...unlike most other Rep options, both supports what the pro-America base supports and is willing to go to the mat for it. That’s it. Most of us understand that he is not Miss Manners, but we don’t care because he gets shit done and says the necessary things. We also know who the other options were in 2016 and 2020 — Clinton and Biden — making the choice to support Trump a Jordanesque rock-the-cradle slam dunk.

But if someone better comes along — potentially DeSantis, for example — then it’s, “Thanks for everything, Don. Please enjoy your retirement.” We want the most effective, electable executive we can find, and we don’t care who that is.

This “cult of personality” nonsense has only ever existed in lefty minds who must dismiss their opponents with personal insults because they can’t engage with facts and logic, as we see on this board all day long. Having lived in deep blue Cali during the Obama ascent, however, I know exactly what a cult of personality might look like. This ain’t it.

Sure, Trump has celebrity status as a pop icon, just as he did before he ran, and, sure, he has his true believers as do all presidents (except Biden, interestingly), but most of us understand Trump’s limitations and will pick a candidate for 2024 accordingly. That this paper has already arrived at that conclusion is fine.