Self-deception and delusion in support of Trump

Establishment Republicans are admitting that Trump encouraged an insurrection and still supporting him

The fraying of the Republican Party is becoming more visible. Party establishment-types are revealing both the depravity and self-delusion driving the support for Donald Trump among people who should know better. They are rationalizing support for admittedly unconstitutional behavior while publicly lying to themselves and the public. It should be embarrassing, but it’s just disturbing.

This weekend, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu gave a remarkable interview with George Stephanopoulus. Stephanopolous pressed the governor throughout the exchange about his previous comments and current support for Trump. By the end of the segment, Sununu said he supports Trump despite admitting that he believes Trump engaged in insurrection against the country and is still lying about the outcome of the last of election. He will support the former president even if he is convicted of committing felonies. He justified his support by saying he supports a Republican administration and because “51% of America” does, too.

Then yesterday, Republican pundit Erick Erickson exposed his own self-deception to justify his continued support of Trump. When CNN legal analyst Jeffery Toobin accused Trump of insurrection, Erickson tweeted, “There was no insurrection. That is a left/media talking point. It was a riot, yes. It was not an insurrection. Those who believe this don't actually care about the truth though.”

However, Erickson himself called January 6 an insurrection numerous times in 2021. He blamed Trump for encouraging the attack on the Capitol. He wrote an article where he called for Congress to act to remove Trump from the presidency, writing, “The truth, like it or not, is that the president of the United States stoked the passions and fanned the flames of a mob that stormed the United States Capitol in a physical attack on the separation of powers designed to disrupt the democratic processes and institutions of our republic.”

Now, Erickson has managed to forget what he wrote to justify his continuing support for Donald Trump. He should be deeply embarrassed, but Republicans seem to have shed humility and shame as part of their human emotions. If Erickson really believes what he tweeted yesterday, he’s lying to himself. If he believes what he wrote at the time of the insurrection, then he’s lying to his audience and the broader public.

Conservative North Carolina political analyst John Davis tries to explain Sununu’s support for Tump as ideological. He quotes Sununu as saying, “I’m supporting not just the president, but the Republican administration.” He cites public support for border security and ending inflation.

But supporting Trump is not conservative, at least not in the sense that Ronald Reagan was. There’s nothing conservative about endorsing a man who engaged in insurrection against the United States. There’s nothing conservative about abandoning the rule of law for political gain.

Support for Trump is radical. It’s allowing for the possible subversion of the institutions that protect our government and democratic system to acquire political power. There’s no indication that Trump is going to accept the outcome of the election in November. He didn’t in 2020 and suffered no consequences. Why would he now? He’s got nothing to lose and establishment-types like Sununu and Erickson are encouraging him with their support.

I would like to believe that people like Erickson and Sununu are just naive, but they are not. They have told us, repeatedly, that they know what Trump has done and will likely do again and they still support him. They are joined by people like Thom Tillis and Mitch McConnell who are willing to put aside their patriotic and Constitutional obligations for narrow political objectives. Some will sacrifice the ideals of the American Republic to prevent abortions. For others, it’s low taxes. For all of them, it’s about power over the country at the expense of the American experiment.

For the Republican Party, 2024 is a reckoning. Many of the establishment conservatives who should be opposed to a candidate who would undermine our government and ignore the rule of law are falling in line. They are no longer equivocating. They are confirming their loyalty to the newly reimagined Trump Republican Party while admitting that they know he engaged in insurrection. They are putting party before country.

Others, like Nikki Haley, are prepared to stand on principle. For the sake of our country, we need to hope that there are enough of them because the next Trump administration will not be filled with people like Mike Pompeo, John Kelly, or Mark Esper. It will be staffed by people like Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, and Mike Flynn. If they win, their dystopian view of the world will dominate politics and country for decades to come.