The Trump Compromise
Supporting the Man Despite His Policies
Donald Trump remains a polarizing figure, and his 2024 campaign reflects much of the same bombastic bravado that has defined his political career. The stark reality emerges: Trump’s support often stems not from an endorsement of his ideas but from a rejection of the alternative. His economic, immigration, labor, and healthcare strategies reveal a leader more focused on scoring political points than delivering meaningful solutions. Trump’s policies deserve scrutiny—and although many conservatives supported him they did so with significant reservations.
Trump's economic platform brims with promises that sound appealing at first glance but crumble under closer inspection. His proposed expansion of the 2017 tax cuts is defensible—allowing them to expire would amount to a tax increase. However, any proposed expansion of these cuts is problematic. While such measures might appeal to certain voter segments, they ultimately benefit select groups at the expense of others, picking winners and losers in a way that undermines fair policy. Proposals like corporate tax reductions, no taxes on tips, and a 10% cap on credit card interest rates may resonate with targeted constituencies, but they ignore their long-term consequences: deepening deficits and enriching corporations while leaving the middle class footing the bill.
His trade policies, including tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada and a proposed carbon-border tax, are a masterclass in unintended consequences. These measures increase consumer costs, burdening families already grappling with inflation. What Trump sells as toughness on trade is often just an expensive bluff. It seems apparent that Trump is more interested in saying he won and scoring political points, then actually doing anything of substance to help the American people.
In his bid to appear pro-worker, Trump’s support for unions highlights a glaring problem: unions often wield disproportionate power that holds the American people hostage. His selection of Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary underscores this issue. While superficially a nod to labor rights, Trump’s pro-union stance bolsters organizations that prioritize their own political and financial agendas over worker flexibility and economic freedom. Unions use collective bargaining to secure deals that benefit their members at the expense of broader economic efficiency, driving up costs for consumers and businesses alike. They stifle competition and innovation, holding industries and workers hostage to rigid agreements. Trump’s embrace of union power may win points with labor leaders, but it ultimately shackles American workers to outdated systems that limit choice and harm the economy. This approach exemplifies Trump’s broader strategy: headline-grabbing alliances that mask policies benefiting entrenched powers rather than the individuals they claim to serve. Far from empowering workers, this pro-union agenda risks leaving them—and the country—worse off.
Immigration was Trump’s signature issue, but his policies often substituted spectacle for genuine problem-solving. His plan to reintroduce travel bans, expand the border wall, and impose tariffs on Mexico to enforce immigration measures recycles ineffective ideas that fail to address the root causes of migration. These strategies create headlines, not solutions, leaving the United States no closer to a comprehensive immigration reform.
Trump’s healthcare strategy has consistently lacked substance. His calls to repeal the Affordable Care Act resonate with his base but fail to answer a critical question: What comes next? Trump’s alignment with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on public health policy underscores a troubling reliance on rhetoric over expertise. Millions of Americans stand to lose access to affordable healthcare under his proposals, with no viable alternative in sight. The American people deserve more than a “concept of a plan”.
For many conservatives, Trump represents a shield against leftist overreach. His judicial appointments, tax cuts, and promises of deregulation resonate with voters who see the damage caused by progressive agendas. However, the uncomfortable truth is this: Trump’s successes often come not because of his policies but in spite of them. Many voters have chosen him as the lesser of two evils, willing to overlook his flaws in the hope that he will deliver on a conservative agenda. Now, with his return to prominence, we face the challenge of ensuring that his chaotic and excessive policies don’t undermine the very principles he claims to uphold.