One of the most interesting political divides of the Trump era is that between long-time Republicans who strongly support Donald Trump, and those who have been in the group of so-called “Never Trump” conservatives. This schism has gotten fair amount of media attention over the last couple of years, but, as a “member” of the latter faction, it appears that no one has really fully explained the real dynamic at play here.

The conventional wisdom, especially among Trump fans, is that “Never Trump” conservatives have “lost” because Trump is not only president, but because his administration has supposedly not been nearly the disaster many of those on my side feared and predicted (I do wonder how many more firings/resignations it will take to reach that standard). They still, maybe more than ever, openly and gleefully ridicule “Never Trumpers” as losers, traitors, wimps, liberals, Hillary enablers, sell-outs, and poor prognosticators, who suffer from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and root for bad things to happen to America.

I will be the first to admit that the “Never Trump” position is very unpopular within the Republican ranks, and that this has probably never been more the case than it is currently. However, the idea that popularity or short-term objectives were ever anywhere near the core concerns of those conservatives who oppose Trump is just part of the series of gross misconceptions which Trump fans have about the vast majority of us.