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At his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination Thursday night, Donald Trump was in classic form. For his supporters, that reads like a compliment. For his opponents, that reads like a scathing indictment. At this point, there are no surprises with Donald Trump. Thursday night, he framed the coming election as an all-out battle for the soul of a nation.
Remember when the internet was a simpler place, where you could find a Nissan Rogue review, watch a cat video, and check in on your pals? The last four years have all but obliterated any sense of a normal online life. Trump’s high-profile Twitter battles helped to escalate a growing culture war of sorts. In 2020, with a pandemic raging and civil unrest at an all-time high, it seems Trump is in the midst of a chaotic America he warned of in 2016.
“The Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, goes forward united, determined and ready to welcome millions of Democrats, independents and anyone who believes in the greatness of America and the righteous heart of the American people,” Trump, speaking from the White House South Lawn, told viewers of the RNC.
“Over the next four years, we will make America into the manufacturing superpower of the world. We will have strong borders,” Trump promised, echoing his 2016 campaign promises. “[We will] strike down terrorists who threaten our people and keep America out of endless and costly foreign wars.”
The strangest thing about Trump’s vision of the RNC, however, was not his attacks on opponent Joe Biden. Instead, it was the way in which he targeted other Republicans. In effect, Trump’s RNC signaled that the Republican Party of the past is gone. It’s Trump’s party now.
The Republicans of 2020 are a party defined by their relationship to Donald Trump. Senators like Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz were initially against Trump. However, in the face of overwhelming populist support from the Republican base, Graham and Cruz have fallen in line.
For Democrats, this means that a win in 2020 would be a defeat of not just Trump, but of the Republican Party that champions him. Should the November election be the blue wave that some pundits are expecting, it could function as a knockout blow for Trump’s vision of the Republican Party.
