



Before Republicans gathered in Cleveland to crown Donald Trump as their presidential nominee this week, a Politico reporter spent some time with a few of the party’s top elites—former presidents and presidential candidates for example—to see how they were coping with the unfolding events and learn about their plans to return the GOP to some semblance of the party it once was.

Not everyone was confident that successful rehabilitation was even possible after Trump 2016, particularly George W. Bush. Back in April, the former president reportedly expressed fears that the party may never recover.

“I’m worried that I will be the last Republican president,” Politico reports he said at an administrative reunion party.

Imagine that, the party’s final days delivered by an establishment president who started the Iraq War and an outsider reality television star widely endorsed by white supremacists. The end of the party of Lincoln does seem near.

Head to Politico for the inside story on how some prominent Republican leaders are contemplating the party’s demise.