Republicans may come to regret their silence on Trump

This is just one illustration of the Republican dilemma. The president divides the Right while he unifies the Left. Praise Trump on his controversial statements and you risk alienating suburban Republicans, particularly women. Criticize Trump and you risk not only his wrath, but also the wrath of the portion of his base that demands rhetorical fealty to Trump in all things. Because this constituency has disproportionate influence in conservative media and GOP primaries, the safest course of action is often silence, or some clever dodge like, “I don’t respond to tweets.”

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The GOP has created a kind of collective-action problem for itself. By making these individual decisions out of self-interest in the moment, the party as a whole ends up getting pulled in a direction not of its own choosing.

Voters don’t judge parties on their lists of principles, but on their real-world priorities. Not objecting to something sends as clear a signal as objecting does. It’s fun to listen to Republicans vent off the record, but most Americans don’t get to hear any of that. They do hear the silence, however.

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