An interesting article from The Hill was released, wherein it reported that President Joe Biden has so far failed to break the “GOP fever.”

This “fever” is in reference to a prediction made by Biden that once then-President Donald Trump was out of office, Republicans would wake up from a sort of Trump-induced fever and they would return to being the old GOP:

Before becoming president, Biden would often talk about the so-called fever breaking among Republicans, which he believed would then lead to bipartisan compromise. He predicted time and again that after former President Trump left office, Republicans would have more breathing room.

“With Donald Trump out of the White House — not a joke— you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends,” Biden said on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

Before taking office, he predicted on a conference call with allies: “I may eat these words, but … as Donald Trump’s shadow fades away, you’re going to see an awful lot change.”

Now, he’s watching as Republicans defy his expectations and even move to clear out the Democrat-friendly Republicans from positions of leadership. They’re even now lining up in droves to remove Republicans from office who voted to impeach Trump.

(READ: The Chickens are Coming Home to Roost for Republicans Who Voted to Impeach Trump)

“I don’t understand the Republicans,” Biden commented as he watched Republicans toss Cheney out of her GOP leadership position.

Democrats continue to be aghast as Republicans continue to be the party on the offensive, denying and defying Democrats at every turn. I’m not entirely sure if they’re actually confused about why, but if they are, the answer to why this “fever” isn’t breaking is very simple.

It’s because it’s not a fever. This is just the new temperature within the Republican party, and it’s got its antibodies more active than ever.

Many would pinpoint the turning of the Republican party to the arrival of Trump, but I can pinpoint it further than that. It was during the Obama administration when Republicans seemed more than willing to bend the knee to the wishes and whims of Democrats. Meanwhile, the elitism of Democrats grew by leaps and bounds, and nothing seemed to be standing in their way. As such, Republican voters took the issue into their own hands and formed the Tea Party, which pushed in new blood that was far more defiant and willing to resist Democrats.

While it was good, it wasn’t enough. Betrayals were still common, and the passage of Obamacare by a Supreme Court justice thought to be more right-leaning sent Republicans over the edge. Before you knew it, Trump’s road was paved all the way to the White House and it gave him so much momentum that he once commented he could shoot someone in the street and people would still vote for him.

Trump further defined how the party would proceed from here on out, giving Republicans something of a playbook. This only emboldened Republicans, and when Trump was ousted, that playbook stayed in effect and it’s not likely that the right is suddenly going to trash it.

It’s imperative for Democrats to remember that Trump wasn’t the cause of this new Republican way, he just refined Republican attitudes and methods to be what they are now, but what Democrats affectionately refer to as the “fever” was in development before Trump arrived on the scene. It’s a “fever” that was caused by voters constantly being left out in the cold by Washington elitism led by Democrats.

Democrats created this Republican party, not Trump.

Now, as Democrats continue to lean more and more into their extremism, voters are more resolute than ever to continue this strategy of opposing the left at every turn and striking attitudes and methods that have been proven to work. They’ll oust soft Republicans, even turning on those who show an inkling of weakness.

Even if Trump never succeeds at reentering the White House, this is the way things are now and Democrats should get used to it.