Ross Douthat marvels–not altogether approvingly–at Trump’s ideological flexibility. To the rest of us, that “flexibility” means cynical opportunism. How does Trumpism relate to the four GOP factions?
Two initial observations: first, Trump’s personality quirks, not his opinions on policy, are really the essence of Trumpism; and second, no part of him is a CD or a CL. With that in mind, what part of him is PBP, and what is Reactionary?
- ECONOMY AND FISCAL ISSUES: Trump is an orthodox PBP on issues involving taxes and regulation. His affinity for tariffs and for interfering with the workings of businesses that cross him are pure Reactionary. In fact, Trump’s vision of an America without solar and wind power, but with lots of coal mines and steel plants, is as reactionary as you can get. He wants to invest in the past, not the future.
- CULTURE WARS: I would describe Trump as a pragmatic, cynical Reactionary here. He is not a true believer–he is a pure pagan, not a Christian–but he embraces reactionary ideas in public in order to win votes from the red base. The base, in turn, is satisfied that he has the same enemies as they do; it is willing to compromise on issues such as abortion in order to put Trump back in office, which is the overriding objective. On social issues, Trump is more an end than the means.
- FOREIGN POLICY: “America First” obviously sounds a lot like the views of reactionary Americans in the 1930s. In fact, Trump is primarily a mercantilist, which is really, really old school.
On balance, therefore, Trump is a Reactionary. It is only on issues involving taxes and regulations that he follows the PBP line.