1. Populism vs. Conservatism
On Saturday evening March 10 2018 President Trump held a rally at a Pittsburghs airport (in Moon Township Pennsylvania) in an effort to help Republican Rick Saccone to win a western Pennsylvania congressional district in the special elections of Tuesday March 13. The president won the district by 20 points during the 2016 election.
The speech was vintage Trump 2016 displaying in the midst of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters both the presidents achievements since he has taken office on January 20 2017 and his electoral promises that he has yet to deliver in the years to come.
There were however some new some would say unconventional elements of the presidents populism that were prefiguring a departure from the traditional conservatism as we know it of the Reagan-Bush era.
2. The North Korea Issue
President Trump asserted that this issue should have been handled over the last 30 years not now." Past presidents including Republicans (George W. Bush) treated North Korea with kids gloves where diplomacy and payoffs were the rule and the military option was not taken into consideration. In 2008 President George W. Bush removed North Korea from the Department of State list of terrorist countries.
President Trump has taken a new and bold approach to the despair of diplomats and pundits in Washington DC. He has put very strong sanctions against the Kim Jong-un administration requesting with insistence and eventually obtaining China South Korea and other regional actors involvement for achieving this goal.
In addition the presidents famous aggressive rhetoric has also played an important role. Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on September 19 2017 Trump threatened to totally destroy North Korea". His January 3 2018 tweet about his bigger nuclear button" although regarded as ill-advised and infantile" proved to be effective. Little Rocket Man" (Trumps nickname for Kim) decided to talk complete denuclearization" with the United States as soon as possible". This has led to the first direct meeting between the American and North Korean leaders (without Chinas traditional brokerage) set up for May.
3. The Trade Issue
A second issue where Trump went on criticizing past Republican presidents (George H. W. Bush the first" and Ronald Reagan) was trade. Trump complained that these presidents were not great on the trade" as exemplified with China. Cars exported by the United States face a 25 tax from China while China has a 2.5 car tax from the United States. This has generated a trade deficit with China of US$ 500 billion a year which the president has promised he would fix in a year. Plenty of presidents and people who work for them allowed this to happen" bitterly remarked the president.
One of the solutions promoted by the president (in fact an electoral promise that he wants to deliver to his base of supporters) is his new set of tariffs for steel (25) and aluminum (10) which ignited not only the revolt of the pundits in Washington DC but also of part of his own Republican party.
4. The Tax Cut Issue
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act adopted with no Democrat votes and signed into law by President Trump on December 22 2017 is considered the most extensive rewrite of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years and the most massive tax cut since Reagan."
With this remark Trump criticized to the previous Republican administrations of George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) and George W. Bush (2001-2009). Bush the father otherwise has been notoriously known for raising taxes despite promising not to and losing the 1992 elections in favor of Bill Clinton.
The Tax Cuts Act of 2017 reaches beyond fiscal matters to tick off a wish list of conservative priorities that include the elimination of Obamacare mandate (the fine levied on Americans who do not buy health insurance) and opening Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.
5. The Drug and Opioid Addiction Issue
The President reflected on the possibility and proposed for national debate the problem of death penalty for drug dealers (following the examples of countries with zero tolerance policy" like China and Singapore). Drug dealers kill thousands of people and get 30 days in prison" (as opposed to criminals who kill a person and get the death penalty) noticed the president.
We have the opioid problem" and also we have to go after the drug companies" said the president. It was a call for a national discussion about this pressing issue. References were also made to MS-13 and other gangs against which building the Wall is an efficient solution. The president spoke of our toughest" American officers sent in Long Island to grab the gang members by the neck and throw them out" of the country.
Less than two weeks before Trump suggested very strong penalties" to help address the nations growing problem with opioid addiction.
In May 2017 President Trump congratulated Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte for a great job" in his crackdown on drugs.
Although tougher sanctions are reference measures for any Republican administration the Republicans reaction to the presidents new criminal justice proposals is yet to be seen.
6. The Presidential Style Issue
President Trump derided past presidents (including the Republican ones) as stiffs and lousy entertainers."
In particular he criticized the Wall Street Journals Peggy Noonan a former primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan for deriding his lack of presidential" style and behavior comparing him with some kind of a Neanderthal." Noonan was quick to reply that she did not call President Trump a Neanderthal" because that would not be fair" to Neanderthals who had a certain artistic complexity."
This is an obvious disconnect between the old generation of traditional conservatives (suspected to have become or acting more like neo-conservatives) and Trumps base of populist supporters. Acting presidential" said Trump (who also mimicked a stiff presidential" tone for a short while during his speech) is much easier" than how he acts and what he does (which is smart"). With a deep understanding of the profile and life philosophy of his base he concluded that he wouldnt have won" otherwise. His supporters he explained love the country" and many of them never voted before but they are coming out of the hills they are coming out of the valleys … because they never saw anybody they wanted to vote for" until 2016.
7. Populism Conservatism and Radical Right Nationalism
In the end a question remains: has President Trump opened a path for an avant-garde populism or is he trying to attune the traditional conservatism of the 80s the 90s and the early 2000s to a new era of pragmatism?
There is also the problem of populism splitting in more radical factions like the one promoted by Steve Bannon a former senior advisor to President Trump. Bannon went to a world tour to learn" from the experience of other populist-nationalist parties in his quest to craft a more radical right American nationalist movement.
So for the near future it remains to be seen not only if populism departs from or incorporates traditional conservatism but also if populism splits more or less into a variety of nationalist factions.
