To the Editor:

Re “2019: The Year of the Wolves” (column, Jan. 1):

David Brooks’s forecast for 2019 — President Trump’s desperate attempt to defy all institutions of government to get whatever he wants — is totally plausible. Mr. Brooks’s remedy — a rebirth of congressional bipartisanship — is not. Only one party, the Democrats, is open to bipartisanship. Unfortunately, bipartisanship requires two.

For two years, the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has listened only to Mr. Trump, and Mr. Trump listens only to the most radical voices in his base, like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Representative Mark Meadows. And when Mr. McConnell tried bipartisanship and passed a stopgap budget bill with the support of Mr. Trump, the president heard those voices and changed his mind .

The United States is now governed by a small minority of Americans, the most radical of Republicans, who are indifferent or hostile to the rest of us. And they have an advantage, because the president doesn’t care what happens to anyone else . He issues ultimatums and requires capitulation, so he can “win.”

The ball is in the Republicans’ court. The stakes could not be higher.

Caroline Poplin

Bethesda, Md.