POPULISM BEYOND TRUMP

By Trevor Johnson

Right now, we’re in the Age of MAGA, with a healthy side of MAHA. Trump, Musk, Kennedy, Vance, and Gabbard, among many others, are running rampant through the bureaucracies, deporting every illegal they can find, and dragging the corrupt judges and bureaucrats out where the country can see them. While this is a hearty meal for the country, and one that should play out very positively in the long run, there is still a question to be asked. How do we keep this going? If you look at Europe, for example, you see populism rising in England, with Nigel Farage, but being crushed in France and Germany is using whatever tactics the ruling elites deem necessary. Countries like Brazil are following suit, with the judiciary there using tactics everyone in the US would recognize.

In this article, let’s explore the future of American populism and think a bit about what we can do to keep its spirit going against the forces arrayed against it. Populism has been rising in this country for decades, but will Trump be its peak? Or can we keep it going for decades to come? If the people are asleep, inactive, or complacent, then who’s running the country? The 4 years under President Biden, who was impaired even during his presidential campaign, may be the best answer to that question. If the President isn’t running the government, the bureaucrats do. A president is the elected representative of the people and is the only reason why the executive branch is a legitimate branch of government. So when the President is not capable of representing the people, the executive branch does whatever gets its employees power, status, and money. This is excellent, if you’re a bureaucrat or one of the upper middle and upper class, but for the 2/3rds of Americans who aren’t part of that group, it’s terrible. They run the government and society to suit themselves.

Right now, things are going well for MAGA. Trump is in office, he’s got majorities in the House and Senate, he’s got the Supreme Court, but is it going smoothly? No. The other side is fighting like mad. They’re suing in every court possible, and the Supreme Court is mostly passive. Their paid rally-goers are kicking up a fuss everywhere they can, demonstrating and yelling. They’re even trying to destroy Tesla, which used to be the “I’m saving the planet” left-wing car of choice! The progressives are trying everything they can to slow Trump down, because if they can get the house back in the mid-term, Impeachments number 3 through infinity are on the table. If they can get enough seats to impeach, they can sabotage the MAGA agenda badly. Unfortunately, MAGA has 2 weaknesses: the midterm elections and the statist wing of the Republican party.

Midterm elections are a weakness of every sitting president. They’re the times when the other side usually makes gains in the House and Senate. In this case, however, the Democrats have shown they’re not willing to just take a traditional obstructionist role. In Trump’s last term, they showed that they are willing to weaponize everything, including impeachment, to slow MAGA down. Furthermore, midterm elections have lower turnout, which favors Democrats. This may seem strange, as lower turnout has, throughout the last few decades, favored Republicans, but there is a sea change in the electorate. Donald Trump and the MAGA brand won the White House, Senate, and House, with a high turnout election. Pollsters like Rich Barisi have been chronicling the populist surge since before 2016.

The second weakness is the Republican Party, which is, as with other parties throughout history, is composed of several different factions. Currently, MAGA is in ascendance, as the populist wing of the party is what the people are voting for. The problem is the holdovers from older versions of the party who haven’t realized what the preference of the people is. These are the Senators who are trying to resist Trump’s agenda. This is not helped by an institutional election machinery that still thinks that voters want traditional Bush-era conservatism, and isn’t agile enough to take advantage of the new reality and the new voters Trump brings with him. This is one reason why most Republican candidates, save the most MAGA, run around 5% behind Trump. Candidates who have paid attention to the Public Polling Project will know that minorities and the young are swinging towards MAGA. They have different priorities than older conservatives, however, and it’s more difficult to reach them. They do respond to memes and more populist energy. Examples of MAGA tactics include Brandon Herrera, a populist gunsmith from Texas who ran in the last election to primary a more traditional conservative who wasn’t particularly populistii, as witnessed by his appearance on CNN, where he called his more populist colleagues scumbags. iii Herrera made it to a runoff election, and barely lost, but only because the incumbent spent over 10 times his normal budget to secure victory.

So, what can MAGA do to increase its win chance, and thus the overall win chance for Republicans? MAGA politicians work best when supported by voters. Therefore, the voters need to make it clear, loudly and unequivocally, what they want. Granted, there was an election. Granted, there was a Republican sweep. But now the institutions that need reform decline to be reformed. The judiciary is fighting back, and the DOJ and FBI are not reversing course the way they should. NGOs backed by considerable money are sponsoring and coordinating violent protests/riots, as California has made clear. So voters need to become more vocal. New Jersey and other blue states are in play. MAGA voters need to be out registering younger voters and encouraging them to vote. Statistically, these are far more likely to be MAGA voters once they come out to vote. Furthermore, getting out the vote is even more critical, as this is likely to reach what has been called the “shy Trump voter.” Furthermore, Republicans need to conduct a ground game, reaching people by meme, by business card, by sign, by flag waving, and by house-to-house visits, to make sure that every Republican understands and feels connected to their local voters.

Furthermore, the voters need to keep up pressure on the politicians. Jack Citarelli is now the Republican Nominee for Governor NJ, having won the primary. He has Trump’s endorsement, and needs to be supported as such. However, one cannot simply get any politician into office and then let him do

what he wishes. It’s too easy, especially when surrounded by bureaucrats and politicians, for a politician to lose track of the voters. So, how to do this? Get involved. Get active, get grassroots. If a politician relies on the people, as opposed to big interest groups, to get elected, then this politician is beholden to the people. And if they know that a failure to keep their promises causes their grassroots organizers to leave them, they will be more true to their voters. So go wave flags for your candidate, hand out business cards, place signs, register voters, and knock on doors of Republicans to help get out the vote. The more, the merrier!

Look on Facebook, Instagram, find groups, and get involved.

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