Yet that does not particularly reflect poorly on Trump’s influence within the party. Democrats have been meddling in GOP primaries, sure. But such meddling only works to the extent that there is a demand among the Republican primary electorate for the kind of candidates who brandish their loyalty to Trump and perpetuate the “stolen election” narrative.

Furthermore, while many elected Republicans may fret privately about the way Trump is wreaking havoc in the primaries and jeopardizing the party’s chances of taking over the Senate in an awful midterm environment for Democrats, few are willing to publicly criticize him because they are worried the water is not quite safe yet. The fact that it’s so hard for Republicans to criticize him even though they think he is damaging the party is an indicator of influence by itself. This was not, for instance, the case with George W. Bush after 2006.

None of this means that Trump is unstoppable. Though he clearly has loyal fans within the party, as evidenced by the polls, there is reason to believe a contingent of Republicans is willing to get behind a viable alternative. There is also a sentiment even among those who were generally supportive of Trump and unlikely to speak ill of him that he already served his purpose as a disruptive force in American politics, and now it’s time to give somebody else a chance.