More and more, Republican men act like children.

It seems some sort of Benjamin Button spell has been put on the Republican Party, as we are witnessing its leaders’ slow descent into infancy. As each day passes, men who were seemingly well into their adulthood not so long ago regress further and further—and I fear that soon enough few of them will be eligible to operate a motor vehicle.

No one is surprised when Donald Trump behaves like a child, because we’ve known for some time that he is a man-child. He craves attention, he’s highly emotional, he has the humor of an angsty teen and he loves calling people puerile names. Trump is the most petulant president in the history of this country.

However, what came as a bit of a surprise to me and many others is how quickly Trump’s juvenile behavior started being mimicked by Republicans in Congress. If Trump has taught us anything, it’s how easily seemingly serious people can become profoundly idiotic. He has turned career politicians into circus freaks.

I’m assuming by now you’d like some examples of what I’m talking about. Let’s take, for instance, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Cradle). Not long ago, when we were at the peak of the net neutrality debate, the United States senator of five years tweeted the following:

Credit: Ted Cruz/Twitter

I hope you were not drinking a beverage if you haven’t seen this before, because it has surely now splattered all over your screen. This man who once tried to present himself as a “principled conservative” is now tweeting “OMG” and “snowflake” as if he is a troll on a Reddit board. And trust me, there are many other examples showing Cruz’s transformation into an internet troll. Though they are lesser offenses compared to the others, there are also the absurd times he has tweeted out cartoon memes, and there was that time he compared Democrats to Lisa Simpson. A man-child indeed.

Ted Cruz does not stand alone in his age reversal. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ball Pit) recently enthusiastically started using the term “Trump derangement syndrome,” which is a childish term that amounts to nothing more than gaslighting. For those who are unaware, gaslighting is when someone tries to trick you into questioning your sanity. “Trump derangement syndrome” is a term people use to try to make Trump’s critics think that their being upset over things like Trump’s racism, sexism, general cruelty, destruction of norms and defense of Putin means that they’re not emotionally or mentally stable. To the contrary, I would argue you’re likely not emotionally or mentally stable if these things do not trouble you.

Credit: Rand Paul/Twitter

This was Paul’s response to people being upset over what some called “treasonous” behavior, which was when Trump expressed doubt over whether Russia interfered in the 2016 elections while standing next to Vladimir Putin (which Trump knew happened).

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Nursery) has also used the term “Trump derangement syndrome” quite a few times, and his Twitter behavior has at times become less than flattering over the past couple years. Let us also not forget when Rubio started making dick jokes about Trump during the 2016 Republican debates.

Aside from the childishness of Republicans who are currently members of Congress, it is not difficult to find ridiculous Republican candidates who are remaking themselves in Trump’s image. Trump’s second favorite election meddler, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, also likes to call liberals “snowflakes” like good ol’ Ted Cruz. He’s running for governor. My personal favorite Republican candidate is Dennis Hof, who is a huge Trump fan and happens to be a pimp. He’s running for state legislature and won his primary last month. Here’s a recent gem from his Twitter page:

Credit: Dennis Hof/Twitter

If anyone thinks using a candidate like this guy as an example is unfair, then you don’t know who is president and don’t know how many freaks are following in his footsteps. The fact Republicans are voting for him, and evangelicals completely support him, should be beyond alarming to any sane member of the GOP.

A brief look at what has happened to the GOP since Trump became a leading presidential candidate and then won the presidential election in 2016 will show you how much degradation has occurred. Not only have the vast majority of Republicans in Congress become spineless sycophants who do as Trump pleases, they have debased themselves by beginning to behave in the petulant manner in which he behaves. These Republicans should be careful about becoming too childish, though, because if they do, they run the risk of Trump putting them in cages.