Trump's control over other Republicans

 Axios - To fully appreciate President Trump's mesmerizing control over Republicans, consider their scant public dissent over ideas many of them privately disdain:

• Support for Vladimir Putin.
• Support for on-again, off-again tariffs, and a worsening economy.
• Support Elon Musk's haphazard budget-cutting.
• Making Canada the 51st state.
• Pardoning most Jan. 6 defendants.

It's the worst-kept secret in town. Most elected Republicans are staying silent on issues they find dubious, dumb or destructive... In private, they're more forthcoming about their concerns and their mixed motivations for zipping their lips — genuine support for Trump and genuine fear of crossing him.

• Almost universally, Republicans have convinced themselves that by winning a second time, Trump earned whatever Cabinet he wants, and the freedom to pursue the policies of his choice.

They see no upside — or good reason — to oppose him because Trump, Musk and others would torch them publicly and on social media, and almost certainly threaten a primary challenge.

• Just ask Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who faced constant harassment back home for merely raising questions about Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth. She wound up voting to confirm him.
• Or Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted to confirm Hegseth after getting the Ernst treatment and threatened with a primary challenge. Tillis has gotten repeated death threats since the election.
• Or the exception, Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky.): Trump has threatened him with a primary challenge for being "an automatic 'NO' vote on just about everything." But Massie continues to vote against Trump priorities, and recently wrote on X: "POTUS is spending his day attacking me and Canada. The difference is Canada will eventually cave."...

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — an outlier in the GOP who's an actual fan of tariffs — called the Republican chorus "an acquiescence to reality."

• Hawley says that although there are plenty of Republicans who don't like tariffs or Trump's approach to Ukraine, "I haven't heard what the alternatives would be."
• "He's the undisputed leader of the party," Hawley added. "I think people are, like: 'OK, let's give him a shot' — even those who probably, privately, would do it differently."