There are two sets of Trump supporters who are backing him for two different and entirely contradictory reasons, conservative columnist David French wrote for The New York Times.
"The MAGA argument can be summed up in three words: Burn it down. Trump’s core supporters are convinced that the American establishment is irretrievably corrupt, that America is in its last days and that only the most dramatic action can save the Republic. They think the Trump of Stop the Steal and Jan. 6 is the real Trump, and they can’t wait to see him unleashed," wrote French.
On the other hand, institutional Republicans have the opposite motivation: "These are the voters who still think they belong to a party of limited government and individual liberty" — hoping Trump can pass more tax cuts and appoint more right-wing judges like he did in his first term.
"Both sets of voters can't be right," said French. And in this case, he argued, it's the MAGA crowd that's right — his policies are of no more governing value than his tweets.
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"For Republicans to believe that Trump will govern responsibly, they have to believe that his campaign is a lie. Because if you actually listen to Trump, he’s not promising peace and prosperity. He’s promising conflict, chaos and economic policies that make no sense if inflation is a prime concern," wrote French.
For example, he is advocating massive new tariffs on everything Americans buy, which would choke the economy and raise prices. He also wants mass deportations that would wreck the labor market, and to go back on support for NATO and Ukraine, which will destabilize the international order.
"The problem of potential Trump chaos is magnified by his probable personnel policies. Republicans look back at Trump’s first term and appreciate his early cabinet and judicial appointments. MAGA views those people as mistakes. They wouldn’t let Trump be Trump," wrote French.
This time will be different — Trump will surround himself with sycophants and be unimpeded, and even his judicial picks will tilt away from traditional conservatism and more toward loyalty to one man.
If ordinary Republicans want to back Trump, French concluded, "they have to make a leap of faith. They have to assume that Trump is lying to his base. They have to assume that he’s running on a fake platform. But knowing what we know now, their faith is misplaced. Trump’s tweets are his policies, and there is no one left in the Republican Party to stand in his way."
