Donald Trump's impact on the Republican Party

ABSTRACT

What impact did Donald Trump have on the Republican Party during his time as President? This article argues that although the presidency of Donald Trump was a natural progression of Republican conservatism, his legacy has cast a shadow on the Republican Party, as well as having further pushed the party rightward, whilst also helping to move the fringe/more extreme elements of Republican conservatism closer to the centre of American politics. As a result, the GOP has become increasingly dependent on a base of white support. Continuing along this path will only further put them at odds with a majority of the country and less likely to realize electoral victories. Only by a continued abating of democracy through compromises in the design of representative institutions and electoral practices will they be likely to win or retain power.

KEYWORDS:

• Donald Trump
• evolution of Republican conservatism
• anti-democratic
• anti-establishment
• right-wing
• political legacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Back towards a republic can also be viewed from a similar argument as attempting to have sustained minority rule. For more, see Hacker and Pierson (2020), Let Them Eat Tweets, 12–13, 172–175, 187–188, 213–214.

2 For a working definition, I will refer to the Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662 (Narcissistic personality disorder 2017).

3 Table one provides a good visual of the gradual right-ward shift over a forty-year period (1960s–1990s), xxxii.

4 However, Trump's anti-establishment and anti-elite approach did put him at odds with the GOP at the elite level. For more see, Saldin and Telles (2020), Never Trump.

5 For a perspective on American democracy after Trump, see Foa and Mounk (2021), this issue.

6 For more on Trump and post-truth politics, see Hodson (2021), this issue.

7 For more on the dark history of American First, see Sarah Churchwell (2018), Behold, America; Rory McVeigh and Kevin Estep (2019), The Politics of Losing.

8 For more, see Alexander Keyssar (2009), The Right to Vote; Toby James (2012), Elite Statecraft and Election Administration, chapter 4.

9 For more, see Population Distribution by Race/Ethnicity, https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/distribution-by-raceethnicity/

10 For more on Trump and Congress, see Smith (2021), this issue.

11 For more, see Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump (2021b), https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/liz-cheney/

12 For more, see Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump (2021a), https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/elise-stefanik/

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Espinoza

Michael Espinoza is a lecturer in the department of political science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His teaching and research focus on American government, Texas politics, American political history, American political thought, American conservatism, and American political culture.