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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and other prominent Republicans have faulted President Donald Trumps response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., but there was little criticism and even some praise for Trumps handling of the issue when more than 400 activists, donors and candidates gathered Thursday for a GOP dinner outside Boca Raton.

There has been some chaos and turmoil of late, Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Michael Barnett acknowledged to the crowd at the partys annual Lobsterfest event at the Polo Club. But, Barnett added, God is on his throne, Republicans are in charge and Mr. Trump, our president, is in the Oval Office doing one heck of a job.

Part-time Palm Beach resident Trump initially blamed many sides for the violence in Charlottesville, then on Monday specifically condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups.

On Tuesday, however, Trump drew fire for saying in a news conference that theres blame on both sides and that there were some very fine people among those protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Barnett, the only black county GOP chairman in Florida and the states only black delegate at the 2016 Republican convention, said Trump has satisfactorily condemned prejudice and bigotry.

Hes right to criticize both sides, where the hates coming from, Barnett said in an interview. Hes, in my mind, clearly condemned the hate thats being spewed by these neo-Nazis, these Klansmen who wave the Confederate flag. I dont know what more people could ask in the way of a response.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm Coast, credited Trump with leadership and said the presidents both sides remarks dont dilute his criticism of white supremacists.

I think there is no place anywhere that the color of somebodys skin should equate to their value and I think that the president shows leadership when he is willing to call out in the face of adversity, of people yelling at him that there are people to blame, there are bad actors on both sides. That shouldnt take away from the neo-Nazis, the hate groups that should never be accepted by anybody. But it shows leadership to be able to stand up to that kind of a front from people yelling at him for calling out people that are bad on any side, Mast said.

On a night when conservative activist and guerilla videographer James OKeefe was the keynote speaker and decried the rotten media, many Lobsterfest attendees accused the media of distorting Trumps words.

I think his presidencys going great. He just has unprecedented attacks by a media that hates him, said Palm Beach County Republican State Committeeman Joe Budd, one of Trumps earliest local supporters.

Said Budd: When he made the statement there were good people on both sides, in context, both sides of what? A protest. That doesnt mean there were good people in the neo-Nazis, white supremacists. There werent any good people in there. But there were good people in the protest for keeping the statue up and there were good people in the protest for tearing the statue down. Thats what the good people on both sides simply means.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams, however, said he wishes Trump had stuck with his good statement from Monday.

At the (Tuesday) press conference, he should have said I stand by my statement on the previous day period, Abrams said.

Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam avoided critiquing Trumps response to Charlottesville.

Ive been very clear in my own statements that hate has no place in our society. From the white supremacists, from the anti-Semitic movement, hate and violence wont be tolerated. And I think its important that all people in leadership positions be very clear about that. Thats why Ive been crystal clear about it, Putnam said in an interview.

Asked if Trump has been clear about it, Putnam said: Well, I believe that its important that he be clear and I certainly have been clear in my own statements about that.

Another potential candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Palm Coast, also emphasized the need for clarity while avoiding direct criticism of Trump.

His statement on Monday was strong. Obviously, weve gotten into some other issuesFrom my perspective I want to be clear that we want to treat actions like that as terrorism, we want a really strong penalty, and we also want to make clear that those folks do not represent any views that are acceptable, DeSantis said.

Everybodys ripping the president. Hes the most pro-Israel president in my lifetime. The idea that hes sympathetic to some neo-Nazi, I just dont believe that, DeSantis added.

Read more:
Republicans rip media, praise Trump Charlottesville leadership - MyPalmBeachPost

Usually when politicians get into trouble for making racially insensitive or divisive comments, they rush to get minority pols to defend them. It is unclear whether Donald Trump even cares about his rapidly deteriorating image (from a pretty low starting point) on matters of racial justice after his recantation of a delayed and tinnily insincere-sounding condemnation of the white rioters of Charlottesville. We dont know if hes reached out to any black Republican pols or opinion leaders to get for some backup (though theres no sign of it so far). But we do know hes not getting much help from that quarter.

Tim Scott of South Carolina was the seventh African-American ever elected to the Senate, and the first from the South since Reconstruction. As a genuine conservative he is a precious resource for the GOP. And while he was not a red-hot MAGA man in 2016, Scott endorsed Trump before the GOP convention, didnt withdraw the endorsement when the Access Hollywood video broke (though he did call it disgusting), and has voted with the White House well over 90 percent of the time this year. So whats he saying right now?

