The Party of Trump: Billionaire Is the New Face of Republicans

Even if he loses the presidential election, the movement that Trump represents will shape American politics for years to come.

In 1854, a group of abolitionists met in Wisconsin in order to combat the expansion of slavery. Those were the early days of the Republican Party, when it would come to define itself through the defense of liberty. Over the years, the party underwent a metamorphosis, reshaping its identity. It became the party of President Dwight Eisenhower, during whose tenure the first civil rights laws were passed, laws which gradually brought an end to racial segregation in the United States. So, too, it was the party of Ronald Reagan, a champion of both the free market and the Cold War.

Last week, Republicans turned their backs on this legacy. The Republican Party became the party of Donald Trump, the real estate businessman and blowhard showman, who emerged victorious in the primaries and was acclaimed, during the party convention held in Cleveland, in the state of Ohio, the party’s nominee for president in the November election. He owes this victory to his ability to capitalize on the growing anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-market and anti-establishment sentiment found among a significant portion of the electorate.

His support is not insignificant, either. Trump, who went up against 17 challengers in 56 primaries and caucuses, emerged with 14 million votes, the largest number received by a pre-convention candidate in party history. Now, as the official nominee, Trump already has the support of 80 percent of Republican voters. Reaching this level of support, at this stage in the game, is a noteworthy feat, as it is the norm for candidates to arrive with 90 percent support on Election Day. “He knew how to seize upon disillusionment with government, economic stagnation among blue-collar workers, fears and the frustrations toward immigration and the rejection of political correctness,” says American political scientist Kyle Kopko, of Elizabethtown College.* His supporters, the majority of whom are white, blue-collar workers from a lower middle class background, fear the demographic transformation that has made the country more diverse. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton—the Democratic candidate—leads in the November election polls. Trump, thus, could meet his end on Election Day. Yet, “Trumpism” could also be ushered in—and come to dominate American conservatism for years to come. In his nomination acceptance speech, Trump described the United States as a country on the edge of an abyss whose only way out was to place trust in his own power. “This administration has failed [America’s inner cities] on education. It’s failed them on jobs. It’s failed them on crime. It’s failed them at every level,” he said. “I’m with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”

An “Age of Trump” for the Republican Party is even more unavoidable than ever given that conservative leaders, who reject values embraced by the real estate magnate, have tended to either leave the party or to lose their political clout. Likewise, while traditional Republicans had been clamoring for a grandiose return to the White House, they did not clamor for a return in league with a reality TV show star. Yet, what makes this wing of the party most uneasy is the unbridled right wing populism espoused by the candidate. Nominating an outsider without political experience will have irreversible consequences for the party. The process of adjusting to this new reality has already begun with changes being made to the Republican playbook. The platform that was approved by the party last week is considered the most radical in history, as it endorses some of the candidate’s most controversial proposals, including the grave construction of a wall along the border with Mexico. “Trump brought in voices that had been silenced within conservative ranks and simplified existing positions. He eliminated euphemisms and used explosive language,” said political scientist Mark Major, from Penn State University.*

At the same time, he has challenged official ideological principles of the party, such as reducing the power of government and defending the free market. Trump, for example, has declared his faith in protectionism. So, too, has he preached about the need for increased duties to be levied on products from China and Mexico as well as a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “The party has become more radical. It is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln, who used the power of government to free the slaves. The modern Republican Party wouldn’t set them free if they still existed,” says Major.* What is more likely is that, if they could, they would enslave them again.

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, this quoted remark could not be independently verified.