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What I genuinely don’t understand: Hawley, Cruz, &c seem to think that whichever of them shows the most fealty to Trump can inherit the mantle of Trumpism. But Trump will never bless them as his successor; the point of Trumpism is that it’s about *Trump*. /1
If he’s ever going to pass the baton to anyone, it will be one of his children. And I’m not sure he’d even be willing to let them steal the limelight. Essentially every politician who has tried to make a devil’s bargain with Trump has ended up paying for it in the end. /2
And however much part of the R base loves Trump...the public as a whole doesn’t. Shouldn’t smarter R politicians be trying to position themselves whatever will come after Trump, rather than trying to please a defeated 1-term president? /3
Instead, they’re just running across the field to where the ball was three minutes ago. First they were chasing the Tea Party, now it’s Trumpism; who knows what fad they’ll be chasing next. /4
Genuinely brave and smart politicians would be making a gamble about where the country will be in a few years, and hoping that Trump isn’t still calling the shots for the party. If he is, I don’t see much room for Cruz, Hawley, etc, no matter what. /5
Moreover, what reason is there to think that Trumpism will dictate the winner of the next presidential primary? Has the defeated previous president/candidate ever retained control over a party for that long? /6
Sure, Trumpism is unprecedented. But I’d be betting that the country as a whole, and R primary voters too, will have different concerns in 3-4 years than they do at this exact moment. R Senators might be wise to reflect on that. /end
