Wilson is worried about the damage Trump has already done to the Republican brand. Even if there won’t be another billionaire reality TV celebrity running for president in the Republican Party any time soon, Wilson points to Trump’s and the party’s poor favorability among African Americans and Hispanics. Trump has also hurt support for Republicans among college-educated professionals, white women and Catholics.
“He’s essentially wrecked the GOP coalition,” Wilson said.
Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham doesn’t buy that.
“I see the Republican Party as a conservative party that has a stronger populist strain than it’s had since the Bushes,” Ingraham said. “That’s what I see. And I think that agenda will appeal to a broader range of Americans as time goes on.”
If the party, though, can have that broader appeal might depend on whether it’s possible to separate Trumpism from Trump’s own racial rhetoric.
Ben Domenech, the founder and publisher of The Federalist, asks: “If you break Trumpism away from some of the toxic comments about immigrants, some of the race-baiting comments, at least when it comes to birtherism — if you break it away from that, does it still have the same appeal?”
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