Like Homer Simpson's alcohol theory, Trump appears to be the cause of and solution to all GOP problems

Trump shrugs
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Recent polls confirm what many Republican lawmakers probably already suspected: President Trump is a net drag on Republicans heading into the 2018 midterms, especially in this year's battleground — upper middle class suburbs — but he's also crucial to turning out their base. "It's a political catch-22," Virginia GOP strategist J. Tucker Martin tells The New York Times. "Candidates can't win without their base. But what it takes to satisfy a pro-Trump base in 2018 will make Republican candidates in many states unacceptable to large swaths of the electorate." Or, as Homer Simpson phrases that dilemma (regarding alcohol, not Trump):

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.