Moving that Red Line

What does Donald Trump have to do to cross a red line with his supporters?

For years, Republicans told us they stood for law and order, free trade, fiscal responsibility and family values. Trump is a convicted felon who has embraced tariffs and deficit spending. His immigration agents have shot civilians. His administration has released millions of pages from the Epstein files, but questions remain about what has been withheld, after many of his own supporters demanded full transparency.

He promised to keep America out of endless wars. Instead, he launched military attacks on Venezuela and a war with Iran. He has threatened to take Greenland and repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st state.

Some of his supporters have objected. But time and again, others find a way to excuse what they once insisted they would never accept. The line gets crossed, and a new one appears a few steps ahead.

In 2016, Trump boasted that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters. At the time, it sounded like an outrageous joke. A decade later, it feels more like a test he’s been conducting ever since.

So what is the actual red line? If Trump sends American troops into Iran for a ground war, will the people who cheered his promise to end “forever wars” finally say enough? Or will they pick up their paintbrushes and draw another line?