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In recent weeks, we've seen Sen. John McCain defy the President by sinking the effort to repeal Obamacare. Sen. Lindsey Graham warned Trump to back off his criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions or it would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake published a new book lambasting Republicans for remaining silent as they watch the dysfunction of this administration play out in real time. People are already speculating about potential primary challengers to Trump, should he run for reelection in 2020.

And a growing number of conservative pundits feel comfortable expressing doubts about President Trump, even in the conservative holy land of Fox News.

But this is not an easy stance for Republicans. In fact, they own President Trump. They can try to disassociate themselves from him, but they and their party are as culpable as anyone for creating a path in American politics that allowed him to win election and to govern in the way that he does. He is in fact a Republican, given what the party has become, and is not some maverick who has stolen away the party. It wasn't that he outwitted the Republican establishment, it's that the Republican establishment has changed.

To understand the roots of President Trump, it is vital to remember that the Republican Party thus far has generally stood behind him and his agenda. Evangelical voters entered into a Faustian bargain with their support for a candidate who personally seems to be the antithesis of everything that their movement supports.

Almost no Republicans have objected to the extreme measures that President Trump has been pursuing through executive action, such as rolling back regulations to curb climate change or ramping up border security.

From Newt Gingrich's election as House Speaker in the wake of the 1994 midterms through the emergence of the tea party, the Republicans have steadily shifted to the right on public policy and adopted an aggressive, do-what-it-takes style to governance that laid the groundwork for the Trump presidency.

If Republicans really become dissatisfied with President Trump and what he stands for, they will have to take a deep dive into their own history and reckon with it. Otherwise, any effort to cleanse the party of President Trump's impact won't really work. Republicans will find themselves in the same place come 2020.

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Like it or not, the Republicans own President Trump - CNN