Omri Ben-Shahar: "The Republicans Who Will Stop Trump"

The Republicans Who Will Stop Trump

A month into the embryonic Presidency, the Trump locomotive is struggling to gain speed. Dealt the great fortune of a unified government—a Republican controlled Congress and a soon to be restored conservative majority in the high court—the president appeared destined to lead a historical conservative transformation of government. Tax reform, Obamacare repeal, environmental deregulation, corporate-friendly overhaul—all seemed imminent. Trump may have stolen the party from the Republican aristocracy, but the establishment was eager to work with him to advance the common ideology.

Instead of forging ahead, the Trump convoy is stumbling. Within one month, strong voices of dissent are emerging from within the Republican ranks, triggered primarily by two of the President’s early blunders: the Russian connection, and the mismanaged travel ban. Losing a top aid and an early court battle signaled presidential ineptitude, but more importantly they sparked early tones of disapproval among Republican lawmakers.

There are some prominent Republican actors in this emerging anti-Trump coalition, like Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, whose antipathy towards the President and disagreement with some of his core views are hardly a secret. But the more interesting axis of internal opposition forming within the Republican party has not yet been noticed.

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