Donald Trump had the best night of his presidency so far. Though expectations were historically low, he looked presidential by staying on message and on subject. He didn’t insult his enemies with petty nicknames and he kept his bragging to policy accomplishments, not the size of the crowd attending the address. For another president, the speech may have drawn a more ho-hum response but for a man whose White House is full of paranoid conspiracies with little discipline, he got credit for looking like an adult. One Republican on twitter called it the “pivot” they’ve all been expecting since he won the party’s nomination last spring.
Trump’s message is going to resonate with a lot of people. He made a lot of promises, many of which he won’t be able to keep, that people wanted to hear. He played to his populist base by promising to build the wall, taking credit for rounding up undocumented immigrants, and casting his immigration policy in terms of protecting jobs and keeping our country safe.
He also made a lot promises that sounded more Democratic than Republican. He promised family medical leave and better access to child care. He pledged to rebuild America with a massive infrastructure program to rival the Eisenhower years. Had a Democrat proposed these measures, Republicans would be screaming “Socialism!”
Trump also threw free trade under the bus and rebranded the GOP as the party of protectionism. He’s going to penalize companies who try to take jobs overseas and implied that he would do something about taxes and tariffs on goods being exported. Republicans in the audience applauded these measures. That’s a sharp division from where they’ve been historically on trade.
On Obamacare, Trump made an impossible promise. “Tonight I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time provide better health care.” So, Republicans are about to cover more people, for less money, with better care and more options. That’s not going to happen, but it sure sounds good.
Trump gave the traditional conservative GOP base plenty to get excited about. He promised vouchers for schools, massive tax cuts for business, a law and order agenda that blames immigrants for increasing crime and repealing what he and other conservatives consider burdensome regulations. That’s enough to keep the Republicans in line for awhile.
Trump also tried to ease concerns about foreign policy without many specifics. He reaffirmed our commitment to NATO and Israel. However, he hinted at trying to build alliances with Russia when he said, “America is willing to find new friends and forge new partnerships where shared interests align.”
Trump is trying to do what Bill Clinton did to Republicans in the 1990s—triangulate. He’s stealing some core Democratic issues like family leave and infrastructure that appeal to the middle while giving the GOP base enough goodies to hold them in line. He’s also transforming the GOP by moving from the conservatism of Buckley and Reagan to a populist, protectionist conservatism that will appeal to the nationalist instincts of people who have watched their jobs get sent overseas and resent immigrants coming here for work.
This version of Donald Trump is probably not sustainable. He’s shown up periodically throughout his campaign and on Inauguration Day, but Trump can’t get past insecurities and need for adulation. However, the agenda he laid out has broad appeal even if much of it is fiscally and politically dubious. He offered a picture of a recovering America that is actually already happening. He’ll get the benefit of the seeds of prosperity planted during the Obama administration while exploiting the resentment of the working class that’s been growing since Bill Clinton left office. Trump looks to be leading the country to the kind political realignment that many Americans want.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
There’s a certain irony in that Dems got the Republican nominee for President that they wanted. Maybe there’s something to be said for closed primaries. Independents put Trump over in North Carolina (a semi-open primary) and Independents and Dems carried the South Carolina (completely open) primary for him which is where he really started to gain momentum.
Hail the conquering Donald. Shoot off a fast inquiry to some of the military bases in this state and ask them about their state of affairs since his inauguration and the institution of a Federal hiring freeze. Civilian support jobs are being cut or eliminated as well as vital services to military members and their families. Things like daycare and other services once provided to service members are frozen or being cut.
So his new defense budget increase request for the military must be meant for his CEO buddies over at Defense Contractor Inc. The rank and file aren’t going to see that money and if they do, it won’t be earmarked for anything of benefit.
Bait and switch politics; believe me.
It’s a sad state of affairs when a bullying, misogynistic, self-centered, liar gets credit for “looking like an adult” for 65 minutes. That’s called grading on the curve. Any expectation that Trump will continue to act like an adult is ludicrous.
Yes. Plus his budget, such as it is, will add significantly to the deficit, especially when his & Ryan’s tax cuts kick in. However, there is always “alternative math.”
Good analysis.