Right now, if you are an establishment Republican, you probably think that Donald Trump is likely to lose badly in November. But if you are an optimistic establishment Republican, you might argue that this could be a good thing — that the party could win by losing, since that defeat could prove to the anti-establishment/tea party crowd that nominating unelectable, extreme candidates like Trump just doesn't work. Indeed, some have made this very argument — often privately.
This is a fantasy. And Sean Hannity just demonstrated why.
On his radio show Wednesday, Hannity rather amazingly
sought to pre-blame the Republican establishment for a Trump loss in 2016.
"If in 96 days Trump loses this election, I am pointing the finger directly at people like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and John McCain and John Kasich and Ted Cruz — if he won’t endorse — and Jeb Bush and everybody else that made promises they’re not keeping," Hannity said. This pretty well encapsulates the GOP's post-Trump dilemma.
Sean Hannity just showed why a blowout Trump loss wouldn’t end the GOP civil war