The conventional wisdom in Washington is still that Republicans go along with him because they fear him and his base. No. They go along with him because they like what he does. First, because he has no policy mind of his own, so he’ll just do what they say. And second, because they love the way he seeks to delegitimize liberals, blacks, Democrats. They don’t have the stones to do it as openly as he does, but they love that he does it.

But once either or both of those quit being true, the love affair is over. So while he’s not going to change, if he were somehow to change, the GOP would not change with him. Then, the congressional party would fight him, and enough of his base would lose the spirit.

Which means that the soul-crushing situation we’re in is not just about Trump. It’s about the party that birthed him and made him president and called his leadership “exquisite.” You understand nothing about this era if you don’t understand this.