"Every segment of the Trump-backing rightwing - America First nationalists, Trump loyalists and rank-and-file MAGA activists - has unsubscribed from the idea that there is any such thing as right and wrong, much less that wrongdoing should result in consequences. In effect, there is no behavior Trump's GOP sees as too wrong to vote for. In late July 2025, almost half of Republicans said they would keep voting for Trump even if he " was officially implicated in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking activities.""
"At least, for themselves. The right still has morals for days when it comes to Black folks, immigrants and trans people. Its moral code has always been selective and conditional; rigorously enforced and mercilessly punitive toward "outsiders" and "others," but generally indifferent to even the worst acts by those on the right side of whiteness and power. Wilhoit's Law - coined by music composer Frank Wilhoit in a now-famous 2018 comment on a political science blog - neatly captures this truth. " Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition - there must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.""
Every segment of the Trump-backing rightwing has abandoned the belief that there is a clear right and wrong or that wrongdoing should bring consequences. Large numbers of Republicans indicated they would continue supporting Trump even amid severe allegations tied to Jeffrey Epstein. The right’s moral code remains intensely selective: protective and lenient toward in-group conservatives, punitive and unforgiving toward Black people, immigrants and trans people. Wilhoit’s Law encapsulates the pattern of in-groups shielded by law while out-groups are bound and unprotected, and even those in-group protections now appear to be eroding.
Read at The Nation
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