A few more thoughts on the flap:
- There has been skepticism whether Trump will really be able to stop talking about the judge and the case, and so far he hasn’t done a great job of it. But when he truly wants to stop talking about something he does. In fact, essentially saying “never mind” after extraordinary claims — his birtherism, the JFK assassination thing, etc. — is one of his odd skills as a communicator.
- Trump’s defenders say that he is showing how politicians can push back against an over-weening judiciary and that he is throwing the Left’s identity politics back at it. His critics say he is calling into question the very possibility of race-blind justice. This is all piling layers of meaning on top of the essential truth of the matter: What Trump did is attack someone who has crossed him with every tool at hand, fair or foul, the way he always does. If the judge threw the case out tomorrow does anyone doubt that Trump would immediately say that Latinos make absolutely terrific judges?
- No matter how much elected Republicans wail and gnash their teeth over this, Trump won’t be in danger of hemorrhaging official Republican support unless his standing in the polls seriously erodes. If Trump were persistently trailing Hillary by, say, ten points, more Republicans would suddenly find that their consciences don’t allow them to back Trump.