Is There Any Breaking Point?

Obviously the Republican conference is a Trump personality cult beyond salvation while he remains alive — and they care as little about their own constituents as Atlantic columnists think that Democrats do — but one wonders if there’s any breaking point for his trophy spouses in the business community:

President Donald Trump is torching the U.S. economy. He’s attacking our trade alliances and our ability to control inflation. Yet corporate and political leaders who should have the greatest interest in condemning such destruction remain oddly quiet.

Nearly all Republican lawmakers, whose own voters are hurt most by Trump’s trade agenda, remain loyal cheerleaders for the president’s whims. Corporate executives, whose stock prices have plummeted, likewise refuse to question Trump’s actions publicly, saying they will do so only if things get much worse.

But what exactly are they keeping their powder dry for? What would it take for them to even gently critique Trump’s agenda?

The president’s erratic tariff policies are already paralyzing businesses and raising costs. American farmers are shedding customers as other countries retaliate. Yet the captains of industry who might be expected to speak up have mostly rolled over. Even trade associations that loudly criticized economic policies from previous presidents — and can provide political cover for individual companies that fear coming forward — have been curiously restrained.

Many seem to believe they can resolve issues behind the scenes by exploiting personal relationships with White House officials. But there’s little evidence this back-channeling is working, despite some willful delusions otherwise.

Ah yes, the ol’ “the fever will break” approach — definitely something with a long history of working on Trump.

As I’ve been saying for a long time, a purely venal Republican Party would be a major improvement — the dumb and/or evil shit they actually believe in has been a much greater source of harm during the 21st century. And obviously corporate interests thinking they can manipulate striving authoritarians to their own interests has many unpleasant historical antecedents.

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