Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party has survived countless political setbacks, a global pandemic, and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. It will survive his ugly Monday morning social media post about the death of Rob Reiner too.
However, the immediate backlash to that post, in which Trump suggested that the Hollywood director had somehow brought death upon himself due to his disdain for the president, illustrates just how much that grip has slackened.
So far, in the intervening hours, congressional Republicans and other figures on the right have taken to the internet, without being prompted, to criticize Trump. The critics aren’t just swing-district Republicans, like Rep. Mike Lawler, of New York, or Trump adversaries, like libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky. Instead, even an otherwise loyal Republican, Rep. Stephanie Bice, of Oklahoma, has chastised the president for the post. “A father and mother were murdered at the hands of their troubled son. We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics,” wrote Bice on Twitter.
“Something is changing here.”
I don’t even need to read this article to know it’s pandering bullshit designed to make you think your side is winning and the bad guys are losing, keeping the kayfabe flame alive and burning so we don’t realize we’re all getting played by a group of rich, dumb fucks who have learned how easy it is to keep all our wheels spinning forever, or at least tuned-out enough that we stop paying attention to any news stories. Either result is a win to them.
Yeah, they did this shit in his first term already. “Please continue to do nothing and everything will be alright! This time for realsies!”