I'm starting this as a companion thread to the Trump thread and the Democratic Party thread, because I think post-Helsinki is a pretty big decision point for the Republican Party as we hurtle towards the 2018 midterms and then the big questions raised around supporting Trump versus challenging or opposing him, whether around the question of impeachment/resignation, or around the 2020 primaries and general election. Rand Paul was the only prominent Republican political thought leader to really defend Trump's Helsinki performance, but he's been worlds apart from the bulk of the GOP on foreign policy for a long time, preferring isolation and inward focus and limiting US leadership/engagement/investment in geopolitics - especially military engagement.
What of the other thought leaders in the GOP? McCain came out swinging but could die very soon. Ryan and McConnell condemned the Helsinki performance, as did Rubio, Gingrich, the WSJ editorial board, Shapiro, the Bush foreign policy old guard, etc. Do they keep up the pressure? Who, if anyone, would/should mount a primary challenge to Trump in 2020 (assuming no impeachment or resignation)? Does anyone in the Trump Administration jump ship and mount a challenge? Does Romney potentially run again so soon after presumably winning a Senate seat from Utah? Cruz? Rubio? Kasich? Bush? Fiorina?
What of the other thought leaders in the GOP? McCain came out swinging but could die very soon. Ryan and McConnell condemned the Helsinki performance, as did Rubio, Gingrich, the WSJ editorial board, Shapiro, the Bush foreign policy old guard, etc. Do they keep up the pressure? Who, if anyone, would/should mount a primary challenge to Trump in 2020 (assuming no impeachment or resignation)? Does anyone in the Trump Administration jump ship and mount a challenge? Does Romney potentially run again so soon after presumably winning a Senate seat from Utah? Cruz? Rubio? Kasich? Bush? Fiorina?
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