Power, fear and submission

Fear of fragmentation: Many Republican actors suspect that without Trump's gravitational pull, their coalition of religious conservatives, magnates, nativists, and libertarians might fly apart. Holding on to him postpones an internal reckoning they dread.

The future of the party and the American project

Commentary already describes the GOP as "a personality cult with Donald Trump as the cult leader," in which "the party's platform has almost literally been rewritten to be 'whatever Donald Trump wants he gets.'" To be sure, the Republican Party and the conservative movement today belong to Trump, and the party has become akin to 'a political crime organization with a convicted felon as its boss.'

Geopolitically, America's adversaries, especially Russia and China, benefit when the US appears internally fractured, unreliable, and dismissive; they are delighted to see America tearing itself apart. Allies grow disheartened and drift away. Under Trump, there is a stark philosophical contrast: a republic founded on the idea that no man is above the law now organizes itself around a leader who explicitly claims to be above the law and whose party rewrites its identity to match his moods.

What can be done to reverse course?

Several urgent measures must be taken by some Republicans in an official and non-official capacity who have realized that blind support of Trump is hurting the party and the country. They know that they must now summon the courage and go against his whims to save the party from implosion, and follow personalities including Tucker Carlson and high-profile Republicans in Congress – Marjorie Taylor Greene, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – who have become deeply disillusioned with MAGA and Trump himself.

Coordinate between anti-Trump Republicans: Cult experts note that cults maintain power by isolating dissenters and making it hard for them to find one another. Anti Trump Republicans should and can organize and coordinate public statements, letters, and endorsements, so that no one stands alone as a solitary scapegoat.

Tell the truth about the past: Republicans who know Trump is unfit should muster the courage to publicly admit their own role and the party's role in enabling him. Only by breaking the taboo on honest self criticism can they begin to defuse the cult's hold. Doing so before the midterm elections is timely and more effective. Ultimately, patriotism should outweigh political ambition, even at a personal cost.

Rebuild a non Trump conservative platform: The party needs a coherent vision, which means reconnecting with constitutionalism, rule of law, and prudence-values conservatives once claimed. Without a positive program, the vacuum will be filled again by demagoguery.

Defend rules even at a cost: Finally, Republican state officials, judges, and members of Congress must commit in advance to zealously protecting elections and upholding election outcomes, safeguarding independent institutions, and blocking attempts to use state power for personal vengeance. This may mean losing office; still, it is the test of whether they are statesmen or courtiers.

It should be remembered that freedom is not lost all at once, but in a series of small acts of cowardice or indifference, each of which seems rational at the time. The only way back is through small acts of courage that seem irrational in the short term but restore the conditions for a future beyond Trump anchored on America's ideological, political and social values.

This future could arrest America's drift-and perhaps even restore its vitality-if leaders of both parties renew their fidelity to the ideals that have defined this nation for 250 years, and mark the beginning of its repair.