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Donald Trump may be blowing up Republican politics as we know it, but his most lasting impact may be more substantive — he has pushed the GOP into a much more populist corner on policy, challenging the party’s platform on everything from free trade to entitlements.
Trump’s populist positions on Wall Street (“Hedge fund managers are getting away with murder”), free trade (“We need fair trade, not free trade”) and immigration (“We’ll have a great wall”) are resonating at a time when conservatives are openly grappling with how to reach working- and middle-class voters when the GOP platform best reflects The Wall Street Journal editorial page.
“We have to develop policy ideas that deal directly with their concerns,” said longtime GOP pollster and strategist Glen Bolger.
John Brabender, political strategist to former Sen. Rick Santorum who sought unsuccessfully to appeal to working class voters in his presidential campaign, said GOP elites who covered their eyes eight months ago are paying attention to Trump now.
Here are the specific policy areas they cover. It might be worth discussing what the populist positions are in each of these.
Immigration
Trade
Entitlements
Taxes
Education
Defense/National security
