Thread by @julianzelizer

wapo.st/2HKR6E1?tid=ss… @GovChristie warned @GovLarryHogan, someone who is a friend and who he admires, that a primary challenge against @realDonaldTrump is not practical. Here are some thoughts on what this all means for the GOP. /1

“I don’t believe that Trumpism, if you want to call it that,” Christie said, “will last beyond Donald Trump.” /2

Right now, most Republicans seem to agree with Christie about the futility of a primary challenge. Other than @GovBillWeld, Republicans are sitting still. /3

This silence says a lot about the relationship of Trumpism and the GOP. The bottom line is that when there has been serious discontent about a president, incumbents have usually faced primary challenges in modern times. /4

President Harry Truman, whose popularity was falling fast in 1952, didn’t see Senator Estes Kefauver’s New Hampshire victory coming. Truman decided to quit the race. /5

In 1968, Eugene McCarthy emerged as the voice of the anti-war movement. He surprised President Lyndon Johnson with a strong second place finish in New Hampshire. Soon after, LBJ announced that he would not run for reelection. /6

In one of the less well-known challenges, the liberal California Republican Pete McClosky took on President Nixon in 1972 though his campaign quickly fizzled. Might be the best comparison to Weld. /7

President Gerald Ford faced a serious rightward revolt from Ronald Reagan that almost worked. Reagan won the support of conservatives like Jesse Helms of North Carolina (fun fact: Paul Manafort helped Ford secure delegates for the convention). /8

In 1992, former Nixon speechwriter and conservative pundit @PatrickBuchanan tried to win the nomination against “King George” H.W. Bush, rallying the cultural right. Some say that his campaign created a foundation for @realDonaldTrump in 2016. /9

c-span.org/video/?c461843…

Today, we hear crickets from major players like @JohnKasich and @JeffFlake. /10

The absence of a primary challenge suggests that @GovChristie is not being honest about the state of his party. /11

Right now there is no daylight between @realDonaldTrump and the rest of the GOP. /12

If you want to read some more about these primary challenges and their long-term consequences, take a look at #FaultLines with @wwnorton. @KevinMKruse and I touch on a number of these moments in recent American political history. /end

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