When Rudy Giuliani ran for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, the Right broke out into a debate over whether America’s Mayor was a real conservative. I found this tedious. Though Rudy was not my preferred candidate among that class (and his antics in recent years perhaps vindicate that), the way his opponents tried to sweep away his heroism on 9/11 appeared rather shallow. Ideological litmus tests do not trump the kind of test he’d already passed: leading the nation from the depths of grief and despair and shock back into the light.

I was one of the conservatives who opposed Donald Trump’s candidacy in 2016, and as he racked up conservative victories in office and presided over economic growth, we were often asked if we felt foolish yet. I can’t speak for others, but I had not premised my opposition on an ideological litmus test. Every president is tested, I would respond, and President Trump hasn’t been tested yet.