“There are days I think if we shaved Trump’s bad combover we’d find ‘666’ on his scalp. But then I realize he’s just a jackass with a unique ability to let others feed off his jackassery”

“Did he really say that?” ask the Branch Trumpidians as their cult leader bobs and weaves between diametrically opposed positions. The word parsing first made famous by a serpent in the Garden of Eden is stock and trade among Trump and the Branch Trumpidians. Along the way, Trump has the unique ability to bring out the worst in practically everybody.

Tune in to CNN and watch Sarah Huckabee, a Christian whose dad was a pastor, dodge having to denounce a smear against another Christian.

Tune into Fox and watch Sarah Huckabee’s dad or a variety of other Branch Trumpidians go on the attack against conservatives for upholding their principles or watch Stacy Dash call people who oppose Trump “traitors.”

In fact, the most amazing part of it all is how many outright shills there are for Trump who refuse to actually admit they are on his team. That really is the most amazing thing about what a terrible candidate he is. There are two or three talk radio show hosts and a host of television personalities who are non-stop mouthpieces for Trump giving Trump non-stop access to their programs for softball interviews. But they claim they are not endorsing him. Just tune in tomorrow, the next day, and the next day to watch Trump, Trump’s people, and Trump’s supporters say how awesome he is.

Everyone gets the joke but them.

Watch a Trump rally and see otherwise reasonable people turn into angry protestors and angry counter-protestors, even pepper spraying a 15 year old.

Turn on the internet and watch white supremacists pledge loyalty to Trump for addressing white grievances as “alt-right” fascists pretend they are just hipster contrarians.

Turn on Breitbart and watch a cast of characters attack their own employee for what Trump’s campaign manager did.

Watch Ben Carson beclown himself to defend the man who compared him to a child molester. Watch Chris Christie contort his body in ways no humanly possible to reconcile his past statements on Trump’s record with his support of Trump. Watch Sarah Palin and her daughter attack Ted Cruz then have her Super PAC use Ted Cruz’s name to fundraise, claiming to support Cruz.

Watch any member of the Branch Trumpidians presume anyone opposed to their man-god is bought and paid for by the Establishment™. In fact, watch a whole lot of radio and television personalities who’ve long been given perks and discount access by Trump start accusing others of being on the take.

Donald Trump brings out the worst in everybody. Those who enter his orbit come out of it without their integrity. Everyone around Trump comes away with compromised values. And those opposed to Trump often find themselves reduced to the same shrill level as the average Branch Trumpidian.

It is a cult and I, for one, refuse to perpetuate the talking point that we want these people as a meaningful part of any coalition. I sure don’t. The people still hanging on to Donald Trump at this point and defending him really are not meaningful partners in making America great again. They’ve been consumed by their lesser angels and many people once presumed to be civil have been shown to actually be really awful people happy to put it all on display.

There are days I think if we shaved Trump’s bad combover we’d find “666” on his scalp. But then I realize he’s just a jackass with a unique ability to let others feed off his jackassery and behave like jackasses themselves.