I'm on my way to New York City to attend the annual dinner of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), where former President Donald Trump will receive an award honoring his contributions to Israel and the Jewish people.

It's a long-overdue award, delayed by the left-wing bias of the institutional Jewish leadership and -- let's be frank -- by some of the controversial things Trump has said and done. But it's well-deserved, for reasons you probably know.

The timing of the ceremony is awkward, given the ongoing fights between Trump and everyone else in the Republican Party, notably Ron DeSantis (R). Trump is on the verge of announcing for president, but sinking his own chances.

The puzzle facing Republicans is this: the party lost for years until Trump came along, who not only won an election but also governed conservatively and achieved things that once seemed impossible, thanks in part to weak leaders.

Trump attracted new voters to the party. But Trump also alienated voters whose support he needed to remain in power, and now he risks alienating even GOP voters. It's unclear whether the GOP can win with him -- or without him.

The approach his opponents have taken for years has been to try to bully him out of politics -- especially by ganging up on him, as News Corp.'s various properties did this week. And now there seems to be an alternative in DeSantis.

The trouble is that some of these people are the same bunch who guided the party to defeat in the past -- and many of them are corrupt or incompetent. Even the detestable "Lincoln Project" is now claiming to back DeSantis.

Perhaps the right way to do this is to thank Trump for his service. Give him his due, and acknowledge his success, as well as the fears and hopes of those he brought into the party. It's the high ground, and the only way to succeed.