TOI correspondent from Washington: For Republican politicians in Donald Trump’s America, there are now only two career paths: obeisance or obituary.On Tuesday night in Texas, the political undertaker came for Sen. John Cornyn — a four-term Republican heavyweight, former Senate whip, longtime conservative stalwart, and co-chair of the Senate India Caucus — who was defeated in the GOP primary (the party’s internal elections) by Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.Cornyn’s main crime was not ideological impurity. On policy, he was largely conservative and, as he noted, voted 99 percent for Trump’s priorities. But in today’s Republican Party, conservatism without complete submission to Trump is as relevant as a rotary telephone.The Texas massacre came just one week after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — one of the Republicans who voted to convict Trump after Jan. 6 — was politically strangled by another Trump-supported rival in Louisiana.
The message to Republicans across the country is now so clear it could be printed on MAGA merchandise: Object to Trump and prepare for retirement.Trump’s grip on the Republican base remains so absolute that senators, governors, members of Congress, Cabinet members and even judges now act like medieval courtiers nervously checking a king’s mood before speaking. Once upon a time, Washington Republicans worried about alienating suburban moderates or independent voters.
Today, they worry about a post on Truth Social at 2 a.m. calling them “weak,” “disloyal,” or worst of all, “RINO scum.”
” Ask Liz Cheney, who was once a member of the Republican royal family as the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. After opposing Trump and joining the January 6 Committee, she evaporated politically in 2022. Or Jeff Flake, who fled the Senate rather than face a MAGA firing squad. Or Adam Kinzinger, who had become so radiant within the Republican Party that retirement seemed healthier than remaining in Congress.
Even those who once criticized Trump now speak about him with the forced enthusiasm of hostages reading prepared statements.The modern Republican survival kit thus contains three essentials: a red tie, a vocal word on border security, muscular support for war or peace depending on the mood, and lips permanently attached to Trump’s ass.Cornyn learned this too late. Despite months spent carefully repositioning himself as a loyal Trump ally, the senator has been unable to escape his establishment image.
Record spending ($90 million) in the most expensive primary in US history ($120 million) didn’t help either in facing a vindictive president. At the same time, Paxton gave Republican voters what they craved: enduring anger, culture-war aggression, and devotion to Trumpian politics of grievance. The legal scandals, impeachment drama, fraud allegations, and ethical clouds hovering over Paxton mattered little. In the age of MAGA, indictments often serve as resume enhancers. The result was not just an initial defeat. This was another political execution staged as a warning to others.All of this is unfolding even as Trump’s national approval ratings continue to slide amid voter anxiety about inflation, immigration chaos, tariff wars, and ongoing political infighting. But inside the Republican primary, none of that seems to matter. Trump remains less a sign of tribal identity than a politician. To oppose it is to risk excommunication.
Which explains the increasingly strange split-screen nature of American politics.Nationally, Republicans are privately concerned that Trump’s weak poll numbers could drag down the candidates in November. However, they publicly compete to praise his golf swing, his stamina, his truthful social posts, and even his disastrous war on Iran. At the same time, Trump’s allies in several states are aggressively pursuing new gerrymandering efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterm elections — an effort that critics say is aimed at conjuring up electoral victories even as broader support weakens.The party’s operating philosophy can now be summed up in one sentence: You will have no other God before Donald Trump. And if you do, there’s always a basic wait around the corner.
