How Donald Trump destroyed the GOP

It will be up to those who come after him to figure out how to put it back together again

Goodbye, old friend.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Images courtesy Svetlana Foote / Alamy Stock Photo)

America has never seen a stranger presidential debate than the town hall that took place in St. Louis Sunday night.

Don't buy the spin (or the expressions of jittery relief from Republicans) for a second: Trump didn't "win." He didn't transform himself into a new, improved, and appealing candidate. On that stage, Trump was very much himself: a know-nothing demagogue who does one thing very well, which is channel and amplify the ill-informed, maniacal rage of one faction of his party.

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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.