Press: Trump: A party of one

Former President Abraham Lincoln is celebrated for the soaring prose of his Gettysburg Address and his speech at his second inauguration. But he uttered some of his most famous words before he became president. 

On June 16, 1858, in Springfield, Ill., upon accepting the Republican nomination for U.S. senator, he warned: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.”

{mosads}Watching the chaos within the Republican Party today — is it any longer his party? — Lincoln might well say: “I believe this party cannot endure, permanently, half Trump and half never Trump.”

There is, in fact, not one Republican Party today. There are two Republican parties. There is presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, and then there is everybody else.

Trump does, indeed, stand alone. He listens to no one. He answers to no one. He mocks or simply ignores Republican Party leaders. He scorns long-held party doctrine on the minimum wage, same-sex marriage, trade deals, healthcare and maybe even abortion. He rejects the Republican National Committee’s recommendation to reach out to Hispanics and alienates them instead. In no way except his New York voter registration form is Trump a Republican. 

This puts every other Republican, especially every Republican member of Congress, in quite a pickle: To endorse or not to endorse? Even having to ask that question about the party’s de facto nominee is strange enough, but the contortions Republicans have twisted themselves into trying to deal with the controversial billionaire are downright bizarre.

For now, Republicans are divided into three camps over Trump: those who have already endorsed him; those who say they’ll never endorse him; and those who say they “kinda, sorta” endorse, but only with a variety of conditions.

Yes, there’s a handful of Republicans who’ve actually said they’ll vote for Trump, but even they are split into factions. A tiny few, like Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, give their enthusiastic support. Others, like Sen. John McCain of Arizona, admit they don’t like Trump, but say the will of primary voters must be respected. Still others, led by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), call Trump a textbook racist, but insist he’s still better than Democrat Hillary Clinton.

In the middle are those who are, well, still in the middle. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine hasn’t endorsed yet, but she might. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee has endorsed but is waiting for Trump to be more presidential. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire says she will vote for Trump but has not actually “endorsed him.” Texas Sen. John Cornyn has taken perhaps the most creative approach, telling reporters that, while he endorses his party’s nominee, he will not talk about him until after the November election.

And then there are those who have already crossed the Rubicon to Never Trump Land, including Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jeb Bush and former Presidents George W. and George H. W. Bush. They won’t vote for Trump. They won’t vote for Clinton. Apparently they just won’t vote.

For his part, Trump doesn’t seem worried about hopelessly dividing the Republican Party. In essence, he told Republican critics this week to shut up: “Don’t talk. Please, be quiet.” Because, after all, the Republican Party, “C’est moi.”

Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “Buyer’s Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down.”