Maybe Donald Trump will end up being a one-term president. If he loses reelection, it’s still true that the Republican Party is better off today than before he launched his first campaign in 2015.
If Republicans are smart, gone are the days of undying loyalty to the Chamber of Commerce and the sex-obsessed Right. The new priority is any and every American who wants nothing more than low taxes and a country led by people who don’t hate them for being more than a little worried about perpetual wars, mass immigration, and disappearing industries. Those things threatened to make the country unrecognizable, and that’s not something to celebrate under the banners of “Diversity Is Our Strength!” “The Spread of Democracy!” and “Clean Energy Jobs!”
Trump’s critics like to say he turned the party into a “cult of personality.” If that’s true, it’s only because Republicans for so long never had a personality. Mitt Romney? Mitch McConnell? I’m convinced most Republicans in national politics come with an on-off switch at the back of their necks.
True, Trump’s supporters, for one reason or another, identify with him. They like him. They believe that he did right by them and didn’t look down on their way of life. That’s a bad thing? More Republicans might try it out.
Incidentally, there are several Republicans well suited to pick up where Trump will leave off: There’s Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
They seem to have learned from Trump. The rest of the party should do the same.
