It felt almost obscene watching Republicans, and in particular Donald Trump’s former critics, line up to kiss the ring during the party’s national convention this past week. That’s probably because these men and women weren’t just kissing the ring: They were performing things on it one shouldn’t do in polite company. If God was present at the convention, which is something to which speakers repeatedly referred, surely he would not be pleased to see such lustful acts committed in public and outside of marriage.
Over and over, speaker after speaker, the message was the same: America needs Donald Trump again. The economy was better when Mr. Trump was in charge, they said (which is a complicated claim; inflation was certainly lower, but Mr. Trump ran huge deficits, which have continued under President Joe Biden). There was less violent crime when Mr. Trump was running the country (not true). America’s borders were more secure, and there were fewer illegal immigrants (true).
There was less global instability, more domestic pride and prosperity, and greater affordability, they said. The sun shone brighter. Bathwater never ran cold. Ice cream was somehow sweeter. God spared Mr. Trump from a would-be assassin last weekend, said South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Donald Trump Jr., Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and others, because his work for the would-be president is not finished. Mr. Trump must save America.
A certain level of adulation for the leader is of course expected during the nomination exercise. It has been a feature of Republican conventions of the past, and no doubt will centre in the coming Democratic event in early August as well. But what made this particular exercise in fealty so striking, even compared with previous Trump nominations, was the degree of self-flagellation on display by Mr. Trump’s former critics. One by one, they took to the stage to bow before the king, lining up dutifully as his loyal servants.
It was a humiliating exercise. Ex-Trump rival Nikki Haley endured boos as she offered her “strong endorsement” of Mr. Trump, saying she accepted his invitation to speak in the name of “unity.”
During her bid for the Republican nomination, Ms. Haley called the former president “unhinged” and said he couldn’t win a general election. She also questioned his mental acuity, and said that his continued leadership would be like “suicide for the country.”
Those comments weren’t reflective of typical sparring during a nomination contest. Indeed, Ms. Haley wasn’t simply saying that Mr. Trump would be bad for America; she was saying that he would destroy the country. And seemingly tied to that conviction, she resisted offering her endorsement even after she dropped out of the race.
But the winds changed, and Mr. Trump has now reoccupied his throne atop the Republican Party mount. On Tuesday night, Ms. Haley – whom Mr. Trump labelled “birdbrain” during the nomination race – extolled the nominee as “tough,” clear-headed and open-minded. She said she was “proud” to serve in his previous cabinet. She professed her loyalty, and retreated back to her place among the masses.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who also made a bid for the presidential nomination, did the same. He had previously derided Mr. Trump as an ineffective president, chastising him for failing to complete his border wall and implying he is too old and too self-centred to run the country again. But at the convention, Mr. DeSantis (dubbed “DeSanctimonious” during the race by Mr. Trump) decried that the former president has been “demonized” by those around him, and implored viewers and attendees to offer him their unwavering support. “We cannot let him down,” he said.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio said during Mr. Trump’s first run at the nomination that he was a “con man” who couldn’t be trusted with nuclear secrets. Mr. Rubio was passed over as Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential pick this time around, though he nevertheless celebrated Mr. Trump at the convention for inspiring a movement. And J.D. Vance, who is Mr. Trump’s pick for vice-president, and who previously compared the would-be president to Adolf Hitler, said his running mate is America’s “last, best hope.” He celebrated him as a fundamentally good person, saying that though he is tough, “he cares about people.”
To the extent that there was ever a healthy reckoning within the Republican Party after the first Trump presidency – and especially after the party’s significant 2022 midterm losses – that period for reflection is clearly over. The resistance is dead. The Republican Party is the party of Mr. Trump yet again, and those who fail to fall in line will falter before his awesome power. All signs point to a second-term president who will be even more insulated by the shamelessly obsequious, and thus even more emboldened to take radical, fanatic actions. Yes, Mr. Trump is calling for unity, but this unity must all be in service to one man. So bite your tongue and kiss the ring (or whatever else you feel inclined to do).