The American tradition is not deference to authority; it's defiance of authority, even when the cause is hopeless. Sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset once wrote that the United States was, in fact, peopled by “runaways from authority” — settlers seeking freedom from abusive governments and members of dissenting religions seeking freedom from established churches.

Defiance is Donald J. Trump's signature attitude; it was the defining characteristic of the 2016 Trump campaign. Trump defied the political establishment, the news media, conventional wisdom, common decency, former President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and even the pope.

Trump's supporters admire his defiance, which they see as fearlessness. They share his contempt for the establishment, the news media, educated elites and the norms of political correctness, all of which helps explain why Trump's base is sticking with him now that he has antagonized the entire national establishment.

In the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, Trump's job approval rating is down to 38 percent, but 81 percent of Republicans are standing by their president. “We have, actually, great unity in the Republican Party,” Trump boasted.

The Republican Party is now the Trump party: “There is zero appetite for the ‘Never Trump’ movement in the Republican Party of today,” an adviser to a pro-Trump super PAC told the New York Times. “The party is now defined by President Trump and his movement.”

Are Republican voters dismayed by the indictments coming from the special counsel? Not at all. To Trump and to his base, special counsel Robert Mueller represents the national establishment passing judgment on the president.

Get the think newsletter. This site is protected by recaptcha

Trump's response to the investigation? Defiance: “Why aren't Crooked Hillary and the Dems the focus?” Trump tweeted. And now, some Republican lawmakers are pressuring the Justice Department to name a second special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Such a move would instantly destroy the norm, established after the Watergate scandal, that the White House should never use law enforcement agencies to go after political enemies.