Since Donald Trump took his escalator ride to announce his candidacy for President of the United States, the media has been accurate with at least one fact: Trump is a populist.
The concept is great. A leader who looks out for the “ordinary” folks is a leader we could all get behind right?
Eh, not so fast.
Who speaks for the “ordinary” people? More importantly who would a populist President be listening to as the voice of everyday Americans?
How many regular Joe’s have been sitting around that White House conference room table and have they been more than a PR moment for the cameras?
I think you see the point.
The White House has been filled with political strategists and their politicians.
The only Washington outsiders that have the President’s ear are his own daughter and her husband, who sadly have a long history of supporting liberal causes and politicians.
While President Trump may sincerely think he’s looking out for the interests of working class Americans, it would appear that he as lost access to “the little people” who elected him.
Instead, he is being told what the will of the people is through the filter of Paul Ryan, Fox News and his closest, and closeted advisors.
Trump’s support of the American Health Care Act is the primary indicator of what’s going on within his mind.
If you tack on Trump’s wading into Identity Politics at the urging of his daughter and former campaign manager, the picture becomes much more clear:
Trump is a man who wants to make good on his word and is sincere in his desire to serve the interests of all Americans.
The President’s weakness comes from his lack of an ideological foundation. Politically, Trump, while a patriot, has no idea who he is . . .
. . . and that’s where the vultures start picking.
That’s also the fatal flaw of governing by popular opinion – which is nothing new.
Since Ronald Reagan boldly stood behind the podium to nominate Barry GoldWater in 1964, Republicans have been attempting to maintain power through populist compromise rather than standing by principle.
Without principles, you’ll stand for anything . . . and you’ll stand for nothing.
In a modern age where popular interests can be so easily faked and manipulated, the flaw of populist governance without solid principles becomes wildly dangerous to those who are governed.
An industry that wants to influence public policy only has to spend a few million bucks on a Twitter campaign and, voila, a strategist whispers into the President’s ear with a slithering voice, “Misssster Presssident, the people have sssspoken . . .”
You can be rest assured that similar manipulations are occurring each day.
For President Trump to publicly denounce the Freedom Caucus, Freedom Works and the venerable Heritage Foundation (that worked with President Reagan to break the back of the Evil Empire), he is clearly listening to the wrong people.
While the above sounds dire, all is not lost.
For the first time in my career in the world of politics, the people who fervently supported a candidate have not become parrots who will say and do anything that they’re told.
The reaction of Trump supporters when the American Health Care Act came to light, was heartwarming. It was motivating.
For a Trump supporter to stand their ground against RyanCare and President Trump proves that, while Trump may have never built his ideological foundation, his supporters have beliefs built on an unshakable bedrock of granite.
With that and some effort, America can be made great again.
For those who truly know and love Liberty, this is our “rendezvous with destiny.” Are you in?
