'Not living in a rational universe': Experts give grim prognosis for a GOP 'devoured' by Trump

The Republican Party has been under the wholesale control of former President Donald Trump for over six years now — and experts are worried about where it's headed.

Chauncey DeVega of Salon spoke to a number of political analysts, who gave their thoughts and fears about the next steps for the GOP as it lurches to the right and reorganizes around a cult of personality.

"I see no rational universe under which Trump could prevail," said reporter and author Jill Lawrence, who has also covered the rise of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. However, she continued, "we are not living in a rational universe, we're living in one where a Trump-appointed judge just barred the Biden administration from protesting false information on social media, Trump continues to insist that the system is rigged and that he won the 2020 election, and nearly two-thirds of Republicans tell pollsters they believe or suspect that fraud put Biden in the White House." All of this poses grave threats to "the core of democracy," she added.

Columnist Wahajat Ali had a similarly bleak assessment.

"We are dealing with a radicalized and weaponized conservative movement that has fed and nurtured an extremist MAGA movement that has now overtaken the 'adults' in the room, who are in the corner, terrified, sucking their thumbs, and hoping they can avoid being devoured by their own Frankenstein monster," said Ali. As proof, he pointed to the far-right Freedom Caucus, wracked with internal divisions and booting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — not because she has promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, but because she is too loyal to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rather than Trump.

Matthew Dallek, who teaches at George Washington University and has covered the extreme right, believes it's unlikely Trump will win again — but that people shouldn't write him off.

"A majority of GOP voters have become more radical over the past decade. And Trump is the most effective exponent of this brand of extremism," said Dallek, explaining that "His blend of conspiracy theories, explicit racism, anti-interventionism, culture wars, and antiestablishment, apocalyptic rhetoric" make him a durable party leader, and — though not popular in the general public — not quite easy to dispatch either because of his devoted ongoing following.

Current primary polls suggest Trump is a commanding favorite, with a roughly 30 point lead over DeSantis and everyone else far behind.