Former President Trump is on the cusp of becoming the GOP’s presumptive nominee for the third time.

It’s a scenario that leaves the band of conservatives opposed to him appalled — and deeply pessimistic about the future of the party.

“It’s his party, plain and simple. I’m not a fan of his but it’s a MAGA party now and he’s the leader of that,” said former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who mounted a long-shot primary challenge to Trump in 2020 and left the GOP soon afterward.

“This party cannot be reformed, cannot be fixed. It’s on the track it’s on,” Walsh acknowledged. “I don’t see, in my lifetime, it getting off this track.”

Susan Del Percio, a strategist who has remained a Republican despite her fervent opposition to Trump, struck a broadly similar note — though she believes the party could move back onto a more traditional footing once Trump eventually leaves the political stage.

“The party needs to burn to the ground and rebuild itself,” Del Percio said. “It’s not going to happen in two years.”

Talk of political self-immolation or a party requiring decades to get back on track may seem hyperbolic to some.

But it’s understandable when looking at the past four years through the lens of the so-called “Never Trumpers.”

The 45th president lost the 2020 election, trailing President Biden by about 7 million votes. He made repeated and false claims of election fraud, in the process fueling the violence of Jan. 6, 2021. He continues to push those falsehoods.

He was impeached for his role in Jan. 6 — becoming the only president in........

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