Presidential addresses in the wake of national tragedies are typically attempts to heal and unite. For critics of Donald Trump, it was more a case of wondering how much more damage he might do.

Standing in the diplomatic reception room at the White House after a weekend of bloodshed in America, the US president declared: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.”

But he also went on to rail against “gruesome and grisly video games”, warn of “the perils of the internet and social media” and demand reform of mental health laws. He also veered off teleprompter and named Toledo instead of Dayton as the scene of one of the mass shootings. And missing from the speech was any mention of background checks on gun buyers or any hint of inward reflection or acceptance of responsibility that his own racist rhetoric might be a contributory factor.

Lily Adams, the communications director for the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, tweeted: “He got the city wrong. He got the causes wrong. He got the fixes wrong. He’s completely incapable of rising to the moment.”

But just as the notion of a lone wolf with a gun is inadequate to explain the attack in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead, so is the notion of a lone wolf in the White House. None of this would be possible without the compliance of Republicans. The tragic events of the past weekend have, critics say, displayed once again the moral collapse of one of America’s two great parties. It is Trump’s all the way, its rebels silenced, retired or dead.

Cowed by his fervent base, a handful of Republicans offered criticism last month when Trump tweeted that four congresswomen of colour should “go back” to their countries. Senator Mitt Romney used Twitter to call the remark “destructive, demeaning, and disunifying” but, when a reporter asked him in person if the comments were racist, he turned on his heels. Others, such as Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, amplified the crude message.

The voices of dissent were raised just a little more when, at a campaign rally, Trump supporters chanted “Send her back!” about the Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. The president himself condemned the chant, which echoes the anti-immigrant tea party insurgency from the Barack Obama era, only to almost instantly praise his fans as “incredible patriots”.

The Republican Party is enabling white supremacy in our country. As a lifelong Republican, it pains me to say this, but it’s the truth.



I of course am not suggesting that all Republicans are white supremacists nor am I saying that the average Republican is even racist. — Senator McCollister (@SenMcCollister) August 5, 2019

Then came more Fox News-inspired tweets attacking Elijah Cummings, an African American congressman, and his district, which contains Baltimore, as “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess”. Last week, when it was revealed that Cummings’ home had been burgled, Trump responded: “Too bad!”

Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, responded on Twitter: “This is so unnecessary.” Her post was accompanied by an emoji of a small yellow face with eyes cast heavenward and mouth scowling. And that, in a nutshell, seems to be the state of the anti-Trump resistance in the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, recently described himself as “the grim reaper” when it comes to Democratic-driven legislation from the House of Representatives. That metaphor now seems particularly unfortunate. Hours after the shooting in El Paso, “Team Mitch” tweeted a photo of a mocked-up cemetery with headstones that said “RIP” with names including “Socialism”, “Green New Deal”, the former supreme court nominee “Merrick Garland” and McConnell’s Kentucky political rival “Amy McGrath”.

On Monday, the Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer urged McConnell to bring the Senate back from its August recess for a special session to take up a gun background checks bill passed by the House earlier this year. Congressman Tim Ryan, a candidate for president, put it bluntly in an MSNBC interview: “Republicans need to, quite frankly, get their shit together and stop pandering to the NRA [National Rifle Association] because people are getting killed.”

A Pew Research poll last year found that 92% of Americans support background checks for all guns sales. But Republicans, who for years have offered only “thoughts and prayers” instead of tightening gun control laws, seem as unlikely to budge as ever. Political maps show that gun ownership is arguably the best predictor of voting patterns in America: people with guns overwhelmingly support Republicans, while people without back the Democrats.

There is little reason to believe that Republicans will shift their position on either gun safety or capitulation to the Trump personality cult. Among the pleas that fall on deaf ears was this from the Democratic candidate presidential Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at last week’s primary debates.

Speaking directly to the camera, he said: “If you are watching at home, and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that, when the sun sets on your career, and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether, in this moment, with this president, you found the courage to stand up to him or continued to put party over country.”

• This article was amended on 6 August 2019 to make clear that Merrick Garland was nominated (by Barack Obama) to the supreme court but not appointed.