The perverse spectacle of the Republican nominee for president describing, on tape, the act of grabbing women “by the p----” without their consent, has proved a timely moment for G.O.P. soul-searching, with several dozen Republican senators and congresspeople taking the opportunity to repudiate Donald Trump. But for many esteemed members of the party, their Trump Derangement Syndrome has reached a late, terminal stage. With millions of Trump supporters rallying around the candidate’s newly declared war on defectors like House Speaker Paul Ryan, some Republicans are presenting symptoms that suggest Trump mania may be incurable.

A prime example: on Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes repeatedly asked Texas representative Blake Farenthold what it would take for him to fully un-endorse Trump. Trump’s comments about groping women have already been described as “sexual assault” in the media, but most Republicans still support him. But what if Trump bragged about actually raping women, Hayes posited, offering the hypothetical to Farenthold. This should have been an easy rejoinder for the Texas congressman. Instead, Farenthold responded: “It depends, you don’t know the entire context.”

“If a tape came out with Donald Trump saying ‘I really like to rape women,’ you would continue to endorse him?” a bewildered Hayes repeated.

But Farenthold stuck by his man. “Again . . . that would be bad. And I’d have to consider it, but again, we’re talking about what Donald Trump said 10 years ago as opposed to what Hillary Clinton has done in the past two or three years,” he said. “She’s been a failure.” (Farenthold later apologized on Twitter for his “failure to immediately condemn anyone who would say something as outrageous as they like raping women,” and that he did not “condone rape or violence against women.”)

Other Republicans did withdraw their endorsements from Trump after his lewd comments were made public, but relapsed just as quickly. It took less than three days for Nebraska senator Deb Fischer to undo her own un-endorsement. On Saturday, Fischer called for Trump to step aside and let running mate Mike Pence take over. By Tuesday, she was back to saying she would vote for Trump after all. “He decided he would not step aside. I respect his decision,” Fischer told local radio station KLIN. “I support the Republican ticket and it's a Trump-Pence ticket . . . to me it’s not a tough choice.” Alabama congressman Bradley Byrne also changed his mind about Trump three days later. After calling on Trump to resign Saturday, by Tuesday Byrne had reversed himself as well. “He will support the Republican ticket on Election Day, as he has pledged to do all along,” a spokesman said, allowing Byrne just enough wiggle room to have it both ways in case the political winds shift again. “He just believes that person should be Mike Pence.”

The same could be said of South Dakota senator John Thune, who told the Rapid City Journal Tuesday that despite calling on Trump to hand the reins to his running-mate, he still plans to vote for the Republican ticket. “He has a lot of work to do, I think, to win this election, but, I’m certainly not going to vote for Hillary Clinton,” said Thune. Ditto New Jersey congressman Scott Garrett: “The truth is Scott Garrett’s position has been consistent from the beginning,” his spokesman told the Observer. “On Saturday, he denounced Donald Trump’s reprehensible comments and said he believes in Mike Pence,” but “he has always believed” that Clinton is worse.