Trump’s smackdown of David McCormick shows the risks for Republicans trying a MAGA makeover

Standing before a wall-sized American flag at an American Legion hall here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, David McCormick talked up his background in the Army, called himself a “happy warrior,” and ticked through the reasons he wants to be Pennsylvania’s next senator:

Inflation, the border, the “humiliation” of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“What about election integrity?” a woman interrupted from the back. “And CRT!” a man yelled, referring to “critical race theory,” a GOP culture-war hobgoblin.

Suddenly off balance, the cheery McCormick, stocky and with thick, wavy hair, said he’d support voter ID laws and is concerned “parents aren’t involved” in school decisions. But he quickly turned back to the economy and national defense.

The moment late last month illustrated the challenge for Republicans trying to straddle the remnants of the traditional GOP and the attitudes driving the party today, especially for someone like McCormick.