Trump remade the GOP in his own image — to reject Obama’s overhauled Democrats

Donald Trump has made history: Not only by returning to nan White House 4 years aft his expulsion from it, but besides by founding a caller American governmental statement successful his ain image. 

He’s consolidated a caller conjugation nether an aged name, a uncommon feat we’ve seen earlier successful America’s past, astir precocious achieved by Trump’s erstwhile predecessor.

Today and possibly for decades to come, nan Republican Party is nan Trump Party while nan Democratic Party is nan Barack Obama Party.

President-elect Trump connected shape astatine his run watch statement successful West Palm Beach connected Nov. 6, 2024. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Following 2 transitional presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Obama presided complete nan assembly of what was successful reality a caller statement nether nan Democratic Party’s banner. 

To nan older Democratic constituencies of organized labour and African Americans, Obama and his friends welded erstwhile mean Republicans whose awesome causes were Planned Parenthood and environmentalism. 

Financial backing came from Hollywood, agelong affiliated pinch Democrats, and from Silicon Valley and Wall Street libertarians who mixed liberalism connected societal issues pinch free-market blimpish economics. 

In nan caller Obama party, nan hierarchical organizations of nan past, pinch their bosses and patronage employees, were eclipsed by caller municipality machines based connected nonprofits, galore funded by city, authorities aliases national funds. 

Those ideologues — including environmentalists and race- and gender-studies departments connected assemblage campuses — devised nan statement line, expecting voters to support nan Democrats connected nan ground of their title and gender.

In return, members of these absurd categories were promised targeted and different benefits. 

The Obama Party that took style successful nan 2010s has achieved a near-monopoly of governmental powerfulness successful its homelands — large cities and assemblage towns. In 2024, 9 of nan 10 astir populous American cities had Democratic mayors; successful 2000, 4 of those aforesaid had Republican mayors.

Even successful reddish states for illustration Texas, large cities and assemblage towns coming are usually blue.

But this caller Democratic conjugation has struggled to widen its power to nationalist politics, arsenic good arsenic to governors’ mansions and authorities legislatures successful states for illustration Florida and Texas. 

During Obama’s first term, nan Republicans regained power of nan House, which they had mislaid successful 2006. Obama’s Democrats suffered nan highest losses successful a midterm predetermination since 1938. A “red wave” predetermination inflicted further harm connected them successful 2014.

But worse was to come. In 2011, astatine nan yearly White House correspondents’ dinner, Obama mocked Donald Trump, who was sitting successful nan audience.

Trump had his revenge successful 2016, erstwhile he shocked Democrats, and galore Republicans, by winning first nan GOP statesmanlike information and past nan presidency. 

Defeated successful 2020 aft serving 1 term, Trump was disgraced successful nan eyes of galore by discredited claims astir electoral cheating and subjected to “lawfare.” Yet he survived and won nan presidency a 2nd clip successful 2024 — this clip arsenic nan undisputed leader of a caller Republican Party.

The Reagan Republican conjugation devoted to free trade, wide ineligible immigration, “wars of choice” and entitlement cuts and dispute to organized labor, is nary more. 

In its place, Trump and his friends person formed a caller conjugation based connected strategical trade, constricted immigration, skepticism astir overseas subject quagmires, defense of entitlements and outreach to labour national members. 

To nan aged GOP constituencies of small-business owners and evangelicals, nan Trump activity has added erstwhile Democrats — working-class whites and a increasing number of achromatic and Latino voters — while losing astir college-educated Americans to nan rival Obama party.  

The nationalist personas of their leaders bespeak nan parties’ constituencies. Obama, starring a statement of college-credentialed professionals and technocratic experts, exudes nan benignant of soft-spoken rationality favored successful world seminars and firm suites. 

Trump, a seasoned of reality television, a serial brander of commercialized products and a instrumentality of TV wrestling, is arsenic raucous and hyperbolic arsenic Obama is cool and deliberate. 

An Obama reside is an NPR-approved author’s talk astatine a metropolitan bookstore. A Trump reside is half-time intermezo astatine a demolition derby.

The triumph of nan Trump statement astatine nan national level does not mean nan disappearance of nan Obama party. 

Obama’s caller Democratic conjugation will proceed to power its big-city and college-town strongholds, biding its clip until it tin regain powerfulness successful Washington. 

For its part, nan caller Trump conjugation whitethorn squabble: Its diverse constituents, from Bitcoin-bedazzled libertarians to anti-woke waste and acquisition unionists, whitethorn stock small different than their rejection of Obama’s Democrats. 

One point seems certain: The grudge lucifer betwixt Obama and Trump that flared astatine that 2011 dinner, and has been institutionalized successful nan nationalist parties they remade, will apt proceed for years to come.

Michael Lind is nan writer of “Hell to Pay:  How nan Suppression of Wages is Destroying America.”