Donald Trump Conservatism

779 Words4 Pages

The short answer to this question is no. Donald Trump is anti-establishment and taps into the anger of many Americans, some of them may even identify as conservative. But he is not conservative.

His populist, nationalist message seems to be refreshing. Not to mention he is attacking all of the people that deserve it: (for example) the liberal media, the establishment, and the president. But Trump is also attacking conservatives too. For instance, Trump does not need to agree with Ted Cruz on everything, but what is unacceptable is how Trump treats Cruz and other conservatives like him with as much disdain and anger as he does the liberal media and the establishment. Most Trump supporters justify their support for Trump by saying that …show more content…

First, it must be understood exactly why Conservatives should care about what the Left thinks. The Left has constantly been trying to portray conservatism as bigoted and racist. Not saying that Trump is bigoted and racist, but Trump gives the Left a concrete example to use against conservatives. A majority of Trump’s supports are not racists, but there is a small sub-sect of his followers that are very “loud” and are, indeed, white nationalists. Given that the Left can look at Trump and say to independents or other potential future conservatives, “Do you really want to vote for, join a party, or subscribe to an ideology that really is racist and bigoted, as proven by Donald Trump’s presidency/candidacy?” No! It would require the independent to either defend Trump, or somewhat or wholeheartedly agree with the Leftist. Trump would alienate voters from conservatism.

Trump would also change the perception of conservatism in regards to policy. This is the second most dangerous part of a Trump presidency (after providing Leftists the opportunity to claim conservatives are racist and bigoted). Trump claims to be conservative, but his policies rarely reflect conservative ideology: limited government, federalism, free trade, and individual liberty (ex: freedom of the press). Those are a few policies that are conservative, yet are not supported by

Open Document