The Republican Party faces the challenge of remaking itself in the image of Donald Trump after his unexpected election as the next president of the United States. Throughout the campaign Donald Trump made his unconventional views known, stirring up controversy every time he walked up to a microphone and upsetting Democrats and Republicans alike.

He has now become the figurehead of the Republican Party. Now that he has won the election, the party has to figure out what it means to be a Republican going forward.

Throughout this campaign, every time Trump said something out of line – which was all the time – the entire party had to scramble to justify what he has said. More often than not however the vile things that came out of Trump’s mouth were unjustifiable, which resulted in an entire party dodging questions like Trump himself dodges taxes.

Wasting air time without actually answering a question is now a staple of the Republican Party. Whenever someone actually said something about what he said, Trump’s backlash against them was immediate; including low blows about looks gender, and race. Even more frequently his retorts contained more lies that were disproven yet he refused to acknowledge the truth.

The party itself is divided and there is a miniature civil war going on. The party is now split into various factions. Some in the party have wised up and renounced Trump for his moral failings. . These Republicans are in the awkward position of having to work together to get things done. They and the Democrats might be the only thing stopping Trump from enacting the more radical elements of his agenda.

Trump’s shadow will hang over the party for some time to come. He has left a trail of destruction in his wake and it is doubtful even now that he will stop. His supporters are ecstatic and are loudly calling out all those who opposed them. The battle between them and the rest of America will be necessary if the party is to have any significant future in politics.

One thing we can not forget is that the Democratic Party is having problems in its core as well. The majority of the working class population didn’t believe that they could trust Hillary Clinton so many stayed home or voted third party. Hillary was the most appropriate candidate but the people didn’t believe in her.

It remains an open question if they can build a coalition that reflects the values of modern voters or just the party of old-angry white voters. Even if they are the majority now, as soon as millennials become of age to vote everything is going to change. Until then however we have no choice but to work together under Trump. Both major parties are teetering on the edge of falling apart.

Let’s hope that the parties learn and remake themselves into something better than the chaos of the 2016 election.