Why Republicans can't exonerate themselves for creating Donald Trump

The story of the Republican Party since the early 1990s is an abject lesson in the dangers of stoking populist anger and resentment — and the difficulty in controlling it once it is unleashed

The Frankenstein candidate.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Paul Sancya))

No matter what happens in November, we will be debating the rise of Donald Trump for a long time to come.

Already a consensus account has emerged on the left and among some on the center-right. Trump, in this telling, is the Republican Party's Frankenstein monster. A creation of the right-wing media machine — talk radio, Fox News — as well as the unhinged obstructionism and brinksmanship of congressional Republicans, Trump has slipped the bonds of his makers and turned on them, directing his demagogic fury against the establishments of both parties.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.