I don't like Trump but I love his work.

I don't think Donald Trump would win any popularity contests on this blog but that said I do not consider him to be a liability to the GOP. The GOP has addressed the illegal immigration issue with a great deal of trepidation to put it nicely. Frankly I'm getting a little tired of being flipped off by people who are breaking American laws by their presence in this country. I am disappointed with Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham for their votes on the Senate immigration bill and positively sickened by Jeb Bush's perpetual pandering to the open borders crowd. Why the hell we continue to vote for GOP candidates is beyond me. The Republicans have broken almost every promise they have made since WE put them in control of the House in 2010. It been, thanks folks, see you later.
Is the budget balanced? No. Is Obamacare still here? Yes, and now we are expected to accept gay marriage and danger it portends to our religious liberty and elect these sorry bastards again? I don't think so. It is well within Congress's power to defund the EPA along with its war on coal, it is within its power to defund the Dept of Education and its war on college men, and within its power to demand the appointment for a special prosecutor as a condition for funding the IRS. When we wake some morning to find a sizeable chunk of our national sovereignty has been ceded to some international trade organization we can thank Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Paul Ryan and over 250 congressmen and senators who WE put in office, representatives who are more concerned about helping Obama achieve some accomplishment for his precious legacy than preserving what few jobs Americans still hold in their native land. The fact that Trump scores relatively well in the polls is due to the disgust we harbor for conventional Republicans not to some sudden infatuation with the new guy with the great hair.
Donald Trump is not a politician. He is a man child on an ego trip with no political accomplishments but he and he alone is listening to the voters' concerns. Let me restate that. He probably doesn't listen to the voters or anyone else and presently that redounds to his advantage but he has taken up an issue that no one wants to talk about. Does he exaggerate the crime problem posed by illegals? Probably yes. Is he the only candidate in the field who exaggerates? Probably no. The trouble Trump poses to the rest of the field is that he can cite a gory example of illegal lawlessness everyday for as long as he is in the race. He has found a wedge issue and he will ride it for all it's worth and good for him.
Every candidate in the Republican field obviously thinks he or she has at least a long shot chance to win with the exceptions of Trump and Lindsey Graham. They are not running to win but rather to move the party in their favored direction. Lindsey Graham is a defense hawk and most of Trump's concerns are around American leadership and foreign policy posture. Graham sees the United States being run ragged by terrorists who Obama refuses to engage. Trump sees Obama as a bungling fool, which he is, who allows the decline of the American economy vis a vis foreign trade and immigration policy. Where they differ is Graham is a wuss and Trump is not.
But will Trump damage the Republican brand?   If he does that's the Republican Party's problem not mine and I have precious little time for politician who feel sorry for themselves. Paul Ryan, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell have done their level best to do in the brand in the eyes of the base and if Trumps displeases the Democrats, the media and the illegals that's too damn bad. Deal with it.
 Of course Trump would like to run the country but he would settle for forcing his ideas on the Republican Party and the country so he can get back to running beauty contests and coaxing an occasional coherent thought from great minds of Geraldo Rivera and Gary Busey. In the meantime he will settle for poking his finger in the eyes of every establishment Republican and good for him.
Update: Evidently I'm not alone this issue. From the Hill,

Conservative radio host Steve Deace argued Trump’s words are ringing true with conservatives who are tired of how they’ve been treated by the establishment Republican Party.

“Trump is simply saying what a lot of average Americans who could care less what people inside the 202 and 212 area code thinks to some extent,” Deace told the Hill.

“The idea of this hurting the GOP brand is laughable,” he said. “What brand?”

“They already lie to their conservative base repeatedly,” Deace said of mainstream Republicans.

“Most of the GOP’s base is looking for reasons to revolt,” he added. “The brand here isn’t just damaged – it needs an exorcism.”