As Ann Coulter noted , without his base, "Trump can be killed with a paper cut." And Trump's base rallied to his side because of immigration and trade. Trump won as a nationalist, not as a Republican.

Obviously, some compromises will be necessary. Giving Reince Priebus a voice in the administration is one, and Priebus was loyal (after Trump won the nomination.) But if Priebus is simply using his position to turn Trump into George W. Bush's third term, Trump is in danger.

It is beyond belief Kris Kobach has still not been nominated to head the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, Trump is apparently looking at Michael McCaul, a Texas Congressman who has gone out of his way to push for amnesty in the past.

Mr. McCaul, Texas Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has repeatedly riled conservatives with what they describe as ineffective posturing against President Obama’s lax enforcement of immigration laws. His chief offense was co-authoring the 2015 Secure Our Borders First Act, which conservatives and activists reviled as a fig leaf to Democrats that included tough language but ignored the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. and kept too much decision-making in the hands of the Obama administration. “We certainly hope that Donald Trump would not reward a deceptive pro-amnesty lawmaker like Michael McCaul with a Cabinet position,” said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. “That would be very disappointing to all of us that believed his campaign promises to secure our borders and deport millions of illegal immigrants under current U.S. laws.” He noted that Mr. McCaul also was among 19 House Republicans who in 2014 signed onto House Speaker John A. Boehner’s “Principles on Immigration Reform” agenda, which included a path to citizenship and voting rights for illegal immigrants. The homeland security secretary will be one of the most prominent nominations for Mr. Trump, who made fighting illegal immigration the cornerstone of his campaign. He promised to implement aggressive deportation policies and build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. [Border hawks riled after Trump meeting with Texas' McCaul for Homeland post, by S.A. Miller, Washington Times, November 29, 2016]

McCaul has said some good things in the past . But as we've chronicled at VDARE.com in the past , he hasn't followed up such talk with meaningful action, instead favoring Boehner style legislation which talks up "border security" but doesn't do anything to solve the problem or dry up the jobs magnet. This is why he's been criticized by both Border Patrol officers and Senator Jeff Sessions in the past. McCaul also has a C+ career rating from Numbers USA , and has actually gotten worse with time (with a D score recently.)

For his own political survival, as well as the survival of the nation, Donald Trump needs someone knowledgeable, tough, and loyal to head the Department of Homeland Security and push hard to fulfill his plans. Congressman McCaul is not that man. If he is appointed, Trump's presidency will be in danger before it even begins.

Kris Kobach for DHS. #NeverMcCaul