In each case, President Trump cast aside years of Republican orthodoxy — and most of the party followed right along. Hours after he threatened to veto, President Trump said he will sign the omnibus spending bill into law, averting a government shutdown. “Their willingness to accept certain victories on their agenda in return for the acceptance of Trumpism more broadly — that seems to be the guiding principle of Republican Party leaders.”Trump allies and advisers say that while he has in some ways reshaped the Republican Party, he rose to power by understanding where the party’s base already was and channeling those existing worries and desires. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last week illustrated the point, finding that 59 percent of registered Republican voters said they consider themselves more a supporter of Trump than the Republican Party. In a Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month, 58 percent of Republican voters supported imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Source: Washington Post March 24, 2018 23:03 UTC