In an interview with VICE News on Thursday, he condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville and questioned the presidents moral authority following the tragedy. Im not going to defend the indefensible [Trumps] comments on Monday were strong. His comments on Tuesday started erasing the comments that were strong. What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised when Tuesday happened. Theres no question about that.

And theres also this: Scott added thatthe president hasnt reached out to him to discuss Charlottesville.

Whatever else it represents, that is political malpractice.

How about the two African-American Republicans in the House? It doesnt get any better.

Now to be sure, Will Hurd of Texas un-endorsed Trump over the Access Hollywood remarks, and Mia Love of Utah (like many Utah Republicans) never even said shed vote for him. But they are bashing him now with abandon. Heres Hurd:

Rep. Will Hurd called on President Donald Trump to apologize for his latest remarks on recent violence sparked by a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hurd, who is African-American, is also one of the most vulnerable House Republicans.

I dont think anybody should be looking at getting props from a grand dragon of the KKK as any kind of sign of success, Hurd said.

Love spoke at an anti-racism event in Salt Lake City where speakers definitely did not view both sides as responsible for what happened in Charlottesville.

Even on Fox News, an African-American Republican, Gianno Caldwell, who was called on specifically to defend the president, tearfully denounced him instead:

I come today with a very heavy heart. Last night I couldnt sleep at all because President Trump, our president, has literally betrayed the conscience of our country

Mr. President, good people dont pal around with Nazis and white supremacists. Maybe they dont consider themselves white supremacists and Nazis, certainly they hold those views. This has become very troubling for anyone to come on any network and defend what President Trump did and said at that press conference yesterday is completely lost and the potential to be morally bankrupt.

A quick look around medialand shows at least one prominent African-American conservative, syndicated columnist Star Parker, willing to go to the mats for Trump with respect to Charlottesville. But its unlikely she made many converts for her or Trumps cause with this argument:

Whatsreally interesting and reallyincredible irony here is thesame people that are demandingthat the Confederate flagcomes down are the same peoplethat are insisting that therainbow flag goes up.

These two flags represent theexact same thing: that certain people groups arenot welcome here.So if Nancy Pelosi wants tosay that were going to startshutting down first amendmentrights of a certain group ofpeople, then what what happens next timehomosexuals want to walkthrough an American city andprotest and counter-protesterscome out?

Yeah, white supremacists and LGBTQ folk, throw em in a bag like Skittles, shake em up, and dump em out, and you cant tell one from the other.

Perhaps Trump thinks he is his own best defender in this crisis. Lord knows what well see next from his Twitter account. But if hes going to go out of his way to defend the very fine people fighting for the neo-Confederate cause, the small but psychologically important set of African-American Republicans is crucial. Hes not giving them much to work with at the moment.

While Bannons rivals in the administration will be happy to see him go, he could cause the White House immense problems if he asserts independence.

President Trumps controversial senior strategist, one of the administrations most divisive figures, is gone.

A strategists one brilliant insight had become obsolete.

Under President Trump, infrastructure cant catch a break.

The 2012 GOP nominee unambiguously condemns Trumps remarks about Charlottesville and calls for an extremely unlikely retraction and apology.

The First Lady reportedly operates her Twitter account herself.

In 2017 alone, there have been at least nine such attacks around the world, resulting in nearly 40 deaths.

Its a pretty long list.

He is, if nothing else, a genius at playing to Americas most alarming tendencies.

The carbon tax actually stands a better chance of happening now than ever before.

Mattis and Tillerson tried to clean up after his gaffe. But despite Trumps bluster, opening fire would be catastrophic.

Attackers plowed into crowds in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spains worst attack in a more than a decade.

The 21st Century Fox CEO and son of Rupert Murdoch says Trumps reaction was concerning.

Republicans need the president to focus on their daunting fall agenda, not stirring up a new controversy.

With rare exceptions, African-American Republicans are giving the presidents comments on Charlottesville a wide berth, or condemning them.

By going soft on neo-Nazis, Trump is doing the Democrats job for them: highlighting an issue that splits the GOP base from the rest of America.

During the Jim Crow era, southern states sought recognition in the Capitol for ex-Confederates and other proud racists. That may finally be corrected.

Trumps response to breaking news of a possible terrorist attack in Spain is to endorse a false tale of U.S. torture and religious insults.

A democracy that retains monuments to men who committed treason in defense of slavery is one that has changed its history, not learned from it.

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Black Republicans Do Not Have Donald Trump's Back - New York Magazine

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. President Trumps increasing alienation from fellow Republicans and the business community is further imperiling the partys top priority for the remainder of the year: cutting taxes and simplifying the byzantine tax code.

