The Wall Street Journal's editorial page believes that President Donald Trump is getting ready to divorce himself from the Republican Party -- and it's urging the GOP to start making preparations.
The editorial begins by noting how Trump treated former wife Marla Maples, whom he allegedly broke up with by leaking his decision to leave her to the New York Post. The editors then say that Trump seems to be trying something similar with his public attacks on top GOP lawmakers.
"President Trump now seems to be using Twitter to tell Republicans in Congress that he’s divorcing them, or at least seeking a trial separation, and for its own self-preservation the GOP Congress is going to have to find different living arrangements," the editors write. "Bashing Republicans won’t help him pass his fall agenda, but Mr. Trump may think he needs to protect himself politically by making Congress his foil."
The editors' advice for Republicans is to keep their heads down and to ignore Trump's tweets, while also working to pass as much of their legislation as they can while daring Trump to veto it when they send it to his desk. They also say that Congress shouldn't bend to Trump's request to fund construction of a border wall as a precondition for keeping the government open.
"Legislative success — especially on tax reform — is the best way Republicans can protect themselves from any Trump undertow in 2018," the editors conclude. "They need a record to change the campaign subject from whatever the President is tweeting a year from now."
