POLITICS
Donald Trump Is Not A Disruptor
He’s the logical conclusion of the GOP’s decades-long devolution
In 1964, Barry Goldwater’s campaign for president crashed and burned in no small part because many Americans believed his aggressive anti-Communist rhetoric would lead the nation into World War III. Most Americans, even most Republicans, just weren’t comfortable with Goldwater’s strident interventionism.
It’s not that Americans in 1964 were isolationists (some were), but neither were they hawks. A healthy dose of skepticism about the military-industrial complex (a term coined by Republican president Dwight Eisenhower) has always characterized mainstream American voters and politicians of both parties.
That’s why it’s so strange to hear people say that Donald Trump’s isolationism represents a stark departure from both Republican and Democratic party orthodoxy. This claim is just part of a larger narrative that presents Trump as a “disruptor,” someone who’ll “shake things up” or deliver a much-needed “shock to the system.”
Usually this claim is asserted alongside assurances that the one making it is a moderate who doesn’t like Trump personally. The idea seems to be that, as flawed as he is, his presidency would have accomplished something useful if it succeeded in…
