Politics has the magical ability to transform enemies into friends

This kind of flip-flopping is very common in politics, and it happens frequently in both parties.

It happened to the Republicans in 2016, when Donald Trump emerged victorious from a crowded field of presidential candidates that included Ben Carson, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Sens. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham. All of those individuals are now on board the Trump Train. In fact, two of them -- Carson and Perry -- even went on to serve in Trump's Cabinet.

It happened to Democrats in 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton went after each other aggressively over issues like trade. Clinton accused Obama of lying about her support of NAFTA, and Obama tweaked Clinton by assuring her that she was "likable enough." Later, after serving as Obama's first secretary of state, Clinton wrote a book that criticized the Obama administration's handling of the Syria crisis.

But the point is, this sort of thing should not happen. It's weird and unnatural. It feels inauthentic, and it fuels cynicism. It plays into the farcical quality of politics, where so much seems make-believe as it is.

All this forgiving and forgetting also calls into the question the truthfulness of our elected officials. Were they telling us the truth before when they were running down the other candidate? Or are they telling us the truth now that they're building him up?

We have the right to roll our eyes, and to feel uncomfortable when politicians turn themselves inside out -- whether it's to be a team player or to advance party unity.

Not everyone has to cave. When you're a politician, there is nothing wrong with standing your ground and refusing to endorse someone whom you were just running against 10 minutes ago. It's rare but not unheard of.

In fact, in 2016, there was one Republican presidential candidate who -- after losing to Trump -- did not publicly support him. He's the same person whose name I wrote on my ballot, in the general election, in protest of what I saw as a pair of impossible choices. That makes me think that he would have made a good president -- better than Trump or any of his enablers.

Let's hear it for Jeb Bush.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.