Former United States President Donald J. Trump was a strange figure, even before entering politics. Loud, brash, and pugnacious, he was best-known to the world as the host of reality TV show The Apprentice. Then came that fateful day when he came down the escalator and into the halls of power.
He ran, as is well-known, on the Republican ticket, despite significant resistance from establishment Republicans. A crucial piece of his electoral victory in 2016 was the support he received from social conservatives. Despite his own libertinism and support for socially liberal policies like same-sex marriage, Trump vowed to “defend” the values social conservatives hold dear. He even went so far as promising to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would vote to overturn the disastrous pro-abortion decision in Roe v. Wade. This kind of explicit commitment was virtually unprecedented, and President Trump kept his word. Roe v. Wade is no more, much to the vindication of those social conservatives who pulled the lever for Mr. Trump in 2016.
It was not just Americans who benefited from President Trump’s alignment with social conservatives. The most famous instance of this is the fact that he reinstated the Mexico City policy, which prevented the U.S. from giving money to support foreign NGOs that provide abortions. Having Trump as the U.S. Commander-in-Chief made it easier for other nations to push for socially conservative goals, and we should all be thankful to Mr. Trump for that.
However, times have changed. It seems that Trump’s marriage of convenience with social conservatives is ending, just as his previous legal marriages have. Thus, we should hope that American social conservatives rescind their support for the former president.
Trump’s finger-pointing
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, many conservative American states have enacted legislation protecting the lives of the unborn. While there are many other changes (particularly economic ones) that must be made in order for the nation to be truly welcoming to life, these pro-life laws ought to be lauded. The legislators passing them are taking a bold—and somewhat unpopular—stand for the dignity of every human person.
Mr. Trump, however, is now blaming this pro-life stand for his preferred candidates’ failures in the 2022 midterm elections. As he put it on his social media site, Truth Social, Republicans failed to regain control of Congress because “the ‘abortion issue,’ [was] poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters.”
In essence, Trump has spent the last six months claiming that any Republican wins in the last election were because of him and that any Republican losses were because of social conservatives. This is a difficult argument to make, since in many cases the losing candidates in competitive races were supported by Trump; notably, of the 33 Trump-approved candidates, all but one of them followed Trump’s lead and made 2020 election fraud an important piece of their campaigns. At the same time, a number of social conservatives won in competitive elections, such as J.D. Vance, a senator who opposes abortion in all cases and has criticized the no-fault divorce laws of which Mr. Trump has previously availed himself.
In 2016, Trump pitched himself as a defender of social conservatives, someone who would stand up for Americans who opposed progressivism’s sexual perversity, relentless deconstruction of the family, and celebration of abortion. To his credit, he did this during his presidency. Trump arguably did more while in office to follow through on his promises than any other president in recent memory. We should therefore believe him when he says that, if given another term in the White House, he would not be prioritizing pro-life measures.
2024 primaries
Politically social conservatives are far from comprising the majority of American voters. However, they are a huge part of the Republican base, and they are thus crucial to winning the primaries necessary to become the Republican nominee for president. While he is clearly far less antagonistic to social conservatives than President Biden, this does not mean he deserves a second term. Trump has shown that he is not particularly interested in giving social conservatives what they want, so they should not give him what he wants. He should not be able to presume support from social conservatives simply because of the last two presidential elections.
Thankfully, Trump is not the only person hoping to secure theRepublican nomination, and he is not the best. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially announced his bid for the presidency. DeSantis is not just an opportunistic fair-weather friend of social conservatives; he is a social conservative himself.
A Christian, the governor has supported socially conservative legislation from day one in office. After Roe was overturned, DeSantis signed a bill into law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks. Since then, he has signed Senate Bill 300, which bans abortions after six weeks. In addition, it will punish doctors providing abortions after 15 weeks with as much as five years in prison. This is a massive victory. In 2018, only 36% of abortions in America took place at or before six weeks. Thus, this legislation will save countless lives.
Abortion isn’t the only social conservative battle DeSantis is fighting. While Trump has been supportive of same-sex marriage and somewhat weak on ‘trans issues,’ DeSantis has consistently opposed LGBT ideology. He has been especially willing to go to bat for legislation that prevents the teaching and promotion of LGBT content in schools. DeSantis has even been willing to put his social conservatism before his loyalty to big business, as has been shown in his much-publicized battle with the Disney corporation. This may seem easy, but it has consequences; some fiscally conservative donors are wary of his social conservatism and antagonism of corporations.
To sum the point up simply, DeSantis is not intimidated by progressive shibboleths about abortion, transgenderism, or secularity. Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary, put the point well: “The governor is a Christian, and there is absolutely no issue with him sharing his values or utilizing them in his decision-making as a leader.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump has become less and less motivated by social conservative causes.
The choice for social conservatives between Trump and DeSantis is clear: continue to support a fraying marriage of convenience? Or choose a figure with less name recognition but a lot more character?
Only time will tell.