Congressional GOP leaders are hoping to recover from their failed effort to replace the Affordable Care Act and salvage their legislative agenda by unifying the party around tax reform, but Trump has spent recent weeks publicly antagonizing key lawmakers and fanning controversy with his response to last weekends racist violence in Charlottesville.

Several key lawmakers said Trump will need to focus on selling the GOPs tax plan when Congress returns in September, and they worried that the difficult job of passing a massive tax package will be nearly impossible without the president playing a key role.

At the end of the day, President Trump will be incredibly crucial to the success of this, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) told reporters here Wednesday. Tax reform is the signature issue of this presidency.

Brady traveled to the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara this week to borrow some inspiration from the last president to rewrite the nations tax laws, Ronald Reagan. He and other Republican Congress members stood in front of Reagans Rancho del Cielo property and promised to finish their own legislation by years end a pledge Brady said can succeed only if Trump gets on board and stays on board.

President Trump unveiled his tax plan on April 26, after months of pledging to make drastic changes to the tax code. The Post's Damian Paletta explains why tax reform is so complicated. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

But the call for presidential support comes at a nadir of trust and cooperation between Trump and GOP members in Congress. In the hours leading up to Wednesdays event, corporate executives and Republican lawmakers were publicly distancing themselves from the president because of his controversial statements assigning blame for violent clashes at a rally in Charlottesville to both the white supremacists who organized the event and those who showed up to protest their presence.

The rush of criticism was the latest in a series of increasingly tense standoffs between Trump and his GOP colleagues. One week earlier, the president launched a multiday assault on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for failing to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

In recent weeks, Republican members have been forced to decide whether they can separate the parts of Trumps presidency that offend them and their constituents from the reality that his support is likely to be key to achieving their long-sought legislative goals.

While some Republicans say they have grown accustomed to Trumps often erratic approach to politics, many others are frustrated.

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), who along with Reps. Peter J. Roskam (R-Ill.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) accompanied Brady on the trip, said that while lawmakers were used to working in a very distracting environment, the push for tax reform would require Trump to help refocus attention away from day-to-day scandal and back to policy details in a way he never did during the health-care debate.

This is on a whole different scale, Curbelo said. The committees are still going to do their work, and its not like were just going to sit around and talk about issues like this all of the time, but it certainly makes it harder to make a strong case for tax reform to the public because nobody is talking about it.

Some outside groups have attempted to step into the void left by Trump on tax reform. A number of conservative organizations, including the American Action Network, have launched public relations campaigns touting the benefits of tax reform to voters. The groups are spending millions on advertising, public polling and lobbying to help create momentum for a tax package.

On Thursday, AAN released focus-group data that it said showed GOP and independent- leaning voters in Nebraska and California want to see Republicans talk about tax reform. Those surveyed were happy with messages about simplifying the tax code and wanted lawmakers to specifically illustrate how reform would grow the economy and empower job creation, AAN said.

But lawmakers have struggled to identify concrete examples of policies that would achieve those goals, including during the event on Wednesday. From the mortgage interest deduction to charitable giving to business expense write-offs, Brady said the plan was still in development and depended on cooperation with Trump.

We continue to work with the White House, including the president, and the Senate on the details and design of this tax reform, Brady said when pressed on a plan for taxing international corporations. Well continue to do that through August and after we return as well.

But congressional Republicans and the White House have yet to agree on much other than the broad strokes of a tax plan.

Instead, Republicans spent a majority of the year locked in a battle over the few specific policies identified in a House tax reform blueprint that was released last year. White House officials and Senate leaders were deeply skeptical of a plan from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that would have cut taxes on exports in an effort to boost U.S. manufacturers.

Ryan and his allies said their proposal would have created more than a $1trillion in new revenue over 10 years that could be used to offset the cost of lowering tax rates for businesses and individuals. But the plan was met with fierce resistance from key stakeholders, such as retailers, who rely on imports for their business, forcing Ryan to abandon the plan late last month when he joined with Brady, McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) to release a joint statement of unity on taxes.

Trump has failed to build on this show of unity and has instead picked fights with McConnell and other Senate Republicans while stoking public controversies over race.

Brady said Wednesday that he personally could separate Trumps controversies from the GOP-wide goal of passing a tax bill. I still think the president has the ability to refocus on tax reform, he said. I look to see him pivot to tax reform and jobs and make this case nationwide.

That pivot was further complicated when Trump was forced to dissolve a pair of corporate advisory groups after a number of CEO members resigned over the presidents comments about the Charlottesville protests.

