Expert notes GOP's next big problem: 'Where Trump has really been falling short'

Larry Sabato is not questioning whether Donald Trump still owns the Republican Party. He thinks the party should just go ahead and put the president's name on the door. Speaking with Alex Witt on MS NOW Saturday, the University of Virginia political scientist and Crystal Ball editor said Trump remains firmly in control of the GOP, which Sabato suggested be "renamed the Trump party." He tied that grip directly to the movement around the president, calling it "part and parcel of the cult, the MAGA cult." Trump does not win every primary fight, Sabato allowed, but his endorsed candidates stay competitive and he can often shove them over the line.

Then came the part Republicans should worry about. A MAGA base, Sabato argued, tops out at roughly 35 percent of the electorate, and no one wins a g...