Trumpism

Donald Trump was the first person with absolutely no government or military experience to become the US commander-in-chief. His policy ideas are a spaghetti bowl of priorities and philosophies, which show Trump to be less of an ideologue and more of a dealmaker.

Trump destroyed two political dynasties during his campaign, the Bushes and the Clintons. Many Americans and most of the rest of the world hope he will now stop the politics of destruction and return to his roots as a real-estate developer.

Trump's philosophy of petulance has been an open mandate to overthrow orthodoxy and turn rhetoric into action.

Politicians and pundits alike across the board have referred to Trump's populism, anti-free trade, and anti-immigrant stances as "Trumpism".

Trump's governing philosophy shares more in common with Alexander Hamilton than Machiavelli. A certain amount of the Trump ideology, particularly in regards to trade, harkens back to what was once known as “Hamiltonian economics” or “The American System.”

Trump might not be so read-up on the philosophical basis of his own ideology. He has neither perused the works of John Locke, Edmund Burke or Friedrich Hayek between morning tweets, nor simply channeled Machiavelli.

“Make America Great Again” is not just a cynical slogan. It encapsulates Trump’s America-first ideology. Once fully understood, the elements of a Trump ideology begin to fall into place. Immigration, particularly legal immigration, must have some limits so the culture isn’t altered so quickly that it becomes perverted into something else.

According to CNN, President Donald Trump may be defeated, but Trumpism -- the political coalition the President built, the allegiance he demanded from his allies and the policies he heralded -- will be with Republicans for years to come.

"There is no abandoning Trump and his imprint on the party. There are ways to adapt it and make our message more tenable to folks. But I don't think it is realistic to pretend he wasn't President for four years," one GOP House aide told CNN.

As president, he pursued sizable income tax cuts, deregulation, increased military spending, rollbacks of federal health-care protections, and the appointment of conservative judges consistent with conservative (Republican Party) policies.

His anti-globalization policies of trade protectionism crossed party lines. In foreign affairs he described himself as a nationalist, and said that he is "totally flexible on very, very many issues."

Mendacity was his most avoidable failure. Trump lied to Americans from the outset of the COVID-19 life-threatening emergency. His failures can be exaggerated, but no one can pinpoint exactly how many excess deaths he's wholly or partially responsible for, or how much excess economic pain America suffered due to his performance, not only because of the complexity of parceling out blame, and the hypothetical nature of what different leaders might have done, but also because the death toll still rising, killing more Americans than did the 9/11 attack.

Trump's most memorable signature issues were, immigration, and in particular building or expanding a border wall with Mexico.

Rony Hitti on his Facebook page wrote, “Do not celebrate too much, the Trump name will be back in 4 years – and junior will win – no I am not insane but you may be if you ignore this,” adding “The US Presidency is rarely about the President, it is always about the underwriters…”

Food for thought!