Those 38 Republicans who frustrated Donald Trump’s demand that he be freed from the inconvenience of a debt ceiling vote early in his term were truly impressive. These are guys with whom yours truly disagrees much of the time.

What Trump’s smarter knee-jerk defenders really believe is a matter of speculation. Scott Jennings used to work for normie President George W. Bush. He clearly sees his current job as left tackle, defending Trump from charges of lunacy, whatever their merit.

Thus, he turned on these deficit hawks for not submitting to the demand that they remove a stumbling block for Trump’s evident plans to cover his tax cuts and spending with new borrowing. Jennings put it diplomatically, saying that Trump “had to convince them that teamwork matters.”

It does, but you first have to decide what team you’re on. Is it Team Trump or Team America? They are not necessarily the same team.

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas took issue with colleagues willing to let Trump off the debt ceiling hook. “I’m absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility,” he said, “and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible.”

Roy is surely not on board with preserving the Affordable Care Act as I am, but that would be good for Team America. Trump will very likely work to eviscerate, if not kill, it. He tried the first term and almost succeeded.

We should all agree that restoring law and order in our immigration program would be good for Team America. Trump talked a big game about doing this. I have my doubts.

His vow to also go after undocumented migrants who have broken laws, apart from entering the country illegally, is low fruit. Who could be against that? For the record, Barack Obama deported many more “criminal aliens” than did Donald Trump in his first term.

Trump now says he would also send home recent arrivals, including those who otherwise haven’t broken the law. But then Trump runs afoul of the moneyed interests who say they need the labor and who are his people.

Most important is sending a message that, henceforth, anyone who sneaks over the border doesn’t get to stay. What rouses most pessimism about Trump’s dedication to stopping future illegal immigration has been his refusal to support E-Verify. E-Verify is an online database that lets employers know whether a new hire may legally work in this country. Thus, they could no longer accept fake documents or assume that no authority would bother them.

E-Verify or something like it is the only way to cut off the job magnet at the root of illegal immigration. As long as the undocumented can get a job in the U.S., they’re going to come here. And some already say that if Trump does send them home, they’ll just slip back in again.

Asked about E-Verify during his first term, Trump responded, “E-Verify is so tough that in some cases, like farmers, they’re not, they’re not equipped for E-Verify.” The notion that farmers don’t know how to use computers is nonsense. Also insulting to farmers.

Back to the present, Jennings poses “a core question.” (That sounds so principled.) “What does the constituent want?” he asked. “Do they want you to execute your ideology or do they want Donald Trump to succeed?”

It was quite refreshing for some of the dissenting Republicans to say they represented their constituents, not Trump. Much of America has come a long distance, and not in a good way, to equating one man’s interests with America’s.

Do they want Trump to succeed or America?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.