February 22, 2020

What Is There For Republicans to Dislike About Donald Trump?

Oliver Contreras/CNP via ZUMA

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Suppose you’re talking to someone who says, sure, they hate Trump personally (the tweets, the rallies, etc.) but they like his policies. So they’re going to vote for Trump unless someone can convince them that his policies are bad or that Democratic policies are better. Let’s think about this. What are Trump’s major policies?

  • Cutting taxes.
  • Installing conservative judges.
  • Getting rid of Obamacare and replacing it with something else.
  • A border wall and, more generally, tough restrictions on immigration.
  • Tariffs on countries that are taking advantage of us.
  • Cutting regulations in ways that are friendly to big business.
  • More money for the military.
  • Strong support for Israel.
  • Opposition to gun control, abortion, and limitations on religious practice.

It’s worth noting that almost all of these are just bog standard Republican policies. The two exceptions are the border wall and the tariffs. However, the wall is popular among the Republican base and the tariffs, judging from how they’ve been received, were always opposed more in word than deed.

Bottom line: if you’ve already decided that (a) Trump’s bluster isn’t enough to turn you off and (b) his “corruption” is mostly just a bunch of bogus partisan hysterics from Democrats, what is there for an ordinary Republican voter to dislike?

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