Frank Rich is money when it comes to using his encyclopedic knowledge of political literature, theater, and cinema to put Trumpism in its proper place in the American tradition. I also like the concise phrasing he uses here:
Republican potentates can’t fight back against him because the party’s base has his back. He’s ensnared the GOP Establishment in a classic Catch-22: It wants Trump voters — it can’t win elections without them — but doesn’t want Trump calling attention to what those voters actually believe.
I’ve seen a lot of fairly moderate Republicans who are uncomfortable with both Trump and the excesses of the far right pussyfooting around this core conundrum. And what I always wonder is if there is a point, or where that point might be for each individual, where getting what they want politically just isn’t worth having to associate with the Republican base.