There has never been a more turbulent start to a Presidential term. Trump has created chaos throughout the government with his demands to completely dismantle agencies (e.g. U.S.A.I.D.), fire thousands of experienced professionals and cut funding that Congress had already approved, all to “make America great again”. But the most alarming part of Trump’s revenge is that most of his actions are illegal and unconstitutional. Trump is at least consistent in his unpredictable behavior, but now he has redefined the actual Presidential brand. To understand the ramifications for our democracy and the risks ahead, it is helpful to view this with a brand repositioning perspective.
Trump and his “Republicans” won the Presidency, the House and Senate, so he believes the populist voters (i.e. his primary target audience) have given him a full mandate to fulfill his promises. The consistent dynamic behind populism, dating back to Andrew Jackson in the 1830’s, is their emotional perception of grievances and frustrations. These feelings create passion, anxiety and anger. Despite a healthy economy and declining inflation, the most pivotal driver behind Trump’s victory was this populist view of unaffordable cost of living, caused by the corruption and red tape of the Biden bureaucracy.
Passion Drives MAGA
Emotion is the primary motivator for these populist MAGA voters, not a rational, well-informed mindset that seeks truth. An NBC poll in April 2024 showed that Trump had a 26 percent lead among voters who don’t follow political news, whereas voters who got their political news from newspapers, the most comprehensive form of daily news, supported Democrats by 70 to 21 percent.
Trump smartly recognized these intense MAGA emotional needs. He positioned himself as the disruptor, a bold fighter and anti-establishment The tactics of Trump and most Republicans followed a pattern: start with a ruthless attack of the opposition (e.g. Biden/Harris), including misinformation (this inspired ever more divisiveness), to set up their brand promised benefits – e.g. cut inflation, increase economic growth, raise the standard of living, deport all illegal immigrants, end wars, etc. But Trump never explained HOW.
Trump’s Lawless Attacks
Now we know. Trump has transformed the Presidency brand as the dominant branch of Government, blatantly ignoring laws and the constitutional checks and balances. He is obsessed with power and retribution, jamming through key cabinet candidates whose main qualification is their loyalty to Trump. The absence of any resistance by Republicans is equally shameful. Their main concern is also maintaining power, plus they are embarrassingly fearful of Trump’s wrath if they disagree. Musk has even promised to fund opponents of “disloyal” Republicans in their next primaries.
The main thrust of Trump’s initiatives so far is to shrink the Government in the name of eliminating alleged corruption (without evidence) and saving money. Yes, many agencies can improve efficiencies, but not the way Trump is illegally and cruelly using a sledge hammer. Instead of “vet and then shoot”, it’s “shoot and possibly vet”. However, many Americans indeed applaud these brutal tactics, saying he is just fulfilling his promises. January polls confirm this:
- 70% of Americans say he is simply doing what he promised (CBS poll)
- 53% approve of his initiatives, while 47% disapprove (YouGuv poll)
But the speed and excessive nature of these actions (e.g. pardoning 1,600 insurrectionists) is beginning to startle and worry many non-MAGA voters, especially the risk of high tariffs elevating inflation and slowing economic growth. The ripple effects of all his retribution initiatives and outrageous intentions to acquire Greenland, Canada, Panama and Gaza are now getting some pushback. For example, 54% of Democrats said in January that their representatives should work with the Trump administration, but only 35% now agree, with 65% totally against it (CBS and YouGuv polls). Loyal MAGA voters, driven by emotion, will probably never change their mind, however.
Time will tell if Trump’s rebranded Presidency survives judicial reviews and importantly delivers on his promises to cut inflation and improve the standard of living, but his autocratic transformation creates a huge risk for our democracy.
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