Plenty of people have asserted that my exposé of the “47 percent” tape in 2012-remember Romney denigrating nearly half of Americans as freeloaders who want the government to take care of them?-played a part in his defeat. I should note that I feel a bit awkward when I talk with Stevens. First on my list was Stuart Stevens, the chief strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid. This seemed a premise worth exploring, so I thought I would check in with veteran Republicans who once were attracted to the party for its conservative ideals but who have become Trump critics. Had the GOP become the party of no ideas?īrandon Partin, of Deland, Florida, in front of a flag he brought as he waits for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in 2016. Now they were cheering a twice-divorced adulterer who had run up the federal debt, sloppily imposed tariffs, and embraced the anti-American autocrats leading Russia and North Korea-a man devoid of serious thought and guiding policy principles, a self-fixated candidate who presented no intellectual framework for his presidency.
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Once upon a time, Republican legislators and party leaders claimed they cared deeply about certain foundational issues-the deficit, family values, free trade, hawkish foreign policy. But in the Oklahoma crowd were many unmasked Republican senators and House members, who clapped along and looked delighted to be props for The Trump Show. He replied by rambling on about his inauguration and attacking John Bolton.Īll this was nothing new for Trump, who approaches the presidency more as performance artist than policymaker. Days later, during a friendly Fox News “town hall,” Sean Hannity asked Trump to spell out his plans for a second term. Moreover, he offered no agenda for a second term other than vague promises of making everything swell. What was mostly missing from Trump’s speech: ideas.Īlthough he referred to his tax cuts for the wealthy, his appointment of conservative judges, and his “beautiful” wall on the US-Mexico border, Trump had little to say about economic policy, national security, health care, education, housing, the environment, and other subjects. (“I have done a phenomenal job” responding to the pandemic.) He denigrated his opponent as “Sleepy Joe.” He obsessed over personal grievances and slights, devoting much time to slamming news outlets that had recently shown video of him walking gingerly down a ramp after delivering a commencement address at West Point. He threw out buzzwords (“law and order,” “left-wing radicals”). In front of an audience of maskless fans standing side by side, Trump performed his usual routine. When Donald Trump decided to back-burner the coronavirus crisis and reboot his reelection campaign with superspreader events in June, he headed to an arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to present his case for four more years. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
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