Is Trumpism a bona fide political ideology or one man’s personality?

May 25, 2021 at 08:11 PM CDT

Trumpism

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Former President Donald Trump is out of the White House, but the word ‘Trumpism’ continues to be a part of America’s vernacular. Is it a political ideology or just an extension of President Trump’s personality? We use some political pundits and a history lesson to break down what ’Trumpism’ really is.

Alex Peebles

Gwen Baumgardner: WE ALL WATCHED AS A MAN TURNED INTO A MOVEMENT

President Trump: “We are going to make our country great again!”

Baumgardner: THE HEADLINES, THE HEADGEAR, AND HORDES OF LOYAL TRUMP SUPPORTERS.

AND EVEN THOUGH PRESIDENT TRUMP IS OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE, *TRUMPISM IS STILL GOING STRONG.

Trump: “Do you miss me yet?” Cheers

Baumgardner: WHAT IS TRUMPISM?

AN ACTUAL IDEOLOGY OR ONE MAN’S LARGER THAN LIFE PERSONALITY?

WHILE I WASN’T ABLE TO SNAG AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MAN HIMSELF, I DID SPEAK WITH SOME POLITICAL PUNDITS.

DAVID AZERRAD IS A PROFESSOR AT HILLSDALE COLLEGE AND FORMERLY WORKED FOR A CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK IN DC.
DR. KEITH WAGNER IS A POLI-SCI PROFESSOR AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY…RIGHT DOWN THE BEACH FROM MAR-A-LAGO.

THEY NARROWED THE CONCEPT OF ‘TRUMPISM’ DOWN TO THREE KEY THEMES.

-NATIONALISM –

Azerrad: “I think a nationalist is someone like Trump… who says, actually, no, when it comes to politics, the bedrock unit is the nation.”

Trump: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America First, America first.”

-NATIVISM –

Wagner: ‘’This idea that, that people coming into the country were causing issues with the country.’’

Trump: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

-AND POPULISM-

“Drain the swamp!”

Azerrad: “It’s the feistiness, that combativeness, the utter contempt for the corruption of the elites. And this was a tremendous part of his appeal.”

Baumgardner: THESE EXPERTS SAY THE COMBINATION OF THESE THEMES DO, IN FACT, SUPPORT A DEFINED IDEOLOGY – CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO OF POLITICAL ELITES, WHILE PUTTING AMERICANS AND AMERICAN INTERESTS FIRST.

BUT CAN TRUMP CLAIM IT AS HIS OWN?

Wagner: “I think it’s probably incorrect to say that President Trump sort of created an ideology, right, because a lot of the belief systems that he tapped into were existing, they just weren’t dominant.”

Baumgardner: TO THAT POINT, HIS ICONIC CATCHPHRASES HAVE BEEN USED BEFORE.

WARREN G HARDING USED THE SLOGAN ‘AMERICA FIRST’ DURING HIS PRESIDENTIAL RUN. AND RONALD REAGAN ALSO WANTED TO ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN’.

TO TRUMP’S CREDIT, WHILE THE BELIEFS AND SLOGANS AREN’T NEW…*THIS CERTAINLY IS. (TRUMP SUPPORTER NATS)

HE’S DUBBED A ‘MASTER OF MARKETING’

HIS ONE-LINERS ‘’you’re fired’’, TWEETS, AND PERSONAL ATTACKS, ‘’such a nasty woman’’ RESONATED WITH HIS VOTERS.

THIS BEGS THE QUESTION- CAN ONLY TRUMP DO TRUMPISM? WELL, MAYBE NOT.

UC BERKLEY’S CENTER FOR RIGHT WING STUDIES IDENIFIED 2 SUCCESSORS IF TRUMP DOESN’T RUN IN 20-24… MISSOURI SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY AND fox commentator TUCKER CARLSON.

OTHER ANALYSTS SAY FLORIDA’S GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS AND SENATOR RICK SCOTT ARE ALSO PEOPLE TO WATCH.

Wagner: ‘’The energy and the passion that that former President Trump unleashed in the Republican Party is not going away “

Baumgardner: SO ACTUAL IDEOLOGY OR ONE MAN’S PERSONALITY. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

BUT LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND BE SURE TO RATE THIS STORY ON OUR WEBSITE’S BIAS METER.

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