In the annals of American political theatre, few spectacles have been as grotesque as the Republican Party’s ongoing romance with Donald Trump. The man who led a coup attempt, stole classified documents, and was found liable for sexual abuse is now the presumptive nominee for a major party. This is not a sign of political vitality.
It is a symptom of intellectual decadence, a phenomenon I have traced from the late Roman Republic to the Weimar Republic. The GOP has become a cult of personality, sacrificing principle for power. The party’s elites, once champions of law and order, now rationalise the indefensible.
They speak of ‘weaponisation’ of the justice system, but they forget that the law is the bedrock of civilisation. By nominating Trump, they are not merely choosing a candidate. They are choosing a path that leads to the erosion of institutional trust, the corrosion of civic virtue, and the eventual collapse of the republic.
The fall of Rome began with the abandonment of its laws. The GOP is following suit.
