4. Trump the Ordinary Republican

As a purported outsider, disruptor, nationalist, populist and insurgent, Trump promised dramatic change. This chapter demonstrates that he has not been successful. When Trump has tried to be bold, to implement his nationalist agenda, to be disruptive and populist and to challenge elite interests, he has largely failed. It is certainly not the case that Trump’s presidency is inconsequential or has not generated any policy triumphs, but the successes are few in number and limited in scope. Moreover, the limited successes that Trump has enjoyed look very much like mainstream Republican ones. The 2017 tax bill and his two appointments to the Supreme Court are classics of the type. The idea that Trump is “draining the swamp” is fanciful. His language may at times invoke the anti-establishment discourse of his primary and general election campaigns, but underneath the populist bluster is a fairly standard Republican president. Some congressional Republicans may call out Trump on his more divisive and culturally inflammatory remarks, but they have rallied their votes behind him where there is policy agreement. Where there is not and where Trump has thus tried to circumvent Congress with his executive powers, he has found that other political actors and institutions have resisted his reform efforts. Trump’s presidency may generate lots of fire and fury but in terms of policy outputs it is fairly ordinary.