Like Trump`s presidential bid, the Brexit campaign has been driven largely by fears of cultural penetration, immigrant invasion, and the genuine crisis of Middle East refugees dying to get into Europe, all channeled into a kind of inward-turning form of ethno-nationalism.

David Frum has been saying - [Donald] Trump is all about conservatism as identity, not conservatism as ideology.

As Donald Trump`s fortunes continue to slide, he`s increasingly dragging the fortunes of senate republican`s weapon.

I`ve heard this theory that this is basically Jeb`s [Bush] people trying to get their supporters to basically put the stake in Marco Rubio because if people are talking about accepting [Donald] Trump over [Ted] Cruz, what they`re really saying is Marco Rubio`s no longer viable.

I remember reading an article about this idea of borderline personality disorder, which is reality producers try the find people who are sort of flamboyantly anti-social in these certain ways, because what happens when you put them around other people is they drag everyone down to their level. I feel like I`m watching this disgraceful race to the bottom.

The political disfunction that has brought about the shutdown and now threatens default, isn't so much gridlock. It is exposing the fatal flaw in our Constitution and highly distinct system of government. In other words, it's the Constitution's fault. Something truly catastrophic was bound to happen sooner or later.

Something changed between the two men, namely [Donald ] Trump started slinging mud on Twitter about [Ted] Cruz`s wife, Heidi, including a mean comparing her looks unfavourably to his own.