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in AMERICAN THINKER.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****
1. Populism vs. Conservatism
On Saturday evening March 10 2018 President Trump held a rally at a Pittsburghs airport (in Moon Township Pennsylvania) in an effort to help Republican Rick Saccone to win a western Pennsylvania congressional district in the special elections of Tuesday March 13. The president won the district by 20 points during the 2016 election.
The speech was vintage Trump 2016 displaying in the midst of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters both the presidents achievements since he has taken office on January 20 2017 and his electoral promises that he has yet to deliver in the years to come.
There were however some new some would say unconventional elements of the presidents populism that were prefiguring a departure from the traditional conservatism as we know it of the Reagan-Bush era.
2. The North Korea Issue
President Trump asserted that this issue should have been handled over the last 30 years not now." Past presidents including Republicans (George W. Bush) treated North Korea with kids gloves where diplomacy and payoffs were the rule and the military option was not taken into consideration. In 2008 President George W. Bush removed North Korea from the Department of State list of terrorist countries.
President Trump has taken a new and bold approach to the despair of diplomats and pundits in Washington DC. He has put very strong sanctions against the Kim Jong-un administration requesting with insistence and eventually obtaining China South Korea and other regional actors involvement for achieving this goal.
In addition the presidents famous aggressive rhetoric has also played an important role. Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on September 19 2017 Trump threatened to totally destroy North Korea". His January 3 2018 tweet about his bigger nuclear button" although regarded as ill-advised and infantile" proved to be effective. Little Rocket Man" (Trumps nickname for Kim) decided to talk complete denuclearization" with the United States as soon as possible". This has led to the first direct meeting between the American and North Korean leaders (without Chinas traditional brokerage) set up for May.
3. The Trade Issue
A second issue where Trump went on criticizing past Republican presidents (George H. W. Bush the first" and Ronald Reagan) was trade. Trump complained that these presidents were not great on the trade" as exemplified with China. Cars exported by the United States face a 25 tax from China while China has a 2.5 car tax from the United States. This has generated a trade deficit with China of US$ 500 billion a year which the president has promised he would fix in a year. Plenty of presidents and people who work for them allowed this to happen" bitterly remarked the president.
One of the solutions promoted by the president (in fact an electoral promise that he wants to deliver to his base of supporters) is his new set of tariffs for steel (25) and aluminum (10) which ignited not only the revolt of the pundits in Washington DC but also of part of his own Republican party.
4. The Tax Cut Issue
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act adopted with no Democrat votes and signed into law by President Trump on December 22 2017 is considered the most extensive rewrite of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years and the most massive tax cut since Reagan."
With this remark Trump criticized to the previous Republican administrations of George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) and George W. Bush (2001-2009). Bush the father otherwise has been notoriously known for raising taxes despite promising not to and losing the 1992 elections in favor of Bill Clinton.
The Tax Cuts Act of 2017 reaches beyond fiscal matters to tick off a wish list of conservative priorities that include the elimination of Obamacare mandate (the fine levied on Americans who do not buy health insurance) and opening Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.
5. The Drug and Opioid Addiction Issue
The President reflected on the possibility and proposed for national debate the problem of death penalty for drug dealers (following the examples of countries with zero tolerance policy" like China and Singapore). Drug dealers kill thousands of people and get 30 days in prison" (as opposed to criminals who kill a person and get the death penalty) noticed the president.
We have the opioid problem" and also we have to go after the drug companies" said the president. It was a call for a national discussion about this pressing issue. References were also made to MS-13 and other gangs against which building the Wall is an efficient solution. The president spoke of our toughest" American officers sent in Long Island to grab the gang members by the neck and throw them out" of the country.
Less than two weeks before Trump suggested very strong penalties" to help address the nations growing problem with opioid addiction.
In May 2017 President Trump congratulated Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte for a great job" in his crackdown on drugs.
Although tougher sanctions are reference measures for any Republican administration the Republicans reaction to the presidents new criminal justice proposals is yet to be seen.
6. The Presidential Style Issue
President Trump derided past presidents (including the Republican ones) as stiffs and lousy entertainers."
In particular he criticized the Wall Street Journals Peggy Noonan a former primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan for deriding his lack of presidential" style and behavior comparing him with some kind of a Neanderthal." Noonan was quick to reply that she did not call President Trump a Neanderthal" because that would not be fair" to Neanderthals who had a certain artistic complexity."
This is an obvious disconnect between the old generation of traditional conservatives (suspected to have become or acting more like neo-conservatives) and Trumps base of populist supporters. Acting presidential" said Trump (who also mimicked a stiff presidential" tone for a short while during his speech) is much easier" than how he acts and what he does (which is smart"). With a deep understanding of the profile and life philosophy of his base he concluded that he wouldnt have won" otherwise. His supporters he explained love the country" and many of them never voted before but they are coming out of the hills they are coming out of the valleys … because they never saw anybody they wanted to vote for" until 2016.
7. Populism Conservatism and Radical Right Nationalism
In the end a question remains: has President Trump opened a path for an avant-garde populism or is he trying to attune the traditional conservatism of the 80s the 90s and the early 2000s to a new era of pragmatism?
There is also the problem of populism splitting in more radical factions like the one promoted by Steve Bannon a former senior advisor to President Trump. Bannon went to a world tour to learn" from the experience of other populist-nationalist parties in his quest to craft a more radical right American nationalist movement.
So for the near future it remains to be seen not only if populism departs from or incorporates traditional conservatism but also if populism splits more or less into a variety of nationalist factions.
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in AMERICAN THINKER.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****