Debate grows over whether ‘Trumpism’ will outlast Donald Trump and reshape GOP

Republicans and political commentators are debating whether “Trumpism” — the collection of positions and preferences associated with President Donald Trump — will survive as a coherent philosophy for future GOP leaders or has supplanted traditional conservatism, analysts and columnists say.

The question has been sharpened by Mr. Trump’s unpredictability, the column said, citing his remark to reporters in Palm Beach that “My life is a deal. That’s all I do is deals.” The piece notes instances in which he changed positions, including an apparent shift on a proposed TikTok ban before the election.

Critics have been vocally negative. Atlantic contributor Pete Wehner wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Mr. Trump “would threaten the future of the Republican Party” and accused him of encouraging the worst passions within the GOP. Jonah Goldberg, co-founder of The Dispatch, said Mr. Trump “has no ‘ideology'” but added that his instincts and supporters’ deference could be shaped into a set of commitments.

Supporters and some analysts point to the president’s record when arguing that his approach aligns with conservative goals. The column cited actions including tougher border enforcement, expanded deportations, tax cuts, deregulation at agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, a reduction in the federal workforce of about 300,000 jobs, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The piece also acknowledged critics’ concerns about excesses by agencies such as ICE and other controversial outcomes.

The column concluded that the future of “Trumpism” depends on Mr. Trump’s popularity and the economic and geopolitical context in coming years. It said the Republican Party has been transformed and suggested it will not return to the approaches associated with leaders such as Paul Ryan, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, leaving the next era uncertain.

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