More than a month into an era of unified, Republican-controlled federal government, the party's hamfisted efforts to finally repeal the Affordable Care Act are going about as swimmingly as they did during the six years that elapsed since the law's enactment. House Speaker Paul Ryan has finally unveiled his proposed alternative, which is functionally an eight-step program for screwing over poor people in the cruelest possible manner, but now some prominent voices within the White House are apparently starting to get cold feet. The Washington Post reports that Shadow President Steve Bannon has joined Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller in urging Trump to consider the "potential political costs" of repeal. White nationalists: Can't win with 'em, can't win without 'em!

The crux of the White House's reluctance appears to stem from their dawning realization of just how damaging wholesale repeal could be for their staunchest supporters. Despite his strenuous and nonsensical objections, Trump prevailed in the election thanks to razor-thin margins in only a few key states, and he lost the popular vote by some three million votes. His plummeting approval ratings are already breaking all kinds of approval rating records that presidents really don't want to break.

Meanwhile, studies indicate that the vast majority of those who would be affected by the Republicans' healthcare reform proposals would be working-class whites without college degrees—the exact demographic that put him over the top on Election Day. Repealing Obamacare is no longer just a fun slogan for the Trump administration's lackeys to yell about in between leading "Lock her up!" chants on the campaign trail—instead, it's a looming political reality that could have a profound effect on the extremely fragile coalition that delivered Trump the presidency.

It turns out—prepare to be shocked—that there might be a hard ceiling for a nationwide political campaign that defines itself not by its concrete policy proposals, but instead by its vague, general commitments to things like jingoism, isolationism, and ethnonationalism. As cool as it must have been for Bannon and his minions to ride those sentiments all the way to the White House, voters will continue to rally behind them only as long as their basic needs are met, too. Trump voters might be intrigued by the idea of a homogenous society in which everyone greets each other with some variation of "Make America Great Again," but that prospect gets a lot less appealing when access to badly-needed healthcare disappears overnight. Trump's reelection prospects depend heavily on his ability to keep his coalition intact, and it sounds like his White House is starting to realize that if Congress indeed repeals the Affordable Care Act, that already-difficult task might become impossible.

Watch Now: Trump Must Go