Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Commentary by Newt Gingrich originally published by RealClearPolicy and RealClearWire
President Donald Trump had a remarkable showing on Super Tuesday. He won 11 of the first 12 contests. And with wins in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington state this week, Trump surpassed the 1,215-delegate threshold needed to become the presumptive Republican nominee. This is all the proof you need that the Republican Party is now the Trump Party.
No non-incumbent has so decisively dominated and shaped his party since Andrew Jackson. President Jackson reacted to what his supporters regarded as the theft of the presidency by John Quincy Adams in 1824. As Robert Remini outlined in his classic work, “The Election of Andrew Jackson,” the Jacksonian movement was determined to defeat the oligarchy which had been dominating American politics and the economy, through the Bank of the United States. (This book is such a clear study of an effective insurgency that we used it in planning the Republican Contract with America campaign in 1994.)
Like President Jackson, President Trump is far more than a candidate. He is the leader of a national movement. As the movement’s champion, he can survive attacks and legal assassination attempts that would destroy normal candidates.
His string of victories in the primaries and caucuses is an historic achievement.
How has a businessman from New York come to dominate the GOP so thoroughly?
There are some obvious answers. However, they involve practical, common-sense analysis which Trump Derangement Syndrome seems to block most reporters and analysts from recognizing. There are at least seven unique personal characteristics that have led to President Trump’s Triumph.
President Trump is smart.
Many people are put off by President Trump’s tweets and his occasional angry outbursts. They can’t admit that he is a deeply smart man. Look at the facts. He is a billionaire. He beat 15 other Republicans to become the GOP nominee in 2016 – and Hillary Clinton – when all the so-called experts said this was impossible. President Trump survived eight years of unending lies against him by the deep state and the elite media. He has endured the greatest effort of legal assassination in American history. And during all this, he increased his control of the GOP. Analysts ought to read President Trump’s remarkable book, “The Art of the Comeback” to get a sense of how he recovers when times get tough.
President Trump works.
President Trump believes in – and has spent a lifetime focusing on – principles and approaches that work. Because he is an entrepreneur, he understood how to relaunch the American economy. His life before politics was all about negotiating successfully. So, he was able to deal with foreign countries effectively to achieve his goals. Sometimes his tactics are tough. Many of the European nations who had been hiding behind America’s strength disliked being lectured by President Trump. But they have now increased their defense spending.
President Trump is deeply strategic.
President Trump thinks strategically all the time. Part of his mind is always focused on the immediate – whether it is speechmaking, golfing, or chatting with people – but part of his mind is constantly analyzing data and thinking about what it means for the long run.
President Trump loves what he is doing.
President Trump gains energy from people. He is amazingly existential and focused on the present in a way which gives him authenticity and allows him to focus his energy and his efforts on the immediate. This ability to compartmentalize and focus on the immediate is part of the secret of his surviving eight years of endless news media, bureaucratic and legal assaults. Analysts can’t bring themselves to think through the implications of President Trump knowing people in all 50 states. But that is one of the keys to his enormous grip on the Republican Party. He combines President Ronald Reagan’s charismatic appeal with President Richard Nixon’s detailed knowledge of every state. It is an awesome combination.
President Trump is tough.
I don’t know of any other American leader who could have taken the beating he has taken and still be standing. Yet he is always enthusiastic and ready to fight through another day. He sees himself as engaged in an historic mission to save America – and he accepts that the leader who wants to save the country must be prepared to pay the price for patriotism.
President Trump is not a traditional conservative.
President Trump did not grow up reading National Review or studying Friedrich Hayek. However, he is the most effective anti-left politician of my lifetime (and that includes President Reagan). The simple act of waking up every day, thinking like an entrepreneurial businessman, and applying common sense is devastating to leftwing ideology. Leftwing ideology exists in a fantasy world. It is built on principles that simply don’t work and can’t produce acceptable results. President Trump understands this and rejects it every day to the rage of his critics and the joy of his supporters.
President Trump focuses on achievements.
President Trump’s mind moves from achievement to achievement. This focus on getting things done has been true for his business, political, and governmental experiences. When he has a moment of downtime, he starts thinking “what else can I get done.” He doesn’t focus on personalities or building circles of friends. Those occur because of his work to achieve things. His focus on achievement and accomplishment during his four years in the White House clearly impressed the American people. It is clear how much better things were under President Trump than President Joe Biden.
Because of all these qualities, President Trump has assembled a campaign team led by Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, which may be running the most thoughtful and competent campaign seen in decades.
Super Tuesday was President Trump’s triumph. His election in November will be the American people’s triumph.
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For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolicy and made available via RealClearWire.