Trump is Abandoning Social Conservatives
Former United States President Donald J. Trump was a strange figure, even before entering politics. Loud, brash, and pugnacious, he was best-known to the world as the host of reality TV show The Apprentice. Then came that fateful day when he came down the escalator and into the halls of power.
He ran, as is well-known, on the Republican ticket, despite significant resistance from establishment Republicans. A crucial piece of his electoral victory in 2016 was the support he received from social conservatives. Despite his own libertinism and support for socially liberal policies like same-sex marriage, Trump vowed to “defend” the values social conservatives hold dear. He even went so far as promising to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would vote to overturn the disastrous pro-abortion decision in Roe v. Wade. This kind of explicit commitment was virtually unprecedented, and President Trump kept his word. Roe v. Wade is no more, much to the vindication of those social conservatives who pulled the lever for Mr. Trump in 2016.
It was not just Americans who benefited from President Trump’s alignment with social conservatives. The most famous instance of this is the fact that he reinstated the Mexico City policy, which prevented the U.S. from giving money to support foreign NGOs that provide abortions. Having Trump as the U.S. Commander-in-Chief made it easier for other nations to push for socially conservative goals, and we should all be thankful to Mr. Trump for that.
However, times have changed. It seems that Trump’s marriage of convenience with social conservatives is ending, just as his previous legal marriages have. Thus, we should hope that American social conservatives rescind their support for the former president.
Trump’s finger-pointing
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, many conservative American states have enacted legislation protecting the lives of the unborn. While there are many other changes (particularly economic ones) that must be made in order for the nation to be truly welcoming to life, these pro-life laws ought to be lauded. The legislators passing them are taking a bold—and somewhat unpopular—stand for the dignity of every human person.
Mr. Trump, however, is now blaming this pro-life stand for his preferred candidates’ failures in the 2022 midterm elections. As he put it on his social media site, Truth Social, Republicans failed to regain control of Congress because “the ‘abortion issue,’ [was] poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters.”
In essence, Trump has spent the last six months claiming that any Republican wins in the last election were because of him and that any Republican losses were because of social conservatives. This is a difficult argument to make, since in many cases the losing candidates in competitive races were supported by Trump; notably, of the 33 Trump-approved candidates, all but one of them followed Trump’s lead and made 2020 election fraud an important piece of their campaigns. At the same time, a number of social conservatives won in competitive elections, such as J.D. Vance, a senator who opposes abortion in all cases and has criticized the no-fault divorce laws of which Mr. Trump has previously availed himself.
In 2016, Trump pitched himself as a defender of social conservatives, someone who would stand up for Americans who opposed progressivism’s sexual perversity, relentless deconstruction of the family, and celebration of abortion. To his credit, he did this during his presidency. Trump arguably did more while in office to follow through on his promises than any other president in recent memory. We should therefore believe him when he says that, if given another term in the White House, he would not be prioritizing pro-life measures.
2024 primaries
Politically social conservatives are far from comprising the majority of American voters. However, they are a huge part of the Republican base, and they are thus crucial to winning the primaries necessary to become the Republican nominee for president. While he is clearly far less antagonistic to social conservatives than President Biden, this does not mean he deserves a second term. Trump has shown that he is not particularly interested in giving social conservatives what they want, so they should not give him what he wants. He should not be able to presume support from social conservatives simply because of the last two presidential elections.
Thankfully, Trump is not the only person hoping to secure theRepublican nomination, and he is not the best. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially announced his bid for the presidency. DeSantis is not just an opportunistic fair-weather friend of social conservatives; he is a social conservative himself.
A Christian, the governor has supported socially conservative legislation from day one in office. After Roe was overturned, DeSantis signed a bill into law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks. Since then, he has signed Senate Bill 300, which bans abortions after six weeks. In addition, it will punish doctors providing abortions after 15 weeks with as much as five years in prison. This is a massive victory. In 2018, only 36% of abortions in America took place at or before six weeks. Thus, this legislation will save countless lives.
Abortion isn’t the only social conservative battle DeSantis is fighting. While Trump has been supportive of same-sex marriage and somewhat weak on ‘trans issues,’ DeSantis has consistently opposed LGBT ideology. He has been especially willing to go to bat for legislation that prevents the teaching and promotion of LGBT content in schools. DeSantis has even been willing to put his social conservatism before his loyalty to big business, as has been shown in his much-publicized battle with the Disney corporation. This may seem easy, but it has consequences; some fiscally conservative donors are wary of his social conservatism and antagonism of corporations.
To sum the point up simply, DeSantis is not intimidated by progressive shibboleths about abortion, transgenderism, or secularity. Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary, put the point well: “The governor is a Christian, and there is absolutely no issue with him sharing his values or utilizing them in his decision-making as a leader.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump has become less and less motivated by social conservative causes.
The choice for social conservatives between Trump and DeSantis is clear: continue to support a fraying marriage of convenience? Or choose a figure with less name recognition but a lot more character?
Only time will tell.
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