GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A strange paradox is unfolding in Washington right now: As President Donald Trump acts less and less like a traditional Republican, traditional Republicans have become more and more afraid to cross him. In just the past couple of weeks, Mr. Trump has shredded the traditional Republican playbook on free trade. He has turned traditional GOP internationalism upside down by launching a feud with Canada and the European allies, while making nice with a North Korean dictator. His administration has pursued immigration policies, particularly by sending thousands of undocumented immigrant children to mass detention centers, that make elected Republican leaders in Washington visibly uncomfortable. Yet at the same time, Republican leaders in Congress have squelched an effort to block his decision to impose tariffs on trade with America’s closest allies. An attempt by congressional moderates to forge a new path on immigration policy died. A Republican bill to prevent the president from unilaterally ending the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election by special counsel Robert Mueller has been blocked in the Senate.”
-Gerald F. Seib, “As Trump Veers From Traditional GOP, He Bends It Toward Him,” The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2018 10:21 am