It Only Gets Worse for Trump from Here

John Harwood: “Trump’s weak public standing remains above the 40 percent level mainly because of the strong economy. But his reliance on crude demagoguery about immigration before friendly campaign audiences – including Tuesday night in West Virginia – demonstrates that his principal economic arguments lack punch with the electorate. Average workers have gained little from Trump’s tax cuts, and his trade wars threaten to cost more jobs than they save.”

“Republican lawmakers will not suddenly abandon Trump any more than Republican lawmakers suddenly abandoned Richard Nixon 45 years as the flames of Watergate grew higher. Their survival instincts won’t permit it, given the allegiance of Trump’s diminished but still fervent base among GOP voters.”

“But concrete legal developments erode political defenses. There will soon be fewer Republican members of Congress than hold office today.”