The party elite pulls one way while its supporters go in another direction.
Today, Michigan holds its presidential primary. Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul writes in a Huffington Post opinion that trade policy might propel another Donald Trump victory there:
Back in 2012, Romney's rhetoric on trade was brushed off as simplistic and naïve – easy to dismiss as political posturing by pundits with zero skin in the game. Romney's now carrying their water, suggesting precisely the same thing about Trump, saying it risks a trade war. But that's a colossal mistake.
How quickly the GOP Brahmin forget the real feeling out there among voters, many of whom trend to the right, that America's trade alignment is badly skewed.