Under this standard, nothing Trump does — no federal crime, no act of corruption, no attack on the institutions of American democracy — can be considered immoral or unjust, so long as he retains his core political support.

Political parties are very forgiving of transgression if the candidate can win the election. Up until recently, the T-base has been pretty solid behind Mr. Trump. Have the recent scandals started chipping at that base? It seems so, but the old saying “a week is a long time in politics” means things can turn around.

Until we get rid of all political parties, the first loyalty of our elected representatives will be towards their party.