I think this is the result of gerrymandering and the primary system.
That is, in large parts of the US, it seems to me, there are large parts of the country where the only elections that matter to the Republican incumbent are the primaries, since the official Republican candidate will, under normal circumstances, be the winner in the congressional or senatorial elections.
All the incumbents now have to live with the knowledge that if they say anything to upset Trump, he can, and will, force you to face a MAGA opponent endorsed by him in the next primary, thus causing you no end of expense as you have to mount your own campaign and harassment for you and your family when the flying monkeys get loose.
Before Trump, I think the Tea Party used very similar tactics -- go along with us or you'll get primaried, and probably lose.
Right now, they've got Trump skulking and rumbling in Florida, while everyone waits to see what happens when his various legal and financial problems move on to their next stages, as inevitably they must in the next year or two, and they're absolutely terrified.
The volcano is going to go at some point, and that's going to set the monster rampaging, and then the movie really speeds up.
They're in the same position as that unfortunate young lady of Riga, who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
