“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody,” Donald Trump claimed in 2016, “and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Coming two weeks before the Iowa caucus, it was an unusual message from a politician, but the last nine years have served to underscore the point.
His “Make America great again” base, and the bulk of the Republican party, stood with him through (deep breath): two impeachments, children in cages, “very fine people on both sides”, 34 felony convictions, an insurrection, “shithole countries”, attempting to overturn an election, hush money payments to an adult film actor, “they’re rapists”, a brutal immigration crackdown, Four Seasons Total Landscaping, “grab ‘em by the pussy”, billions of dollars made by the Trump family, cosying up to dictators, “don’t look!”, mass pardons for his allies and friends, an unfinished wall, “liberation day”, presenting himself as a king, forcing Donald Trump Jr into the public consciousness, and more.
