finally revealed his plan to make America great again. Basically, it involves running the country like a failing casino: he could, he asserted, “make a deal” with creditors that would reduce the debt burden if his outlandish promises of economic growth don’t work out.
.. federal interest payments are only 1.3 percent of G.D.P., or 6 percent of total outlays.
.. So why is Mr. Trump even talking about this subject? Well, one possible answer is that lots of supposedly serious people have been hyping the alleged threat posed by federal debt for years. For example, Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, has warned repeatedly about a “looming debt crisis.”
.. how can he imagine that it would be O.K. for America to default? One answer is that he’s extrapolating from his own business career, in which he has done very well by running up debts, then walking away from them.
But it’s also true that much of the Republican Party shares his insouciance about default. Remember, the party’s congressional wing deliberately set about extracting concessions from President Obama, using the threat of gratuitous default via a refusal to raise the debt ceiling.
And quite a few Republican lawmakers defended that strategy of extortion by arguing that default wouldn’t be that bad, that even with its access to funds cut off the U.S. government could “prioritize” payments, and that the financial disruption would be no big deal.
.. when Mr. Trump talks nonsense, he’s usually just offering a bombastic version of a position that’s widespread in his party.
Donald Trump or Paul Ryan: Who’s King of the Hill?
Banning Muslims is not what we stand for. Try to be more like Reagan.”
“Fine,” Trump shoots back. “I’ll start my campaign in Mississippi Klan territory like Reagan. You establishment guys are such phonies. You wanna use race as a wedge issue but be subtle about it. I AM NOT SUBTLE.
Republican Party Unravels Over Donald Trump’s Takeover
They fear their party is on the cusp of an epochal split — a historic cleaving between the familiar form of conservatism forged in the 1960s and popularized in the 1980s and a rekindled, atavistic nationalism, with roots as old as the republic, that has not flared up so intensely since the original America First movement before Pearl Harbor.
Some even point to France and other European countries, where far-right parties like the National Front have gained power because of the sort of resentments that are frequently given voice at rallies for Mr. Trump.
.. And he has amplified his independent, outsider message in real time, using social media and cable news interviews — and his own celebrity and highly attuned ear for what resonates — to rally voters to his side, using communication strategies similar to those deployed in the Arab Spring uprising or in the attempts by liberals and students to foment a similar revolution in Iran.
“Trump leveraged a perfect storm,” said Steve Case, the founder of AOL, in an email message. “A combo of social media (big following), brand (celebrity figure), creativity (pithy tweets), speed/timeliness (dominating news cycles).”
.. “Everything is subject to negotiation, but I can’t and won’t be changing much, because the voters support me because of what I’m saying and how I’m saying it,” Mr. Trump said.
.. On the left, too, Senator Bernie Sanders has built his own movement with millions of voters, and $210 million in fund-raising, by using online tools as simple as email to seek support.
.. The adhesive that once held Republicans together — a shared commitment to a strong national defense and limited government — was weakened by the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. But internal divisions were papered over when new, unifying threats emerged after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
.. Alongside the turbulent economy were signs of something more profound plaguing blue-collar white communities, which have increasingly become core Republican constituencies: an increase in children born to single parents, higher rates of addiction and suicide, and shortened average life spans.
.. “He constructed a series of scapegoats that these folks would find plausible,” said Mr. Putnam, citing Mr. Trump’s attacks on Muslims and immigrants. “He was willing to say things that might have always been popular, but you couldn’t say it.”
.. a former Minnesota congressman, said of the two factions, acknowledging that Republicans could splinter completely after this election. “I don’t know how you reconcile a lot of them.”
.. “But I have to think that four or eight years from now, the Trump wing will be a little more traditional, a little less hard-edged, and will be blended into the party just like the evangelical Pat Robertson voters were after the 1988 election.”
“At least,” he added, “I hope that’s what’ll happen.”
Donald Trump Seeks Republican Unity but Finds Rejection
On Friday, Mr. Bush’s disavowal of Mr. Trump landed as a bitter blow. The former Florida governor is revered among party veterans and has one of the most powerful fund-raising networks in Republican politics. In a statement, Mr. Bush said his former opponent lacked the “temperament or strength of character” to serve as president.
.. The populist Manhattan businessman responded with a statement savaging Mr. Graham, a senior spokesman for the party on national security. Mr. Trump boasted that he had “destroyed his hapless run for president” and consigned Mr. Graham to the political ash heap.
.. “While I will unify the party, Lindsey Graham has shown himself to be beyond rehabilitation,” Mr. Trump said.
.. Mr. Trump’s belittling attack poses a new challenge for a party already riven by frustration and indecision over his campaign.
.. Mr. Trump conceded in a television interview on Friday morning that he had been surprised by Mr. Ryan’s rebuke, and he sounded exasperated by the party leadership’s unwillingness to rally to his candidacy. “You talk about unity,” Mr. Trump said, “but what is this?”
.. Mr. Trump conceded in a television interview on Friday morning that he had been surprised by Mr. Ryan’s rebuke, and he sounded exasperated by the party leadership’s unwillingness to rally to his candidacy. “You talk about unity,” Mr. Trump said, “but what is this?”