During the primaries the Republicans didn’t have a problem calling Trump out but now they see him as a useful idiot. He got them their tax cut and he is creating and maintaining divisiveness. This is important for a party that defines itself not as who they are but who they aren’t.
It is crazy. Not as crazy as codifying that every adult in the US is mandated to purchase a product from a business in a specific sector, like health care, but sure, that’s crazy.
“(The) Treasury Department made it easier for anonymous foreign donors to funnel dark money into non-profits the same day a Russian national linked to the NRA was arrested for attempting to influence our elections,” Senator Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.
Cohen alleges that he was present, along with several others, when Trump was informed of the Russians’ offer by Trump Jr. By Cohen’s account, Trump approved going ahead with the meeting with the Russians, according to sources.
Edit. Aaaand just because it’s funny (this is not doctored; I guess Rudy was on CNN when the news broke):
Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
So he now admits his team was working with the Russians to win the election (while pitching his son under the bus).