Business leaders are distancing themselves from Trump, making their role in advancing his agenda awkward at best. They are now likely to focus even more of their efforts on working with Congress in hopes they can enact tax cuts a desire lawmakers said could help the debate transcend the hard feelings between CEOs and the White House.

Congressional leaders also are holding out hope that the outside pressure will help keep rank-and-file Republicans focused on taxes and eager to avoid mistakes that led to the dramatic failure of their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Im of the mind of the stumbles on health care put a lot of pressure on members to get to yes, Roskam said, arguing Republican lawmakers see the necessity of nailing down a victory.

I think most members of Congress are going to say to themselves, I need to go back to a constituency and Ive got to deliver on health care or taxes, Roskam said. The notion of not getting either one of those things done is not a pleasant prospect.

Brady and his colleagues who assembled in the California mountains this week said they believed the party would unite on taxes in the coming months.

Weve got a responsibility as leaders to say, Okay, lets rub some dirt on our problems and move forward and figure this out, Roskam said. Its bigger than any president.

Read more at PowerPost

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Republicans worry tax reform could be victim of their worsening relationship with Trump - Washington Post

(Bridgewater, N.J./WASHINGTON) President Donald Trump decried on Thursday the removal of monuments to the pro-slavery Civil War Confederacy, echoing white nationalists and drawing stinging rebukes from fellow Republicans in a controversy that has inflamed racial tensions.

Trump has alienated Republicans, corporate leaders and U.S. allies, rattled markets and prompted speculation about possible White House resignations with his comments since Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, which came in the aftermath of a white nationalist protest against the removal of a Confederate statue.

Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned Trump's capacity to govern.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the ability or the competence that he needs to be successful," said Corker, who Trump had considered for the job of secretary of state. Corker said Trump needed to make "radical changes."

Trump unleashed attacks on two Republican U.S. senators, Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham, in a series of Twitter posts on Thursday, raising fresh doubts about his ability to work with lawmakers in his own party to win passage of his legislative agenda, which includes tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

He took aim at the removal or consideration for removal of Confederate statues and monuments in a long list of cities in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C.

"Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments . You can't change history, but you can learn from it," Trump wrote on Twitter, refusing to move past the controversy.

"Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Trump said. He was referring to two Confederate generals in the Civil War that ended in 1865, and to early U.S. presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves but whose legacies are overwhelmingly honored.

Opponents call the statues a festering symbol of racism, while supporters say they honor American history. Some of the monuments have become rallying points for white nationalists but also have the support of some people interested in historical preservation.

Trump also denied he had spoken of "moral equivalency" between white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members who clashed with anti-racism activists in Charlottesville.

U.S. stocks suffered their biggest drop in three months on Thursday as the turmoil surrounding the White House sapped investor confidence that Trump's ambitious economic agenda would become reality. Equity index futures fell a bit further after the close of regular trading, with S&P 500 emini futures heading into the overnight trading session about 2 points lower.

The U.S. stock market has not followed a 1%-down day with a second straight day of losses since Trump was elected in November, so Fridays session is being watched as a significant test of the markets resilience.

Amid the controversy, the White House knocked down rumors that Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn might resign. An official said Cohn "intends to remain in his position" as National Economic Council director at the White House.

Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after the resignation of several corporate executives over his Charlottesville remarks. On Thursday, a White House official said Trump had dropped plans for an advisory council on infrastructure.

In another indication of businesses not wanting to be associated with the president, the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic canceled a planned 2018 Florida fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, where it had held such events for seven straight years. Spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the Cleveland Clinic considered "a variety of factors" in deciding to cancel an event that typically generates $1 million a year.

The clinic's chief executive, Toby Cosgrove, was a member of a one of the two councils that disbanded on Wednesday.

James Murdoch, chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox and son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, slammed Trumps response to Charlottesville in an email to friends and pledged to donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League, the New York Times reported.

James Murdoch wrote that Trumps comments should "concern all of us as Americans and free people," the Times said. Twenty-First Century Fox owns Fox News Channel, a favorite with Trump and his conservative supporters.

The Charlottesville violence erupted when white nationalists marched to protest against the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man described as a white nationalist crashed his car into the counter-protesters.

Trump has blamed the Charlottesville violence on not just the white nationalist rally organizers but also the counter-protesters, and said there were "very fine people" among both groups. He also expressed distaste for removing Confederate statues in a heated news conference on Tuesday.

After Trump blasted Graham on Twitter, the senator who was one of Trump's rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination fired back.

"Because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our Nation - as our President - please fix this," Graham said. "History is watching us all."

