Republicans know that the president’s folly and excesses cost them the elections. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to challenge him
Shortly after polls closed last Tuesday, with the scale of the Republican trouncing in the midterms still becoming apparent, Donald Trump briefly adopted an oddly conciliatory tone. He declared that he was “absolutely” willing to accept the results, would look forward to working with Democrats and that deportation policies might have been “too tough”.
It was never going to last. He soon cast doubt on the elections’ legitimacy. On Friday, he replaced his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, with her deputy, Stephen Miller – a white nationalist, or “stone-cold racist”, in the words of Hakeem Jeffries, likely to be the next House speaker. Ms Wiles executed the president’s decisions faithfully, but was seen as a somewhat calming if not restraining influence, which may help explain her departure.