Republicans​ Certainly Seem to Want a King

Opinion|Republicans​ Certainly Seem to Want a King

May has been a brutal month for anyone hoping for signs that the Republican base has grown tired of President Trump’s anti-democratic strongman shtick.

On Tuesday, Representative Thomas Massie got taken down by Ed Gallrein, a challenger aggressively backed by Trumpworld. The most expensive House primary race ever, this was not a contest of ideas, qualifications, politics or even personality. It was a race driven and decided on presidential spite, the latest installment in Mr. Trump’s long-running vengeance campaign against any Republican he deems disloyal, defiant or simply still in possession of a political spine.

A libertarian-ish maverick with a stubborn streak and a penchant for antagonizing his party’s leaders, Mr. Massie has clashed repeatedly with the president over the years on issues including the bombing of Iran and the release of the Justice Department’s Epstein files. His loss to Mr. Gallrein, an unknown, undistinguished challenger expected to be a much more reliable presidential boot licker, is the latest warning to other Republicans about the dangers of crossing Mr. Trump even now, as his popularity is on the slide.

It should also serve as a vivid and very expensive reminder, especially to Republicans, of how little Mr. Trump cares about the current or future well-being of his chosen party. Destroying the G.O.P. might suit his purposes even better.

Mr. Massie was one of many Trump targets this primary cycle. In Louisiana, the president’s vengeance minions also took down Senator Bill Cassidy, as payback for the senator’s vote to convict in Mr. Trump’s 2021 impeachment trial. In the May 16 primary, Mr. Cassidy failed to even qualify for the runoff election.

Going farther down the political ladder, Mr. Trump’s allies successfully ousted several of the Indiana state lawmakers who had thwarted his redistricting scheme in that state. Message: Defying Mr. Trump is unacceptable at any level of office.