Some have suggested that "traditional" Republicans break away from the GOP and

[Zambero]

12. Opportunist first. Republican second.

Trump lacks any long-term political affiliation and also does not display evidence of any long-held political views. At various times he's posed as a "moderate" Republican, Democrat, Independent, and Reform Party member. Indeed, he flirted running as a Democrat as recently as 2004, including an overture to Jesse Ventura as a potential running mate. That year he endorsed John Kerry in the general election. It's not so much a question of "go figure" as much as Trump coldly calculating which political affiliation would serve to benefit him the most personally. He comes first, and any convenient self-serving ideological stance follows. The white nationalist backlash against President Obama spawned Trump's birther conspiracy and sowed the seeds of his "base". At that point, the Republican party was his only option. He doesn't give a shit about the party, only about how it can serve his own selfish interests and inflated ego. Ironically, the GOP's enabling and submissive "embrace" of Trump could also be it's downfall, given its willingness to morph from mainstream conservatism into the Party of Trump and all the negative baggage that continues to pile up since that transition.