Trump Is Taking the GOP Back to the Future

Yahoo

06-04-2025

Donald Trump has remade the GOP in his image. Once a gadfly whose ideas were widely derided as late as 2016, Trump now dominates his party. This is odd because Trump isnt particularly ideological. His governing style is transactional and heavily focused on settling scores with his real and imagined opponents.
Yet he has remade the GOP on several key issues. This is due in part to Trumps appeal to his unswerving base. It is also due to the ideological roots of conservatism and the GOP in America. The party is returning to its pre-World War II views on issues such as protective tariffs, international isolationism, and immigration, with one important addition. Trump hasnt shown the GOP a new direction so much as he has awakened slumbering ideas dormant since America confronted the realities of World War II and the Cold War.
For evidence, look no further than the Republican platform of 1940. After eight years of the New Deal and desperate to return to power, the Republicans had every right to expect a victory in 1940. They would be disappointed as Franklin Roosevelt won a third term, something Trump muses about today. So much of the old-time religion is in that document, including important parts of the MAGA bible.
Start with immigration. The platform is very specific about what that entails:
"We favor the strict enforcement of all laws controlling the entry of aliens. The activities of undesirable aliens should be investigated and those who seek to change by force and violence the American form of government should be deported."
Todays Republicans also raise the specter of an "invasion" by foreign nationals at the direction of foreign governments. Thats the basis for Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, under which he claims power to detain and deport Venezuelan citizens who are "gang members" with little or no due process. Note that the last time this act was used was to detain Japanese Americans in internment camps in World War II, hardly a shining example of American liberty.
The unstated focus of immigration restrictions going back to the 1920s was to prevent foreign workers from taking American jobs, especially blue-collar jobs. Whatever validity this had decades ago, it makes little sense today with unemployment low, a falling birthrate, and American businesses heavily dependent on foreign workers.
In 1940, Republicans reflected the prevailing views of big business that protective tariffs were necessary. The idea of "infant industries" needing government protection was widely accepted. It was labor in the early years of the 20thcentury that opposed tariffs because they raised consumer prices for their members. Heres what the platform said about this:
"We are threatened by unfair competition in world markets and by the invasion of our home markets…We believe in tariff protection for Agriculture, Labor, and industry as essential to our American standard of living."
Trumps fixation with tariffs reveals a mercantilist mindset, an ideology that dominated 17th- and 18th-century European thinking. Mercantilism focused on protectionism, large trade surplusses, and overseas colonies to acquire raw materials and resources. It explains his threats to occupy Greenland and his demand to acquire Ukraines scarce natural resources. With the publication of Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations in 1776 (the same year as our Declaration of Independence), Mercantilism as a governing philosophy was discarded until revived by this administration in the Year of our Lord 2025. Since Trumps imposition of new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and other countries, the U.S. economy has tanked and is in danger of recession.
The biggest change in contemporary GOP thinking is in foreign policy. Trump and the far right see alliances as a burden, not a benefit to the U.S. His support for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine is a stunning change of direction. His separation from Europe, his tariff fights, his threat to retake the Panama Canal and annex Greenland, and his bellicose rhetoric against friendly countries such as Canada all foster a "go it alone" approach which mirrored GOP isolationist thinking on the eve of World War II. Here is what the 1940 platform says:
"The Republican Party is firmly opposed to involving this nation in foreign war…we deplore explosive utterances by the President directed at other governments which serve to imperil our peace; and we condemn all executive acts and proceedings which might lead to war without the authorization of the Congress…"
Mr. Conservative himself, Robert Taft, favored neutrality even up to American entry into World War II. Pearl Harbor and Hitlers declaration of war against the U.S. swept away any remaining isolationist sentiment, and America became a full partner in the war against fascism. Even after the war, however, important elements of the American Right opposed the Marshall Plan and NATO, which were designed to rebuild Europe and unite with America to resist Soviet Communism. It was Dwight Eisenhower who dragged the Republican Party into confronting the new realities of Americas role in resisting communist tyranny in the world. NATO has protected democracies and kept the peace for 80 years but is now in danger of being undone. America will soon be free of alliances and maybe friends in this dangerous world.
One area that is new to GOP thinking is the Imperial Presidency. Beginning with Franklin Roosevelt, Republicans inveighed against a chief executive with unlimited powers. One of the founding principles of the Constitution was to guard against a king in America. It was Washington himself who accepted the greeting "Mr. President" as opposed to the royal "Your Excellency." The separation of powers with a legislature supreme in making laws and an independent judiciary was designed to ensure that no president would have unlimited powers.
Yet Trump has issued an executive order designed to negate the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. He has claimed the authority to withhold congressionally appropriated funds and to terminate government agencies established by Congress. He is making menacing noises about impeaching judges who have found his actions illegal and unconstitutional. He is arresting and deporting even legal residents without due process. Through all this, the Republican-controlled Congress does nothing.
This power grab is far outside American conservatism, which has advocated historically for limited government and separation of powers. In contrast, Trump and his allies embrace the "strong man" view of government found in right-wing authoritarians in Europe and South America. Its ironic that American conservatives who once warned of unchecked executive power are now embracing its use by someone whose views they conveniently agree with.
Protectionism, isolationism, and nativism might have made some sense 80 years ago. This witches brew makes no sense now. With America needing more workers, access to international markets, and allies to stand with us against fascism and terrorism, a return to 1940s thinking and authoritarian ideology by one political party is dangerous for Americas future.
Frank J. Donatelli was assistant for political and intergovernmental affairs for President Reagan and deputy chair of the Republican National Committee. He was involved in debate preparations for Reagan in 1984 and Sen. Bob Dole in 1996.