The mobbish mainstream media is having a field day covering former President Trump’s CPAC speech, delivered Sunday at the conservative political action conference in Orlando, FL.
The blood-thirsty media, no doubt bored with a scarcely seen President Biden and reluctant to cover his choice to bomb Syria last week, jumped at the chance to dub Trump “dangerous”, “disgraced”, “embittered”, and “a corrupting influence”. Apparently, they missed him.
While boredom with the Biden administration is no doubt a contributing factor to the media’s obsession with slandering Trump, they have a more sinister reason to discredit him.
Trump still commands the attention of the nation, and Americans are pushing to reshape the right as a working-class populist movement in line with Trump’s America First priorities. This shift is good news for Americans and bad news for globalists in both parties, who benefit from bleeding the middle class dry through free trade, offshoring, ceaseless and costly wars, and relentless unchecked immigration.
Indeed, Trump’s first public speech in over a month focused on these core issues, and he took shots at the Biden administration, as well as members of his own party, for neglecting the American people.
Trump led with a focus on immigration and criticized the Biden administration’s refusal to fortify the southern border wall, his reversal the Trump ban on unchecked travel from nations like Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, and his release of illegal criminals into American cities.
But Trump touched on the cultural elements of the populist movement as well, going so far as to define ‘Trumpism.’
Trump continued, “it means law enforcement. It means very strong protection for the second amendment and the right to keep and bear arms. It means support for the forgotten men and women who have been taken advantage of for so many years.”
“It means support for the forgotten men and women who have been taken advantage of for so many years.”
Trump’s America First, party agnostic agenda is appealing to a growing number of Americans, and the establishment is concerned. Portraying Trump as dangerous is their hedge against the working-class populist movement they fear is growing.
As Market Research Foundation has noted, significant numbers of Trump’s white-no college supporters in both 2016 and 2020 were political newcomers, disenfranchised Americans who chose to vote for Trump because he spoke directly to their needs.
Trump remains extremely popular in polling with white no college, with men, with Midwesterners, and with middle income Americans. The latest YouGov survey shows 37% of Americans think Trump should run again, and that number climbs to 44% among men and 53% among white men without a college degree, though a substantial 49% of white men with a college degree also support him running again.
As with previous polling, middle-income Americans support Trump’s next bid at the highest rate. Forty-seven percent of those making between $50K and $100K annually support Trump running again, compared to 31% of those making under $50K and 35% of those making over $100K.
A recent USA Today poll shows loyalty to Trump will play a big role in the 2022 GOP primaries. When asked whether a Trump endorsement would make them more or less likely to support a GOP primary candidate, a full 59% of Republicans and leaners said Trump’s endorsement would increase their support while just 30% said Trump’s endorsement would have little effect or decrease their support.
“Fifty-nine percent of Republicans and leaners say a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to support that candidate in the primaries.”
The same poll found loyalty to Trump over the GOP continues to dominate the right-of-center. Half of those polled say the GOP should become more loyal to Trump and less aligned with the establishment GOP. Just 19% want the party to become more aligned with the establishment GOP and less loyal to Trump. What is more, 80% of Trump supporters say they are less likely to vote for a Republican who supported Trump’s impeachment.
Trump’s widespread appeal shows no signs of waning, despite only brief public appearances since being deplatformed. The GOP is going to have to make peace with the fact that Trump remains the most compelling voice on the right as the 2022 midterms approach.
