Republicans are at a critical point. They need to stand against Trump now or risk the destruction of their party

The president continues to drive out elements of the GOP which are critical to its success in the future. Those who are hanging on to the president’s current strategy and behaving as though it is a recipe for future success are kidding themselves

Donald Trump officially declared himself a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in June 2015. Over the next four years, he promised to build a wall along the border of Mexico. Who paid for it became a pointless exercise. Trump wanted it done.

Over the last two months, however, it developed into an “emergency.” The president, using powers primarily reserved for dealing with foreign policy issues (such as sanctions against Russia or actions following the 9/11 attacks), invoked those same powers to redirect monies already appropriated for construction of his precious wall. Sixteen states have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the president’s decision.

Trump's arrogance knows little bounds. In a press conference following the declaration, he admitted he did not “need” to go that route, but he chose to do so anyway. He then showed how seriously he thought of the emergency by jetting off to Mar-a-Lago for a weekend of golf.

Unsurprisingly, Trump found pockets of support among the Trump-faithful on social media, particularly among the Twitterati. He also received the usual backing of many of his Fox News sycophants. Unfortunately, some of the support (tacit or outright) that comes from fellow members of the Republican Party is another example of the party trading short-term wins for long-term damage.

This president uses executive power and in particular, his authority related to national security to affect domestic policy, in a way we've never seen as a nation before. Trump has managed to embroil the country in a counterproductive trade war by using national security as his starting point. He demanded the New York Times turn over the author of an administration official who authored an anonymous op-ed on their pages and said then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions should investigate as it fell under the umbrella of national security.

On foreign policy, Trump's approach is farcical. He has no problem alienating allies while heaping praise on thugs and dictators. The president praises Kim Jong-un as someone who can turn North Korea into a “great economic powerhouse,” when in reality, it's a country that literally goes dark in the evenings.

Some GOP members of Congress who privately disagree with the president, instead of exercising their role in a superior body (the co-equal argument is one that doesn't hold up when scrutinizing the powers Congress has over the executive and judicial branches of government) sit back and hope the courts will do their work for them.

Others, like Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, are more vocal, and criticize the president openly, only to face the wrath of Trump and his most loyal supporters to the point many of them want him to face a primary opponent — despite the fact he's one of the most conservative members of Congress.

The more Republicans dig in to defend Trump, the more damage they do to the party in the long run. The mid-term losses in the House were just a start and an ominous one. Trump's support in suburban areas, typically areas that favor GOP candidates, collapsed and Republican House members paid the price with a loss of 40 seats.

That's terrible news for the future. While Trump and his merry band of adulators brag about the level of support Trump has among Republicans, his support among independents (a figure that includes many conservatives who no longer identify as Republicans) hasn't hit more than 40 per cent since June of 2018, according to Gallup. For someone who won an electoral-vote presidency by the slimmest of margins, it doesn't bode well for the future.

Trump continues to drive out elements of the GOP which are critical to its success in the future. Those who are hanging on to the president’s current strategy and behaving as though it is a recipe for future success are kidding themselves.

The demographics in America continue to shift, and until the GOP takes more seriously the autopsy performed following the 2012 election, the short-term victories will turn into faint memories.

Republicans could start to repair the damage by voting against Trump's latest absurd national emergency declaration. By admitting he didn't need to take such a drastic step and that he didn't feel like waiting or working any longer (laying waste to the notion he's a terrific deal-maker), Trump essentially gave up any moral authority he had. Congress, therefore, doesn't have to go along with it.

If Republicans cower and refuse to confront something they'd never allow a Democratic president to do, they'll deserve the consequences that come as a result. Those consequences will be the subjugation of their political power to the Democratic Party at both the federal and state level for a long, long time.