in 2020; Flake and Kasich are ready to go and would actually make a good team in some respects.  Trump and the GOP have a relationship based on "mutual using"; each will use the other until the other is used up.