(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump campaigned against the Republican Party establishment to win the White House. After two of its more prominent members fought back, calling Trump nothing less than a danger to democracy, the president showed no signs of letting up Wednesday.
The rebellion comes at the worst possible time, as the party is trying to thread the needle on a promised massive tax cut that’s helping bolster record stock market gains.
The ferocity of the attacks by senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee shows how much Trump has already changed the GOP, leaving little room for outspoken, down-the-line conservatives like Flake or business-minded Republicans like Corker. Flake, who said he will retire at the end of 2018, lamented the “degradation” of
U.S. politics, while Corker, who said late last month he will retire, accused Trump of “debasing” the nation.
Trump hit back Wednesday morning, tweeting that the reason Flake and Corker “dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!”
Later, as he prepared to board Marine One, he told reporters on the White House lawn that he didn’t see signs of broader division within the party. “The Republicans are very, very well united,” Trump said.
What’s not clear is what would take the establishment’s place. One possibility is more Republicans in Trump’s image — candidates backed by his former chief strategist Stephen Bannon, who already has contenders for the two Senate seats. But many Republicans seriously question whether that kind of party can hold a majority in Congress, let alone recapture the White House in 2020. Trump’s current approval rating is 36 percent.
