The aftermath of the special election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district has been predictably brutal. Critical reviews from the progressive hinterlands have littered social media after yet another Trump-era special election defeat for the Democrats.
The ferocity of the criticism speaks to partisan frustration; this district was supposed to be chock-full of suburban Republicans just itching for an opportunity to register their disdain for Trump. But the depth of “Trump trauma” was far less than advertised; a late Trump endorsement may have even helped newly-elected Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga.
For the Democrats, two problematic narratives have emerged:
- What if the Russian hacking / Trump story continues to go south?; and
- What if a more moderate message is not a winning message in suburban swing districts?
You can bet each scenario has the attention of Democratic operatives desperately searching for a winning strategy against a supposedly vulnerable Trump.
A related and equally interesting high-stakes discussion is playing out on the other side of the aisle. And it has been on my mind since a significant percentage of the “loyal opposition” shifted into resistance mode during the late evening hours of Nov. 8, 2016.
The conversation pertains to a condition (henceforth to be called “family syndrome”) that afflicts a subset of Republicans who have never been enthusiastic participants in Team Trump. These are predominately conservatives who supported other GOP candidates in the primaries and were latecomers to the Trump bandwagon.
Post-election, they are generally pleased with Trump policy (especially the promotion of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court), but remain ambivalent (or worse) with just about everything else connected to this president and his unorthodox methods of operation. Most have grown weary of the daily drama that defines the Trump White House.
Yet, the vast majority have stuck with Trump, and it is not merely because of common ground on most issues. They are digging in for the same reason that family can criticize family — but not so much outsiders. Most of you are familiar with the phenomenon.
Truth be told, these Republicans willingly and regularly engage in Trump bashing amongst themselves. They are often reminded (sometimes by Trump himself) that he is no lifelong Republican or movement conservative. And they remain uncomfortable with the edginess, the petty beefs, the daily tweets, and the relentless media bashing.
Nevertheless, the president remains (albeit new) family, and the party leader, after eight agonizing years in the desert. And so Trump trashing generally remains an intramural sport. When outsiders seek to indulge, an instinctive defensiveness is triggered: Wagons are circled, foxholes are dug. It’s a doubling down in support of this most unlikely Republican president — yet another fascinating aspect of Trump’s unique appeal.
In the real world, this defensiveness plays out in many ways. Often, the offended right-winger seeks to magnify opposition misdeeds. In the case of progressive Democrats, generally (and Hillary Clinton particularly), there is no shortage of such travails. This exercise also tends to minimize Trump’s flaws. After all, he’s our guy, he’s under relentless attack, and now is not the time to talk outside the family (so to speak). Here, marginal supporters ratchet up their emotional capital invested in Trump. This reservoir of support in turn will make it harder to divest when times turn difficult.
In this context, embarrassing episodes such as the recent CNN-sponsored fake news story on alleged links between a Trump confidant and a Russian bank only serve to deepen the reservoir. This will typically be the result when the “Hate Trump Always” members of the media are shown to be wrong, negligent and sloppy in reporting on Trump.
It’s fair to ask how long this protectiveness can last. Persistent, ugly conflict with the mainstream media and our cultural elites could at some point simply exhaust this constituency — or lessen the desire to circle the wagons yet again. Still, with no moderate Democrat on the horizon, it will take a lot of turmoil for GOP partisans to willingly take a pass on Trump.
My fellow Republicans should feel free to test my theory. The next time one of your conservative friends starts to complain about Trump’s latest outburst or tweet, tell him that you agree — and that you watched the very same criticism of Trump from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz or Keith Ellison on CNN the previous evening. Then, stand aside and watch the sudden change of heart. (“What? They can’t talk about the president like that!”) This might be followed by an aggressive, possibly even passionate, defense of the same man they were tearing apart just a minute ago.
All of which may give Trump a longer-lasting reign than his multitude of critics could possibly imagine.
Gov. Robert Ehrlich is a Washington Examiner columnist, partner at King & Spalding and author of three books, including the recently released Turning Point. He was governor of Maryland from 2003 – 2007.
