There’s no question that Republicans believe deeply that those policies are righteous and true. But it’s never been easy to convince ordinary people that what will really improve their lives is a cut in the capital gains tax. Republicans have usually solved this problem during the campaign by focusing on other issues, whether it’s terrorism or crime or abortion. They’ve been particularly adept at finding ways to talk about class that push economics out of the picture, painting Democrats as “elitists” who look down on ordinary people who don’t have fancy educations or drink fancy wine. But while the party may campaign on any number of issues, when a Republican takes office, tax cuts will top the agenda for action.

That’s what has establishment Republicans so freaked out about Trump: He shows no commitment to core conservative policy dogma, on economics or anything else. Democrats can attack him for being very, very rich, but if he won there’s no guarantee he would actually represent rich people’s interests. Sure, he’ll put out a perfunctory tax plan saying he’ll cut rates, but he’ll also promise trade wars and pledge not to cut Social Security and Medicare. His outbursts of economic populism are essentially random. They aren’t guided by any firm ideological foundation, but by whatever sounds good at the moment. And in a general election, they’d likely become even more frequent. Conservatives who believe that “Thou shalt cut taxes on the wealthy” is one of the Ten Commandments have plenty of reason to doubt Trump’s sincerity when he says he’s with them.