[conservatism_IS_compassion]

During the course of the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump encountered unprecedented amounts of animosity from within his own party

Ronald Reagan won 489 Electoral votes in 1980, defeating Carter by 9.74% of the popular vote - no thanks to Republican (running as an Independent) John Anderson, who gleaned 6.61% of the popular vote.

[Dave W]

John Anderson was a malcontent and was one person. After Reagan won the nomination, everyone was behind him. You can't compare the minor speed bump with the resistance that Trump received.

While it is true the establishment preferred HW Bush in the primary, they supported and campaigned for Reagan in the general election. The two campaigns don't even compare.