The GOP can now dump Trump with zero consequences: Conservative columnist

A conservative Washington Post columnist wrote Friday that Republicans may fare better if they finally abandon Donald Trump in the midst of his border wall shutdown.

The shutdown, which is set to become the longest in history, "will mark a new phase" in the Trump presidency, columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote.

"Rather than provide an 'off-ramp' so he can declare victory in an unwinnable standoff, its most likely result will be the erosion of his power as a result of intensified judicial scrutiny and shattering of his support in the Republican Party," she wrote.

Rubin points out that Trump stands to lose support from Republican governors and senators in the states along the border where he would raid funding to build the wall. Rather than showing his power, Rubin writes, Trump's insistence that it will work out is a sign it won't.

"Trump is always most emphatic about matters on which he is on the thinnest ice (No contacts with Russia! Never said Mexico would pay!), so his insistence that Republicans are united should be an additional 'tell' that they are not," she writes.

Trump is likely to face a primary if this continues, Rubin says.

"He’s a diminished president whose inclination to double down only accelerates his decline. It’s hard to imagine at this point that he wouldn’t face a primary challenge from within his party," she writes. "After all, what do Republicans have to lose by dumping him?"

Read the full column here.