“Deal from strength or get crushed every time!”
From the mouths of young girls came the eight-word encapsulation of the Donald Trump 2016 campaign. Last week, at a Donald Trump rally in Pensacola, Fla., a troupe of girls performed a song-and-dance number that became a must-watch YouTube moment of the week.
Cute performances and patriotic displays aren’t unusual at campaign rallies. This song, however, was striking for its lyrics, framing strength and boldness as the core rationale for a Trump presidency.
Much of the media laughed, of course. But the lyrics of the “Trump Girls” anthem — and Trump’s consistent use of the language of strength vs. weakness — actually tell us quite a bit about why Trump has thus far been impervious to attacks on his Republican and conservative bona fides.
Early on in the 2016 race, the main conservative argument against Trump was that he wasn’t a True Republican. He’d donated to Democrats, his rivals said. He even attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Trump’s coyness about whether he’d support the Republican nominee was even the subject of the very first question in the opening debate of the 2016 primary season.
Being insufficiently Republican, however, is nothing to be ashamed of in today’s race for president, where significant numbers of self-identified Republicans say they do not have a favorable view of their own party. While 86 percent of Democrats hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party, according to the Pew Research Center, only 68 percent of Republicans feel that way about the GOP. Failing to be a “good Republican” is not actually a problem in the eyes of three out of ten Republicans.
But surely, even if being a True Republican isn’t meaningful, being a True Conservative is, right?
Now that the detente has ended between Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Cruz is on the offense, pointing out the numerous times Trump has failed to embody conservative values. Trump’s past stances on issues like taxes and single-payer healthcare are all fodder for conservative broadsides. The conventional wisdom is that the GOP is held hostage to purity tests, and yet perhaps the least “pure” candidate is riding atop the polls.
Will the attacks work? I doubt it. Trump’s appeal has never been about a lifelong commitment to fighting for limited government or the protection of the constitution. When pollsters have tested President Obama’s or Hillary Clinton’s policy positions and told respondents that Trump holds those views, the support for those positions jumps among Republicans.
Furthermore, when asked if they think Donald Trump is well described by the phrase “True Conservative,” only 14 percent of Republican voters say yes. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio — under attack from Cruz on similar grounds — is viewed as a “True Conservative” by at least 24 percent of Republicans; a majority apply the label to Cruz. And in poll after poll, while Cruz performs very well among voters who describe themselves as “very conservative,” Trump typically does well among Republicans who consider themselves more moderate or less ideological.
Trying to undo Trump by attacking his Republican loyalty or conservative creds seems to have limited impact. That’s because Trump’s core proposition is not that he will be a champion of free markets or advocate for limited government. It is that he is strong. He is bold. (Three out of four Republicans use that term to describe Trump.)
Just look at the attacks Trump has used on his opponents. Few are truly based in policy. Jeb Bush is attacked as “low energy,” Marco Rubio as too young, Cruz as maybe not being a U.S. citizen. Each of these undercuts his opponents’ strengths as candidates rather than specific policy ideas. And even when Trump wades ever so slightly into policy clashes, he frames his argument around strength rather than principle. (When he took on South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over immigration, he called her position “weak” rather than wrong.)
When tragedy struck Paris and the Islamic State gunned down dozens of innocents, Trump’s supporters did not think to themselves: Is now the time for a Reality Show President?
Instead, Trump climbed higher in the polls. Seriousness wasn’t the attribute that mattered; strength was. Because in moments of insecurity, we want a leader who says he or she will be strong, who embodies strength and decisiveness and who knows how to win. Trump’s message is that weakness, not liberalism, is what has gotten us into this mess.
High-minded ideological principles and party labels become less important when it feels like everything is falling apart, and Trump has benefited handsomely from the impression that the world is burning and only strength can stop the fire.
Trump’s opponents will try to stop him, with less than two weeks until Iowa, and the focus it seems will be on Trump’s various apostasies. But unless they can show that Trump isn’t nearly as tough and strong as he says he is, they may be in for a long, losing fight.
After all, deal from strength or get crushed every time.
Kristen Soltis Anderson is a columnist for The Washington Examiner and author of “The Selfie Vote.”
