… Events are pressing on Trump so quickly that it’s hazardous to project his current support from his party too far into the future. Congressional Republicans aren’t defending Trump because of deep personal loyalty. Instead the GOP alliance with Trump is rooted in shared political interests. Congressional Republicans need him to sign the agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and repeal of the Affordable Care Act that they have promised—if not sufficiently fleshed out—since recapturing the House in 2010.
They believe their base voters still preponderantly support him. Most of them also worry that if Trump capsizes they, too, would be submerged in the 2018 election. But that alliance could fray if more Republicans conclude that Trump’s constant chaos endangers their agenda—or that defending him in 2018 will be more risky than abandoning him. CONT.
Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic