Trump Republican Party: The urge to purge: In Trump’s Republican Party, disloyalty is political death

TOI reporter in Washington: for republican politicians Donald TrumpIn the United States, there are now only two career paths: obedience or obituary.In Texas on Tuesday night, the political purveyor came calling for Sen. John Cornyn — a four-term Republican heavyweight, former Senate whip, longtime conservative stalwart and co-chairman of the Senate India Caucus — who was defeated in the Republican primary by Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.Cornyn’s main crime is not ideological impurity. On policy, he is quite conservative and, as he noted, 99% of people voted for Trump’s priorities. But in today’s Republican Party, not surrendering entirely to Trump’s conservatism is as important as a rotary phone.The massacre in Texas came just a week after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the Republicans who voted to convict Trump after Jan. 6, was politically strangled to death in Louisiana by another Trump-backed challenger. Now, the message to Republicans across the country is clear enough to be emblazoned on MAGA merchandise: Stand up to Trump and prepare for retirement.Trump’s grip on the Republican base remains so absolute that senators, governors, congressmen, cabinet members and even judges now act like medieval courtiers, nervously checking the king’s mood before speaking. Washington Republicans once worried about alienating suburban moderates or independent voters. Today, they’re worried about a 2 a.m. post on Truth Social calling them “weak,” “disloyal,” or worst of all, “green scum.”” Just ask Liz Cheney, one-time Republican royalty and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. She disappeared politically in 2022 after speaking out against Trump and joining the Jan. 6 Committee. Or Jeff Flake, who fled the Senate rather than face a MAGA firing squad. Or Adam Kinzinger, who has become so radioactive within the Republican Party that retiring seems healthier than remaining in Congress. Even those who once criticized Trump now speak of him with the passion of a hostage reading a prepared statement.Thus, the modern Republican Party’s survival toolkit consists of three essentials: red tie, a border security soundbite, strong support for war or peace depending on the sentiment, and a lip permanently attached to Trump’s ass.Koning knew this too late. Although the senator has carefully repositioned himself as a loyal Trump ally for months, he has been unable to shed his establishment image. Record spending ($90 million) for the most expensive primary in U.S. history ($120 million) did not help against a vengeful president. Paxton, meanwhile, offers Republican voters what they crave: perpetual anger, culture war aggression and a love of Trumpian politics of discontent. Legal scandals, impeachments, fraud charges and the moral cloud hanging over Paxton are irrelevant. In the age of MAGA, indictments often serve as resume-boosters. The result was more than an initial failure. It was another political execution meant to serve as a warning to others.All of this is happening even as Trump’s national approval ratings continue to slide as voters fret about inflation, immigration chaos, tariff wars and endless political battles. Yet in the Republican primary, none of that seems to matter. Trump is less a politician than a tribal identity marker. Oppose him and risk excommunication. This explains the increasingly bizarre split-screen nature of American politics.Across the country, Republicans are privately worried that Trump’s poor poll results could be a drag on the candidate’s performance in November. Publicly, however, they compete to praise his golf swing, his stamina, his Truth Society posts, and even his disastrous war against Iran. Meanwhile, Trump’s allies in several states are aggressively pushing for new gerrymandering to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterm elections — a move that critics say is aimed at winning elections amid waning broader support.The party’s operating philosophy can now be summed up in one sentence: You can have no other gods but Donald Trump. If you do, there’s always a primary waiting around the corner.