Trump Doesn't Get to Call Republicans Disloyal

This will be a short post, because I have a simple and self-evident point.

Donald Trump and the segment of his supporters of like mind need to shut the hell up about disloyalty. The presidential campaign of Donald Trump has been, and always was, a treasonous coup against the Republican Party. From the very beginning, Trump’s campaign was against the party itself, against its elected officials, against its leaders, against its longtime committed activists, against anyone who did not immediately bow the knee to Trump. When the blowhard wannabe dictator secured the nomination, he did precisely nothing to consolidate support among the party. On the contrary, he went out of his way to tell us he didn’t need Republicans to win and didn’t even want their support if it was offered. He also made clear, in the same breath as demanding people back him as the party’s nominee, that he would work to undermine any party-endorsed Republican who refused to personally endorse him.

Now that he’s going to lose, Trump and a certain segment of his supporters are actively campaigning against the down-ballot candidates. This is where the self-evidence comes in. All this time since Trump secured the nomination, those in the Never Trump crowd have been saddled with the accusation that we’re “working for Hillary” or “helping the Democrats” or such. That’s never been true, as a vital aspect of the Never Trump conviction has always been supporting the down-ticket candidates and preserving the party’s credibility for future cycles. But now Trump and his insurgent traitors are actually doing what they’ve accused the Never Trump crowd of! They’re actually working to help the Democrats secure majorities in the House and Senate, and thus helping the forthcoming President Hillary advance her agenda.

This is not a new phenomenon. Trump’s campaign has always been to spite and undermine the broader Republican Party. It was never about working as a party against the Democrats, which is why all the arguments about “stopping Hillary” have been plainly disingenuous garbage. If Trump or his followers cared about beating Democrats, they would be working to save the down-ballot races. If Trump cared about beating Democrats, he’d step aside. This has never been about beating Democrats. It has always been about serving the ego of Donald Trump and throwing an anti-governing tantrum. It is utterly pathetic.