How the Rise and Fall of Trump opened a new chapter in American politics
By: Ayman Haque
Tags: GOP, Trumpism, Trump, Donald Trump, Republican Party

When reality TV show host and real estate mogul Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the overwhelming majority of those in the media laughed it off and didn’t take him seriously, and at the time, it made sense for them to do that. However as Trump wooed voters with his drama and insult filled debates in the GOP primary, a few things stood out about him. He offered a vision of not the regular old establishment Republicans such as Mitt Romney and John McCain, but one of a new brand of right-wing populism, that focused on issues such as illegal immigration, the offshoring of American jobs, the rising national debt, and terrorism abroad and at home.

What the other candidates offered were clichés, Trump offered solutions that resonated with conservative voters, and many apolitical voters in the center. While I didn’t and still don’t agree with the policies proposed by Trump, it has to be noted that his message stuck, and him being brutally honest and promising to drain the swamp is what got him the GOP nomination, beating out what would have been perceived to be stronger candidates, such as Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio.

The candidates at the first Republican presidential primary debate, hosted by Fox News on August 6, 2015.

And even now that Trump has lost re-election after a very eventful four-year term in office, his “Make America Great Again” base has stuck with him through it all. This hardcore base of supporters are what continues to drive the far right and it’s claim to economic populism. Now while Trump may have been defeated in his bid to keep the White House, that doesn’t mean that one of his children or an existing GOP politician won’t harness the energy behind his base.

Donald Trump Jr. has hinted at a run for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022, where the Republican incumbent is retiring. The same can be said for Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, who is said to be considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by GOP Senator Richard Burr in 2022. And then we have Ivanka Trump, who many speculate will run in a primary challenge against incumbent GOP Senator Marco Rubio, who was an ardent rival of the now-outgoing President, in the 2016 primaries, but quickly fell in line once Trump was elected president.

Eyes should be kept on one-term Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (R), who unseated a Democratic incumbent in 2018. Recently Hawley has made headlines after teaming up with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to push for a $2,000 stimulus check to working Americans. Hawley seems an almost obvious presidential candidate for 2024, and ultimately if anyone is to harness the energy of Trumpism, perhaps in a more civil way, it would be Josh Hawley, the GOP’s rising star in the US Senate.

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders opened the gates of populism in their respective parties, just when working class Americans were craving economic prosperity and even basic survival. The GOP will no longer be a party of establishment politicians such as the likes of Reagan and Bush.