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Steven Windmueller
Where Jews and Judaism Meet the Political Road!

Donald Trump Political Playbook and What it Means

This first week of the Trump Presidency may have represented the most significant transformation of government policy and power that this nation has ever seen in such a short order.  Where many presidents seek to reset the culture in advance of introducing new policies and actions, this president has launched a revolution of change from the outset.

Beginning last Monday, President Trump employed his inaugural celebration rally to issue the first of a long series of Presidential Executive Orders designed to eviscerate the past four years. What we have witnessed this week was an immediate and complete political makeover, where 47 basically removed any evidence of these past four years. It is as if the country will view the Biden presidency as null and void. He has launched an effort designed to ultimately portray his administration as a continuation of his first term, negating his departure from Washington on January 20, 2021. Ultimately, the president will reinterpret this 12-year cycle as being a part of the Trump era.

The long-term design here is to eliminate any reference or recognition of his opponents, other than to “define them” as enemies of the state or as failed leaders. This rewrite of American history began this week and will continue until all traces of these past years will be removed!

In so many ways the Trump agenda represents a broader assault on liberal policies and the Democratic Party. With regard to both issues and personalities, there will be a conscious and concerted effort to discredit those who oppose the President’s programs, plans and policies. This will include Republicans among others whom the White House views as problematic in advancing his interests.

We should understand that this second Trump tenure will represent a fundamentally different image of both the man and his agenda. As he returns to this office, Donald Trump is coming better prepared, with a clear set of outcomes and priorities. He enters this term with an elevated level of anger directed against those that he and his allies perceive as their enemies, including individuals and institutions that are seen as having sought to discredit and legally challenge his standing and actions.

The targets of this anger include the following key categories of offenders: Democratic political figures, liberal religious leadership, “fake news” media personalities and outlets, the federal establishment, and organizations that are identified as supporting and/or funding Democratic candidates and specific progressive and liberal causes.

The structure of the Trump plan will involve a series of both executive and legislative maneuvers to weaken this President’s opponents, while advancing his agenda. Beyond his bully pulpit, his twitter account, 47 is intent on changing the political balance of power within the country, as way to strengthen the MAGA forces, moving well beyond his tenure as President. This is a war on American democracy and certain of its institutions and actors! It will be a presidency marked  by the testing of Constitutional boundaries, accepted procedures and practices, and pushing the balance of power equation.

Karl Rove’s book on William McKinley, our 25th President, appears to serve as Donald Trump’s political roadmap. McKinley’s priorities align directly with the playbook of our current president.  Manifest Destiny, tariffs, immigration, and the demonizing of one’s enemies were core ingredients to the last 19th century president, and clearly are priorities for our 47th President. Beyond this fascination with McKinley, National Conservatism, Christian Nationalism, and Populism serve as the ideological underpinnings of this presidency.

Let us fully understand, that there is a “Donald Trump Playbook” as every action and policy is linked to a particular ideological principle or historical marker. This Presidency, unlike his first term, will be driven and managed around a set of populist and conservative political and cultural values:

  • Society: Nationalism, Patriotism, Manifest Destiny
  • Values and Culture: Judeo-Christian Principles
  • State: Populist Democracy, Nativism, with a particular reading and understanding of American history and culture
  • Foreign Policy: Isolationism
  • Economy: Economic Individualism and Protectionism

What we will experience represents a multi-fold national revolution:

  • Remove the imprint of the last administration and in turn create a seamless linkage to the earlier Trump era.
  • Remake his public persona as the President unfolds a new and invigorated personality and where history will identify his distinctive aspirational leadership.
  • Recreate America that reflects the values and policies of Trumpism.
  • Reimagine the role and place of government, i.e., “blow it up” and “be disruptive!”.
About the Author
Steven Windmueller, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Prior to coming to HUC, Dr.Windmueller served for ten years as the JCRC Director of the LA Jewish Federation. Between 1973-1985, he was the director of the Greater Albany Jewish Federation (now the Federation of Northeastern New York). He began his career on the staff of the American Jewish Committtee. The author of four books and numerous articles, Steven Windmueller focuses his research and writings on Jewish political behavior, communal trends, and contemporary anti-Semitism.
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