Another Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, also said on Twitter: "Anything less than complete & unambiguous condemnation of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK by ( Trump ) is unacceptable. Period."

Graham had said on Wednesday Trump's remarks at his news conference the day before had suggested "moral equivalency" between the white nationalists and anti-racism demonstrators and called on the president to use his words to heal Americans.

"Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember!" Trump wrote.

In a separate tweet, Trump called Flake "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" and appeared to endorse Kelli Ward, Flake's Republican challenger in his 2018 re-election race.

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, called for the immediate removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Senator Cory Booker, also a Democrat, said he would introduce legislation so that could be done.

"There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country," Pelosi said in a statement.

A spokesman for Republican U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was up to U.S. states to determine which statues were displayed on their behalf in the Capitol building.

Read the rest here:
Fellow Republicans Assail Trump After He Defends Confederate Monuments - TIME

The president of the United States is toxic, both to the country and to any who stand by him.

Donald Trump once carried only a stink, one that some with cold political calculation figured they could wash off if need be. But now he's gone toxic, radioactive, a slow but certain killer of reputations and careers.

That's what happens when you push and push and push the boundaries of normalcy, the edges of acceptable presidential behavior, and stretch them into areas blocked off long ago.

You don't try to gin up a moral equivalence to white supremacy or Naziism. You don't do most of the things Trump has done week in and week out since becoming president, and you damn sure don't take a moment of violent racism and selfishly spin it into a veiled defense of white power, all at the expense of a country in need of healing.

But that's what the president did, and now a question that has lingered for months without answer looms larger: When will congressional Republicans break loose of Trump?

The Muslim ban and its ensuing chaos wasn't enough. The incessant dishonesty and attacks on the press have been either ignored or, at times, embraced. Even the legislative flailing and the attacks on Republican lawmakers have passed with only mild rebukes.

And now this, in the wake of Charlottesville. The angry tweets and the angrier press conference and the seemingly unhinged, red-faced exhortations that there were "fine people" among the Tiki-torch carrying Nazis who chanted "Jews will not replace us!"

How much longer do Republicans in the House and Senate stand with a toxic president? When does concern for this country or concern that they, too, might become poisoned overwhelm a desire to keep Trump's dwindling supporters happy?

It's a question that demands an answer, because at the moment, Republicans in Congress are being morally outflanked by the executive director of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce in Florida.

Three large fundraisers scheduled to take place at Trump's Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago club were canceled Thursday, and chamber of commerce head Laurel Baker pulled no punches in an interview with the Washington Post, calling the club "morally reprehensible" and saying: "The club is a member of the chamber. But right is right."

She told the newspaper her mantra this week is: "'The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.' Especially for nonprofits. Especially for groups who help people who can't help themselves."

Baker gets it. So does Apple CEO Tim Cook.

BuzzFeed obtained a copy of a staff email in which Cook wrote: "I disagree with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights. Equating the two runs counter to our ideals as Americans."

The former members of the president's manufacturing council knew the right thing to do when they disbanded in the wake of Trump's Charlottesville comments.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement: "It is a leader's role, in business or government, to bring people together, not tear them apart."

The rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump's conversion to Judaism released a letter along with two other rabbis saying: "While we avoid politics, we are deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered in response to this act of violence."

Even James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, the parent company of the heavily pro-Trump Fox News, broke with the president.

In an email to friends obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Murdoch wrote: "But what we watched this last week in Charlottesville and the reaction to it by the President of the United States concern all of us as Americans and free people. I can't even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis."

He also pledged to donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League.

When you're losing big businesses, nonprofits trying to raise money, people who run local chambers of commerce, your daughter's rabbi and a Murdoch, you're toxic.

And still, it seems, the Republicans who got in bed with Trump are willing to lie there and absorb the toxins.

I don't understand why. I'll never understand why.

If it's political calculation, it's soulless. If it's quiet agreement with Trump's tough talk, it's even worse.

We are long past issues of policy. Companies and religious leaders and anyone with even a half-functioning moral compass are fleeing Trump not because they disagree with his policies but because his character is repellant, either to them or to the people they serve.

The president of the United States is exactly the person he showed himself to be during the campaign, and that reckless, bullying, wholly self-absorbed person is doing real harm to this country and to the political party he claims to lead.

I don't know when, or if, congressional Republicans will break. I don't know if there is a line in the sand.

But I know this: Standing near something toxic for too long is lethal. And I don't think the Republican Party wants to die.

rhuppke@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RexHuppke

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Trump, the Toxic President. When will Republicans have the sense to run? - Chicago Tribune