There is no Trumpism, only Republicanism
By James Downie January 11 at 1:12 PM
On Monday, the New York Times’s David Brooks criticized “the decline of anti-Trumpism.” The movement, he writes, has descended into “monotonous daily hysteria” over the president’s fitness. The struggle, he argues, lies in anti-Trumpers’ insularity, which self-reinforces a narrative of the president as a “semiliterate madman.” But there’s another explanation: In policy terms, the president has been entirely a conventional Republican. Anti-Trumpers have struggled because year one of President Trump has proved there is no Trumpism, only Republicanism.
In rhetoric and behavior, President Trump has acted as he did as a candidate. The ethics and rules violations do seem endless. But the Donald Trump of the campaign reveled in crossing lines. His supporters wanted their bull in the china shop, destroying everything the liberal snowflakes and Beltway elites held dear. In that sense, they’ve gotten what they voted for.
On policy, however, Trump the president has differed from Trump the candidate. The candidate pledged to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He suggested spending billions on infrastructure. And he promised to “eliminate the carried interest deduction and other special interest loopholes that have been so good for Wall Street investors.” None of these have come to pass. The only Republicans talking about Social Security are the House and Senate Republicans who want to cut it. Infrastructure is technically still on the table, but only as a giveaway to private companies. The GOP tax package didn’t just keep the special-interest loopholes; it handed even more money to corporations and the wealthy.
Whether it’s because the president cares little about policy or because he genuinely believes in the GOP establishment’s platform matters little. Underneath the extra-obvious demagoguery and incompetence, one year of Trump has been largely the same as one year of President Rubio or Bush or Cruz would have been. Where candidate Trump’s views on key issues differed from the GOP, President Trump has gotten on board.
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