As Ryan considers how best to preserve his dignity from the threat of Trump, it’s important to remember that while Trump has outwitted and beaten a lot of people through the course of this campaign, he has stripped only the dignity from people who surrendered it willingly — plus Jeb Bush:

Nobody forced Marco Rubio to perform a pale imitation of Trump in his speeches, or to insinuate that Trump had a small penis. And it’s not Trump’s fault that, 30 years from now, when Rubio is a retired lobbyist, his grandchildren will still be making fun of him for it.

It’s not Trump’s fault that Ted Cruz chose to spend six months, from June to December, sucking up to Trump, in hopes that this would cause Trump to attack him last.

Trump did not force Chris Christie to become his hostage-surrogate, a man to be paraded on stage and told to lay off the Oreos. For that matter, Trump may someday be able to give Christie a cabinet appointment, but he will be powerless to restore Christie’s dignity.

Trump is not responsible for the fact that Mitt Romney was thirsty enough for Trump’s endorsement in 2012 that he declared himself less successful in business than Trump. “Being in Donald Trump’s magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight,” Romney said entirely voluntarily in 2012, leaving his dignity behind to be stored in a safe-deposit box at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. “I’m so honored and pleased.”