Trump and the GOP Establishment Are Falling Out of Love (barf)

Intelligencer ^ | Aug 1, 2020 | Eric Levitz

[where's_the_Outrage?]

The marriage between Donald Trump and the Republican Establishment was born of convenience not love. The buttoned-up, Burke-quoting worshippers of Mammon (and/or white patriarchal Jesus) who occupy the commanding heights of American conservatism didn’t get into bed with a gauche, grimy Clinton donor until it saw no better way to move up in the world.

In January 2016, National Review spoke for most of the GOP’s old guard when it declared Trump “a menace to American conservatism.

But once in office, it enabled the Heritage Foundation and Koch Network to dictate the lion’s share of the administration regulatory policies and legislative priorities — without any interference from presidential pollsters who might wish to balance conservatives’ ideological objectives against public opinion.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Amazing how they have no understanding, it was not a marriage of convenience, it was a hostile taken over to get back America.

And more so the elitists (e.g. Bushies) hate Trump because he is proving you don't have to be part of the the elite to fix America.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

They were never in love, it was a one-night stand.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

GOP Establishment = Never Trumpers

[rktman]

Trump. GOPelite. love. Those have never gone together. Somebody be lyin’. Or day drinkin’.

[tennmountainman]

What matters is Trump still has his voters. That’s what counts.

[KarlInOhio]

It was a shotgun wedding with the American people holding the shotgun.

[Alberta's Child]

Trump is not a Republican. He’s an independent nationalist who ran on the Republican ticket to get elected.

[mass55th]

The GOP elite doesn’t love anyone but themselves. They are users only...nothing reciprocal.

[Chgogal]

When were the in love?

[bigbob]

Trump OWNS the GOP. What’s left is butthurt Nevertrumpers.

[LeoTDB69]

What has changed?

In 2016, the GOPe/neverTrumpers were willing to vote 3rd party to attempt to deny Trump.
In 2020, some are now ready to go full commie to stop Trump.

If anything, Trump trusted too many of them early on, setting some enemies in important posts.

[escapefromboston]

The GOP “old guard” were palecons who got kicked out of the party and they seemingly mostly supported Trump. After William F Buckley passed away his magazine became largely useless. The GOP elites /NeoCons were never really conservatives in the first place, they were just Democrats ten years in the past.

[Cronos]

Trump was a Clinton donor?!?

[gov_bean_ counter]

They never were in love. It was a shotgun wedding.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

Wow, nothing gets by Eric. (snarky sarcasm)

[JBW1949]

A face not even a mother could love....

[SaxxonWoods]

“They were never in love, it was a one-night stand.”

Right. In more coarse days, it was called a “Mexican Standoff”.

[JerseyDvl]

It’s a ridiculous premise because the old school GOP has always been trying to stab Trump in the back. It was “we the people” who forced this upon them and they are still kicking and screaming like temper tantrum throwing children.
See McCain, Romney, Bush, Powell and all the neocons who have chosen wrong and suffered great financial loss as a result.

[Cobra64]

Trump’s biggest misstep is trusting Fauci.

[Dr. Sivana]

Trump was a Clinton donor?!?

I know he was a Ted Kennedy donor. It is one of the conflicts I had to resolve, along with his having once been a Democrat (and not quite the way Reagan had been) and describing himself as "Pro-Choice".

President Trump is a businessman who did big deals in construction in NYC and other large cities. To get the job done, he had to pay unsavory people as surely as we have to pay property taxes that go for horrible uses and often to horrible people.

I would not have made those decisions, but others more pure than I can point out my compromises with Mammon over the years. His performance in office more than erased my doubts, and I know he is the best man for the job right now.