Last evening, Rick Santorum was on “On the Record” with Scientologist and budding Branch Trumpidian (same thing, basically) Greta Van Susternen. And he took the opportunity to formally endorse Donald Trump.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is throwing his support behind controversial presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“I’m 100 percent,” Santorum said Tuesday during an interview on Fox News’s “On The Record,” when asked if he was supporting or endorsing Trump. “That’s endorse.”

Santorum, who backed Marco Rubio after dropping out of the race himself in February, said he spoke with Trump more than a week ago and he said the businessman asked for his support.

The former Senator indicated a top reason for endorsing Trump is the vacant Supreme Court seat. Santorum said he made a couple suggestions for Trump’s list of potential nominees.

“The most important issue is preserving the Constitution of this country and a liberal Supreme Court will destroy it,” Santorum said.

Santorum echoed that sentiment in an email to supporters on Tuesday night distributed through his Patriot Voices email list, in which he discussed attending Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral in February.

“Over the past several weeks, I’ve had numerous conversations with senior members of the Trump Campaign, including a long heart-to-heart with Donald Trump,” Santorum wrote, saying he was “incredibly encouraged” when Trump included some of his suggestions in a list of potential nominees.

“I am committed to working with Donald and his Administration to ensure that conservative priorities are advanced – not simply judicial nominees, but nominees to key administration positions,” Santorum wrote.

“We know who Hillary Clinton will appoint,” he wrote in his email that had the subject line “Never Hillary,” predicting under the Democrat, “We will become a European-style secular, socialist republic.”

Santorum conceded that the 2016 race, in his view, is more about personalities than policy

This is not all that surprising. Back in February, when Santorum suspended his moribund campaign, rumors were flying that he would endorse Donald Trump. Santorum went on to endorse Marco Rubio which produced a truly epic interview in which he was unable to name a single Rubio accomplishment

Two things are going to come of this endorsement should Donald Trump win the presidency. First and foremost, social conservatives, who are already reeling from the defections of prominent evangelicals and pro-lifers to the Trump camp, are going to be further marginalized as they are making it clear that power, not principle, is their currency. Secondly, by endorsing Trump, Santorum owns whatever douchebaggery that Trump comes up with. The idea that you can sign on with a man who believes in nothing that you hold dear and convince him to govern according to your values is lunacy.

This is how Donald Trump has the potential to do lasting harm to the GOP and to conservatism. The GOP leadership, perhaps unwillingly, is going along with Trump because they are convinced that they have to support the GOP nominee and that they can influence Trump positively. Unlike the GOP, conservatives have clear choice. We can oppose Trump if he is elected or we, like many evangelicals and pro-lifers, can embrace Trump and destroy our credibility.