Trumpism still exists, make no mistake, but it isn’t a philosophy — it’s an attitude. Attitudinal Trumpism is merely the notion that throwing a giant middle finger at the powers that be is a joyous, energetic, worthwhile activity. Ask Trump’s most ardent supporters what they love most about him, and it’s unlikely you’ll hear a list of his policy accomplishments. There’s no “But Gorsuch” from that cadre, nor is there any disappointment in Trump’s failure to build a border wall. There is merely a general sense that for once, somebody is fighting back — that Trump has said the unsayable on matters ranging from kneeling for the anthem in the National Football League to supporting Roy Moore in Alabama. Trumpism’s slogan is its philosophy: “Trump doesn’t take crap.” It’s that simple.
All of which leaves nationalist populists out in the cold, and policy conservatives happier than they reasonably could have expected last year.
But it does make for another conflict that won’t be long in coming: the conflict between attitudinal Trumpism and conservative policy success. Right now, the two can coexist — we’re not nearing a presidential election, and the midterms are still nearly a year away. But what happens if Trump’s attitude makes him politically toxic and, by extension, toxifies the conservative agenda? What if the very attitudinal Trumpism that drives Trump’s most ardent supporters drives the conservative agenda into the mud?
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