Veteran GOP strategist explains how the ‘Trump cult’ manages to ‘fetishize’ the president — despite him being a ‘nonconservative’

Mike Murphy, a veteran GOP strategist, described the “Trump cult” in an interview published Saturday by the Washington Post, explaining that the president’s most ardent backers “fetishize this nonconservative in the Oval because it’s tribal.”
“It’s us versus them, we’re right and they’re evil, and it’s created this Trump cult that dominates the party,” Murphy told the Post.
In the article, Post reporters spoke with members of the Republican Party, who at every turn seem to make excuses for Donald Trump’s flagrant violations of laws and norms.
“We’re not going to turn on our own and make the Democrats happy,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), said. “We don’t see any benefit in fracturing, but we do see a lot to lose.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) who has copped to the GOP’s hypocrisy in earlier interviews, admitted “it’d be a little different … If President Obama had done the national emergency, Republicans would have gone crazy.”
Indeed as Trump gears up to declare a national emergency to build his border wall between the United States and Mexico, a handful of Republican senators have said they will vote in favor or a resolution blocking that declaration. Over the weekend, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joined with three other Senate Republicans in announcing public backing for a resolution of disapproval.
Last Tuesday, 13 House Republicans (out of 197) voted to block Trump's national emergency.
Trump has vowed to veto a resolution to block his emergency declaration. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week, the president fired a warning shot to GOP senators standing up to his executive overreach.
“I really think that Republicans that vote against border security and the wall, I think you know, I’ve been okay at predicting things, I think they put themselves at great jeopardy,” Trump said.