Instead of admitting they were wrong about President Donald Trump, the #NeverTrump nitwit brigade is doubling down on stupid. Is it simply that they are too stubborn to acknowledge that despite their misgivings during campaign season, Trump is turning out to be the president they have been writing, lecturing, and think-tanking about for their entire careers?

Or are they bitter because they are now on the outside looking in, relegated to interviews with journalistic lightweights like Brian Stelter at CNN or Chris Hayes at MSNBC rather than appearing on Fox News opinion shows with much higher ratings and appeal?

Many of the names are familiar to longtime conservatives. What’s new in the past few years is the vitriol directed at Trump and his supporters

Max Boot said, “Donald Trump is the worst person ever to be president.” George Will called Trump, “A sad, embarrassing wreck of a man.” Steve Schmidt, who ran McCain’s losing presidential campaign said, “I left the Republican Party. Now I want Democrats to take over.”

These former “conservatives” -- actually in name only -- would have happily campaigned for a Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney, even gladly serving in those administrations if invited. Yet along comes someone whom they never interviewed for their now failing newsletters or magazines, a guy not from their world, with his own ideas, formed without the assistance of the slick tongues and the policy institutes of the #NeverTrumpers.

And here he is, a president instituting as conservative an agenda as any Republican has done since Reagan. A strong military to keeping America out of foreign entanglements. Tax cuts and reduced regulations to promoting America and creating more job opportunities than there are people to even fill those jobs. From conservative judicial selections to a strong pro-life stance, Trump is doing what the #NeverTrumpers have been wishing for during their entire careers.

Despite getting what they have always wanted, #NeverTrumpers have done a complete 180, embracing Democrats and their socialist agenda, completely contrary to their lifelong beliefs. Are their egos so fragile that they can’t stand the fact that one of their chosen establishment Republicans wasn’t elected? Or were their so-called conservative principles built on a foundation of sand, convenient when a Bush was in the White House, but inconvenient now with a President Trump, as changeable as one’s hairstyle?

One such example is Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. That might explain his disdain for Trump who is not following the open borders globalist playbook of the CFR. Boot recently wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, one of many newspapers eager to publish the rantings of any former Republicans who now want to bash President Trump.

Mr. Boot wrote, “I will vote for any Democratic nominee, even Warren or Sanders, despite my profound disagreement with their far-left agendas.” That makes perfect sense. How better to implement a conservative agenda than by electing a far-left socialist? Just look at Venezuela or Cuba. By electing communists, they turned those countries into Galt’s Gulch, the mythical paradise in Atlas Shrugged. Didn't they?

Boot is triggered by the same things upsetting to CNN, like Trump calling himself the “chosen one”, when in reality he was joking about being the only president choosing to take on China. Or Trump skipping the G7 meeting on climate change, due to having more important meetings to attend. Boot had 14 total beefs with Trump, ending with his new life mission, “Saving U.S. democracy from a mad king matters more than the specific policies of his successor.”

If Trump was truly a mad king, Boot and most of the media would be in reeducation camps in recently conquered Greenland, not free to whinge and complain about the uncouth meanie in the White House.

Bill Kristol is another version of Max Boot. Kristol is the founder and editor of the Weekly Standard, which recently failed under his born-again #NeverTrumpism. Kristol wants Joe Walsh to primary Trump. When I heard that name, I thought of the Eagles guitarist. If any rock and roll guitarist were to run for president, I’d prefer Ted Nugent or Joe Perry. But that won’t stop Kristol on his fool’s errand. In 2016 his chosen ones were David French and Evan McMullin. Who are they? Exactly.

CNBC recently interviewed Kristol, who reported having conversations with another Trump-hater Anthony Scaramucci about finding a GOP replacement for Trump on the 2020 ticket. Good luck. Trump enjoys 88 percent support of Republican voters according to Gallup, meaning that the real number is likely much higher.

Have fun with a primary challenge. Any challenger would have a tough time even surpassing Jeb Bush’s anemic three delegates, at a cost of $50 million per delegate. Hopefully most of that money was donated by the #NeverTrumper brigade.

I wonder how much support Boot, Kristol, or George Will enjoy within the Republican party? Not to run for president, but enough support to listen to a sentence out of their mouths rather than hitting the television mute button.

Congress has its own share of  #NeverTrumpers. Mitt Romney has replaced Sen. John McCain or Sen. Jeff Flake, or both. Fortunately, some of the more notable #NeverTrumpers in Congress have moved on to other realms or pursuits, from the two aforementioned to Rep. Paul Ryan and Rep. Mike Coffman, among others.

Have the #NeverTrumpers thought beyond 2024 when Donald Trump is replaced, hopefully by another Republican? Will they all flock back to the GOP if Trump’s wingman Mike Pence is the nominee? Or Mike Pompeo?

That would destroy the illusion of credibility they might bring to the 2024 election, pulling another political 180 just a few years after their first flip-flop. Or will they remain Democrat, supporting Kamala, Cory, Beto, or Pete in 2024 along with their far-left agendas?

Republicans have long memories since, as the old saying goes, elephants never forget. #NeverTrumpers have shot themselves in the foot as serious thinkers or policy analysts. They made an abrupt about-face due to the loudmouth guy with orange hair who has no interest in the opinions and ideas of the establishment Republican smart set. The same GOPers who played almost as big a part in creating the messes America faces as the Democrats did.

If only those #NeverTrump nitwits would just go away. Or at least shut up.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a Denver based physician, freelance writer and occasional radio talk show host whose pieces have appeared in American Thinker, Daily Caller, and other publications. Follow him on Facebook,  LinkedIn, Twitter, and QuodVerum.