Who can beat Trump? Not Rubio. Not Cruz. Not the GOP.
Republicans cowered before him. Now it's too late.
The conservative movement is in an angry mood. They want Marco Rubio as their standard bearer very badly. They are vowing to fight Donald Trump's nomination all the way to the convention. Because Trump is a Democrat in disguise, they say. He's a demagogue, injecting bilious poison into the body politic. For the good of the country, for the soul of their movement, for the very survival of the principles which impelled them into politics, he must be opposed relentlessly. People are quoting Hannah Arendt these days; the stakes are that high.
While the movement is reaching for pickaxes and putting on war paint, its putative leader Marco Rubio is distressingly nonchalant. Asked about why he isn't attacking Trump, Rubio replied: "I didn't run for office to tear up other Republicans." Not exactly the desperation of a man who thinks the Republic is about to be lost to barbarous populism.
While Rubio may believe he can delay and defer the fight forever, the rest of the party beyond the conservative movement seems to be giving up.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ted Cruz has had a very awkward time transitioning from Donald's pal to his chief critic. "I like Donald Trump. He's a friend of mine. I'm grateful that he's in the race," he said last year. He told donors that his strategy has been to "bear hug" Trump and a debate audience that he would hire Donald Trump to build a wall on the southern border. His attempt to smear Trump as embodying "New York values" seems to have worked in Iowa and nowhere else. Ever since, Cruz has been flummoxed by lawsuits from his "friend" challenging his eligibility to run for president.
Now, Jeb Bush's voters seem to be defecting to Trump. More terrifying, it seems the Republican donor class is ready to parlay with Trump. The white flags are going up. Instead of a brave battle:
The reaction of the Republican money-men fits the historic pattern when traditional aristocrats abandon the old order they can no longer dominate anymore. Flight, not fight. The will to stop Donald Trump is just not there.
Every non-Trump campaign has been working on a theory that the last non-Trump standing will win automatically. But that's not what we're seeing so far. As with Jeb Bush's former supporters, as candidates defect, some go to Trump. How many people who now side with anti-establishment Ted Cruz really prefer Marco Rubio to Donald Trump? How many will prefer Marco Rubio to Trump after another week of anti-Rubio attack ads and mailers from the Cruz campaign? The GOP is hanging onto bizarre theories that three or more candidates will graciously drop out soon, or that Trump's poor performance among late deciders means he will begin losing states in the next two weeks where he has big double-digit leads.
There are lots of explanations for the rise of Donald Trump. I've been referring them to readers for months. Donald Trump is the return of the repressed. He's the sign that immigration politics are soon to dominate the political discourse. He is the tribune of the forgotten man and the working class who have been left behind by globalization. He is the chastisement that the Republican elites have merited through their total disregard for the economic interests of their core voters.
But one of the most obvious explanations for the rise of Donald Trump is that nobody fought him. Nobody responded to him in kind. When Donald Trump made fun of Jeb Bush's wife, Jeb Bush should have said how much he'd enjoy caving in the face of a degenerate casino owner. When Donald Trump said Rand Paul didn't belong on the stage, Paul should have replied that Trump was a disloyal interloper who would leave his followers hanging just as he left Atlantic City in shambles. When Trump hogged all the free media, the Republican donor class should have bought media and re-defined Trump.
But nobody in the GOP did it. The leadership of the party broke apart like balsa-wood and plate-glass, the collapsing set of an action movie. Trump looks like a hero smashing through a corrupt establishment. What else could the establishment be, but corrupt, if it never bothered to defend its right to rule?
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.
-
Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube – a 'raw' and 'riveting' docuseries
The Week Recommends Channel 4's 'gripping' two-part show explores the Metropolitan police killing of an innocent man in the aftermath of 7/7
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Salute to those who served'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Europe's all-inclusive holiday trend
The Week Recommends Big US chains are capitalising on the 'recent surge' in package breaks to bring upscale resorts to Europe
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published