The civil war amongst the Republicans has already begun. And it won’t be a short one

Rome. “Terrible news for us on the right. Tuesday is shaping up to be a ‘blue tsunami’ (blue being the colour of the Democratic Party, ed.). All Trump had to do was work to resolve the cost-of-living crisis and not start a new war, as he had promised. He started a war that continues to throw the economy into turmoil for most people. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic.” Rod Dreher, a right-wing Christian who could not be any further to the right—he chose to live in Budapest during Viktor Orbán’s years in power—vented his disappointment, mixed with a fair bit of anger, on X, as soon as the New York Times, during the night between Sunday and Monday Italian time, published the latest series of polls conducted by the authoritative Siena Institute. 

One should not place too much faith in opinion polls, especially American ones (Republicans tend not to respond, and this time they have done so en masse), but the trend has never been clearer: all the conditions are in place – at least on paper – for a ‘blue wave’, with the recapture not only of the House of Representatives but also of the Senate. Dreher has long viewed with dismay what the American right has become: ‘Shocked to the core’, he described himself just over a year ago at the end of a long journey through rural America: ‘I am witnessing, and in a very short space of time, the deep penetration of right-wing totalitarianism, expressed chiefly as anti-Semitism’. The conservative intellectual’s social media posts were immediately reposted by Edward Feser, a traditionalist Catholic philosopher who, a few months ago in an interview with Il Foglio, noted how Trump’s “egomania”, “which has always been a central factor”, “has really spiralled out of control over the past year”. Feser wrote yesterday that “Trump’s policies on tariffs, the war with Iran and so on are extremely unpopular, yet his defenders argue that they must be pursued regardless. Then, straight afterwards, they claim that Trump cannot champion the pro-life cause because it is too unpopular. Supporters of the pro-life cause, stop letting yourselves be taken for a ride by these impostors”. The pro-life issue, despite everything and despite today’s myriad problems – starting with the cost of basic necessities and petrol – remains central. At least for a section of the public who are then called upon to vote. “Pro-life advocates can only continue to wield political influence if the Republican Party (GOP) realises it will lose the election should it betray them. THIS (in capital letters in the text, ed.) is the harsh and undeniable political reality. Anyone who claims otherwise either does not understand politics, or does not truly care about the pro-life cause,” posted Feser, who was also somewhat scandalised by the President’s rhetoric, which uses and abuses the name of Jesus Christ. A few days ago, at a rally, Trump said: “Can you believe it? I even posted a picture of myself as Christ and they followed me anyway! Now just look at what’s happening…”. The philosopher commented: “It is not impossible that he is enjoying testing the theory that there is nothing he can say or do to make his most fanatical and adoring Christian followers abandon him.”

Robert P. George, a ‘classical’ conservative and professor of law at Princeton, has also made his voice heard; he has never been in tune with the MAGA populism that has radically transformed the old Grand Old Party over the years. The intellectual has set his sights on Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate running against Abdul El Sayed in Michigan. Drawing on a video by Rogers, George wrote that “so, essentially, he is saying that Abdul El Sayed and the Democrats are right on abortion and that he is now on their side.” And this comes from a man who, whilst in the House of Representatives, had an almost impeccable pro-life voting record. Not exactly a model of courage! Rogers could have demonstrated a sense of duty and courage by opposing El Sayed and the Democrats on this issue, challenging the pro-abortion extremism that has led to abortion being permitted right up to the moment of birth in states such as Massachusetts and Minnesota. Instead, he caved in.” Steve Bannon, in an interview with the Financial Times, said that the day after the mid-term elections, the Republican Party would be rocked by a civil war. Reading the statements from intellectuals in that camp, it feels as though the drums are already beating. Robert George wrote: “Once again, President Trump wanted these mid-term elections to be a referendum on him. He is getting what he wanted. It is a referendum on him. He wanted people to vote as if he were on the ballot paper. That is exactly what they are doing. We will soon have their verdict.”