CNN - These Republicans didn't like Trump at first. They do now. [View all]

[TomCADem]

This is why we are not going to take back Congress in 2018 or beat Trump in 2020 without liberals being able to convince people on the ground that Republican policies are wrong. Otherwise, Republicans in Congress will continue to look the other way, because Trump reflects the views of the Republican base. The rich love him because he will cut taxes and environmental protections. The working class whites love him, because he gleefully scapegoats minorities and feminists. You need look no further than Nazi Germany to see just how powerful and popular a fascist message can be.



http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/politics/donald-trump-republican-support/

Trump's provocative comments about women and minorities -- including assertions that Mexican immigrants were "rapists," that he could grab women's genitals with impunity and that African Americans had never been worse off than they were last year -- along with his misrepresentation of facts and tendency to boast gave Democrats hope that significant numbers of Republicans, particularly women, would cross party lines and vote for Hillary Clinton. They did not.

When it came time to vote, Republicans were as loyal to their party as Democrats were to theirs. And now, they are standing solidly behind Trump, even as his approval rating is the lowest of any new president in modern times. Trump's 40% approval rating is 21 points below average for a president finishing his first month in office, while his 87% approval rating among Republicans is second only to that of George W. Bush among all GOP presidents elected in the last 65 years, Gallup reported Friday.

Put another way, a greater percentage of Republicans support Trump than backed Ronald Reagan after his first four weeks in the Oval Office.

I called a number of Republicans I met along the campaign trail to find out what they think of Trump now. Some bemoaned his blustery style. None disputed his policies. The reason is simple: They agree with him.