President-elect Trump seems caught between those visions. His views on trade, business regulations and foreign policy resemble Taft’s. But he sounds more like Eisenhower on many domestic policies. After President Obama, in a meeting with Mr. Trump, pointed out some key protections of the Affordable Care Act — for people with pre-existing medical conditions and young adults covered by their parents — Mr. Trump indicated he might moderate his position. Mr. Ryan, too, said, “We can fix what is broken in health care without breaking what is working.”
The same dynamic could play out on other issues. Mr. Trump has already begun talking about building a fence instead of a wall along sections of the Mexican border. And while he has been adamant about deporting undocumented immigrants, he has narrowed the emphasis to those with criminal records — the policy Mr. Obama has pursued. Clear differences with small-government conservatives could also emerge if House Republicans tried to privatize Medicare or health care services for veterans. On infrastructure, Mr. Trump seems inclined for now to side with Democrats who want a big plan over the objections of Republican deficit hawks.
One clue to how Mr. Trump might govern from the center is contained in exit polls. According to those surveys, groups about whom Mr. Trump said disparaging things — including women, Hispanics and blacks — voted against him, but less emphatically than expected. Mr. Trump’s share of the African-American and Hispanic vote was actually larger than Mitt Romney’s in 2012. Most striking was the gender gap. Hillary Clinton’s edge there, 54 to 42, was large, but not atypical.
One major reason: Democrats simply didn’t turn out for Mrs. Clinton in the same numbers they did for Mr. Obama.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member