The New York Times posted an op-ed in favor of Donald Trump on Monday under the headline, “The Secret of Trump’s Appeal Isn’t Authoritarianism.”
The article is a shocking departure from the newspapers’ progressive cheerleading — and its readers’ preference for anti-Trump news.
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The author argued that Trump’s style is conventional, but his statements zigzag along the centrist, middle-of-the-road, this-and-that line favored by non-elite, non-ideological voters:
But both sides consistently misread Mr. Trump’s success. He isn’t edging ahead of Mr. Biden in swing states because Americans are eager to submit to authoritarianism, and he isn’t attracting the backing of significant numbers of Black and Hispanic voters because they support white supremacy. His success is not a sign that America is prepared to embrace the ideas of the extreme right. Mr. Trump enjoys enduring support because he is perceived by many voters — often with good reason — as a pragmatic if unpredictable kind of moderate.
To be sure, Mr. Trump’s wild rhetoric, indifference to protocol and willingness to challenge expertise have been profoundly unsettling to people of both political parties. His term in office was frequently chaotic, and the chaos seemed to culminate in the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. In the current presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has promised to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Mr. Biden …
But it is worth remembering that during his presidency, Mr. Trump’s often intemperate rhetoric and erratic behavior ended up accompanying a host of moderate policies. On matters ranging from health care and entitlements to foreign policy and trade, Mr. Trump routinely rejected the most unpopular ideas of both political parties. Voters seem to have noticed this reality: When asked whether Mr. Trump was too conservative, not conservative enough or “not too far either way,” 57 percent of voters in a recent poll picked “not too far either way.” Only 27 percent of voters regarded him as too conservative.
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The author of the article is Matthew Schmitz, a founder and editor of the online Compact magazine.
Trump is like President Richard Nixon — president from 1969 to 1974 — who supported centrist policies while also alienating the elites of his day, according to Schmitz.
Nixon was born poor — and very clever — in the backwater state of California in 1913. That outsider status helps to explain how he alienated the East Coast WASPy elites with his Vietnam War policies and personal style, including his never-forgiven decision to wear patent leather shoes on a California beach.
The op-ed says:
Mr. Trump’s moderation can be easy to miss, because he is not a stylistic centrist — the sort who calls for bipartisan budget-cutting and a return to civility. His moderation is closer to that of Richard Nixon, who combined a combative personality and pronounced resentments with a nose for political reality and a willingness to negotiate with his ideological opposites. Mr. Nixon, an ardent anti-Communist, displayed his pragmatism most memorably by going to China. But his pragmatic nature was evident also in his acceptance of the New Deal order, which many conservatives continue to reject.
Read it all here.
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