Friederdorf’s analysis also relies too much on the notion that Trump is one-of-a-kind. Observers have long debated whether Trump is the culmination of decades of conservative culture warfare or something new and more dangerous. The best answer is probably “both.” Trump might be uniquely awful, but his awfulness has acted as a catalyst for the entire Republican Party to become more extreme. GOP candidates now routinely make allegations of election fraud, while stalwart conservatives like Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) have been all but exiled from the party for their insufficient fealty to the former president. Even if Trump disappeared from the scene tomorrow, he has reshaped the GOP in his own image.

It doesn’t seem likely that principled conservatives can reverse or much slow that process by backing a Trump-lite candidate like DeSantis. It also doesn’t seem possible for any candidate to oust Trump himself: Nearly 80 percent of Republicans want him to run for president again, which he will almost certainly do. You have to feel sympathy for the Never-Trump Republicans who find themselves politically homeless — neither fully Democrat nor Republican. But it won’t be Ron DeSantis who leads them out of the wilderness.