If the Republicans fail to understand why their party has the popular mandate now, they absolutely will lose their narrow margins
I believe that's absolutely going to happen. The Republican party does not like Donald Trump, they like his success. The future of Republican candidates is very likely going to be a bunch of bog-standard politicians who go "Remember Trump?" but have no intention whatsoever of replicating his political views nor continuing his line of political theory. In their ideal world, a bunch of rural retards come out to vote for anyone who puts on a Donald Trump mask, that candidate wins, and then they (the candidate) just does everything Bush or Cheney would have. Pro-active ideas like a DOGE department or reworking tariffs die on the campaign trail. This will very likely kill the Republican party (again).
Remember: American politics is a big room where established members of both parties (there can only be two) enjoy shaking hands and scheming at the direct expense of their constituents so that said politicians may enjoy a lavish lifestyle, even if everything surrounding them is on fire. This is the ultimate goal of every politician. Anyone who
doesn't have this goal and would like to enact change is either bought (Bernie Sanders) or walled out by wealthy and well-connected people. If Donald Trump scares these people for any single reason, it's because his brand (name) generates money and he can't be walled out in that way. Trump will always gather enough cash to put himself in front of a microphone, which is where he's most dangerous, because even if you dislike or disagree with him nobody can deny he's good at persuasion.
The only reason Democrats haven't done this same thing yet is because they don't have a Donald Trump figure. The closest they've come is Obama, who doesn't work because, while he's very good at being two-faced in the exact way I just described, his only enticing quality was "nigger." That's not going to electrify people the same way Trump did. Even if we pretend idpol fatigue hasn't already set in, Trump going on stage in 2016 and being like "Too many illegal Mexicans are coming here, we need to get them out" is going to win out over "my skin is brown" for reasons I probably don't need to explain.
I don't know. If Bernie is even still alive in four years, having him wander out and scream "da grocery prices is too hoi" might be enough to defeat the inevitable, shallow, short-sighted two-facedness of whatever the Republicans run because the Republican Party doesn't like Trump, they like his success. They want Trump's success without Trump's ideas, which are what bring success, and Trump himself is too wealthy and egomaniacal to buy out (unless you are Israel.)