Trump’s vision for the Republican Party may offend certain conservatives, but the change is desperately needed. The days of Ronald Reagan, and his fabled “shining city on the hill,” are the vestiges of a fading past. America and Western Civilization is in grave peril, and Trumpism, as outlined in the 2024 Republican platform, is the last chance to save the jewels of mankind, standing firmly against the Democratic agenda of legalized crime, mass migration and gender ideology.
The Republican Platform is not the work of conservative intellectuals in the distant and out-of-touch Washington D.C. thinktank apparatus. It is crafted from Trump’s instincts. It has not been sanitized or focus grouped. It contains language that will appeal to the average American, not a narrow clique of donors and insiders. The Platform is a populist manifesto, and one that will live on for many generations to come.
Trump’s populist trade policy, outlined in the Republican Platform, rejects the failed notion that slavishly adhering to free trade will bring us endless and guileless prosperity. In actuality, there are hostile nations like China and Russia willing to bend and break every rule to establish economic supremacy over our nation. If America does not protect its own industries, those industries will be dominated by ruthless economic competitors.
So-called free market conservatives have turned a blind eye, often while taking fringe benefits from the Koch network, as outsourcing has eviscerated quality jobs and wages have been reduced by both illegal and legal immigration. Trade deals have benefitted massive corporations who continue to post record profits while harming the national character of America. These are unjust policies that Republicans must oppose.
Populist national conservatism respects the role of the market, understanding the necessity of free market principles in bringing about America’s prosperity. But the market is not a religious deity, and people are not economic units. The institutions underpinning society - social, familial and religious - must be protected by government, which is what conservatives in bygone eras understood. Corporate libertinism must be rejected, and the state, while limited in most respects, must be swift, muscular and punishing when necessary to protect the cultural fabric.
My organization, Republicans for National Renewal, offered many planks, authored in conjunction with Arizona State Rep. Alex Kolodin of the RNC Platform Committee, offering ideas that were ultimately incorporated into the final draft of the Republican Platform. Strong planks in favor of election integrity - calling for same day voting, paper ballots, proof of citizenship and voter ID - and in opposition to the weaponization of government - protecting 1st Amendment rights of dissidents and the dismantling of the deep state - are particularly impressive detail-focused parts of Trump’s platform.
But the passage of Trump’s platform was not without controversy. Some Christian conservatives are angry, claiming Trump populist platform faltered on social issues. These critiques belie the fact that Trump’s record on Life is unassailable, and his states’ rights position on abortion is constitutional. Religious conservatives may have wanted stronger language, and I personally agree with them in principle, but Trump’s shrewd strategy will likely win voters, as abortion issues have ignited Democrat voters and driven them to the polls in recent elections.
Trump is shaping a platform that will appeal to a broad range of Americans, a pragmatic document that will create a broad coalition to rally the voters needed to overthrow globalism. Strict ideological bounds will prevent the America First movement from being effective and ensure that no laudable goals are achieved. We cannot afford to make the perfect the enemy of the good at this critical juncture. The values outlined in Trump’s America First platform are a common-sense foundation for populist conservatism, and party activists must take full advantage to grow their organizations and build their power locally to take their country back.
