Former president Jimmy Carter recently said, “I think I would choose Trump, which may surprise some of you, but the reason is Trump has proven already that he’s completely malleable. I don’t think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to the White House and fight for.”
With one of the more eye opening and perceptive quotes of the primary season, President Carter pointed out what many conservatives noted as their main reason for opposing the candidacy of our now presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.
A little under a year ago Mr. Trump proclaimed his intention, as president, to finally build the 700 miles of border wall and fencing that the country has been waiting for since the passage of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. His polling numbers surged as he suggested an immigration enforcement plan built around a mass deportation plan that was most similar to the effective strategies of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950’s.
When pressed on this policy by liberal media outlets Trump would reverse course, suggesting that after the expensive process of deporting the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants was complete, any of them who had not been convicted of an additional crime could return in an expedited manner.
In late September 2015, Mr. Trump unveiled his tax reform plan. It was seen as a major positive for his campaign as it eliminated federal income taxes for all workers earning less than $25,000 a year and reduced the total tax brackets for individuals to only three, 10, 20, and 25 percent.
In the days following his victory in the Indiana Primary, Mr. Trump would again reverse course stating on the May 8 broadcast of ABC’s “This Week” that the top bracket would likely not see any changes. “On my plan they’re going down. But by the time it’s negotiated, they’ll go up,” Trump said. “Look, when I’m negotiating with the Democrats, I’m putting in a plan. I’m putting in my optimum plan.”
As a conservative, Mr. Trump has been a work in progress. He has changed his image from a New York City, pro-choice progressive to a candidate able to win over a plurality of evangelical voters in the hotly contested SEC primary this past March 1. His recent statements on the transgendered bathroom issue however, have angered many of his previous socially conservative supporters.
While seemingly shape-shifting in real time to appease the media in an effort to ensure positive media coverage, Mr. Trump has exposed a desire to as he would say, "win" on the issues in the court of public opinion.
What many in the stop Trump movement are failing to see is that the very trait that they fear the most in him may very well be the same one that ensures he lives up to many of the promises made to conservatives on the campaign trail.
President Obama has been a monumental failure in the eyes of many who feel that the spirit of American exceptionalism has been marginalized. In many ways that very sentiment has fueled the populism that has pushed Donald Trump to the forefront of American politics.
The argument can be made that someone as concerned with his public image and the perception of being a winner, as Trump is, would likely try his hardest to distance himself from the failed policies of the past nearly eight years.
His propensity for political double-speak may be a defense mechanism against a mainstream media that has seemed poised to attempt to destroy the monster they created — ever since his candidacy reached presumptive status.
Ultimately, his fate lies with the conservative base.
In 2008 and 2012, conservatives decided not to vote for candidates with a history of centrist positions not reflective of their values. Simply stated, if Trump does not become an acceptable candidate to the far right base he goes home as the very thing he has attacked his Republican competitors as being — a loser.
All the “Build the wall” and “Lyin’ Ted” chants from spring 2016 will mean nothing this November if Trump can not consolidate conservative support. In order to do so he must make it abundantly clear to us that our voices are being heard and that he understands that he cannot and will not win without us.
Julio Rivera is an entrepreneur, small business consultant and political activist. He contributes to RightWingNews.com and NewsNinja2012.com, and had previously covered boxing and baseball for the now defunct "The Urban News" in his native Paterson, N.J. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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