If Trump disappeared tomorrow, the GOP wouldn't change one bit

[ChrisF1961]

Mitch McConnell would still be in the Senate obstructing. FOX News and RW radio would still be spewing lies. State and local republicans would still be gerrymandering and writing laws to make it harder for people of color to vote.

Why? Because they were doing all this before Trump ever ran for office.

Trump didn't create the current Republican party. He hijacked what they have been building for the last 30-40 years.

[Lovie777]

1. That's for sure, they are set in stone . ..

stone cold crazy.

[EYESORE 9001]

2. I hope that theory gets put to the test

Let Cheeto Benito disappear and we'll see if there's any change in the GQP.

[Ocelot II]

3. Maybe, but I'd sure like to find out.

[Cyrano]

4. He would become a martyr, granted sainthood, and

the crazies would worship him even more than they do now.

[walkingman]

6. Your statement reminded me of the "Reagan effect" - the beginning of this mess.

[Pachamama]

5. The fire would keep burning but at least the fuel would be gone n/t

[Thomas Hurt]

7. Trump removed the facade that the GOP has been hiding behind for decades.

The moderate conservatives just want to reinstall the facade.

[lpbk2713]

8. Trump would be a martyr.

He would be worse dead than alive. Even the (R) assholes who criticize him
now would be full of praise because they would know they wouldn't have to
deal with him any more.

[Ocelot II]

9. My fear is that even in the (likely) event that he flops over

and croaks on the golf course as the inevitable result of a lifetime of sloth and bad diet, the conspiracy machine will crank up and blame it on Antifa or BLM or Nancy Pelosi. And the Q-MAGAts will believe every word of it.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Cults require a charismatic leader. Who would step in to fill the void?

[Ocelot II]

12. None of the current collection of feckless poltroons in the GQP

have as much charisma as the average algebra teacher. None of them could pull off Trump's high school bully turned carnival barker shtick so beloved of the red-hatters who have more toes than teeth.

[Johonny]

11. They'd go after each other with rusty knives, each one sure they're the next Trump...

[Stuart G]

13. Nixon has been gone a long time, now, Trump+ Yes, ."the GOP hasn't changed a bit"

[RockRaven]

14. He's the result, not the cause...

He just happened to be the most cynical and corrupt of the last batch of opportunists, which is how he was selected from their ranks.

The next batch will also have a most cynical and most corrupt member, and that one won't be the cause of the GQP's actions either.

[Klaralven]

15. The GOP would become more cohesive, less distracted.

[MatthewG.]

17. Might actually be worse if Trump vanished.

If Trump vanished things might get worse. Despite Trump’s rabid following among Republicans, he’s not hugely popular in the country as a whole. Even Americans who aren’t committed Democrats, like most of us here, generally concede he’s an emotionally immature and sleazy figure. If the GOP is to have a face, best it be someone universally acknowledged as an a——-e.


Trump’s also a fairly incompetent at almost everything except name recognition (I will grant he’s got a talent for getting himself talked about.) An organization led by incompetent figurehead is probably dangerous than a competently managed one, particularly when we’re talking about an incompetent figurehead who’s inner circle constantly finds itself at odds with the law.

I actually fear the next GOP would-be strongman will be a much more dangerous figure, possibly a true autocrat able to win Pentagon support and establish himself as a true despot. One of the lessons of Trumpism is that most Republicans basically crave a despot, and there are a lot of much smarter Republicans than Trump who might be willing to assume that role once his star fades.