Of course, these terms have their limits. In America and much of the world, a basket of policy positions makes one a conservative or a liberal. Not everything fits neatly into a basket, however. One can be pro-life and for higher taxes. There is nothing connecting many of the issues that define what is a conservative and what is a liberal. Nevertheless, the terms are a useful shorthand for explaining where one falls on the political spectrum. We kind of know what to expect when one is called a liberal or a conservative or left or right.
Another limitation of the terms is that in America, conservatism does not have the same associations as European conservatism. America has no ancient ethnic identity tied to the land and we have never been a monarchy or had a state religion so some of the things we are attempting to conserve are not the same as European conservatism.
The greatest limitation of the terms left and right, the way I see it, is that it is represented as a spectrum with Communism on the extreme left and Nazism or Fascism on the extreme right. I do not see that spectrum. In America and most democracies, the center-left and the center-right have much more in common with each other than the liberal has in common with the Communist, or the conservative has in common with the Fascist. While they may disagree on many things, liberals and conservatives agree on classical enlightenment principles. I do not believe that one becomes so liberal that they become an advocate for the dictatorship of the proletariat. One does not become so conservative that they become a Nazi.
Both Communist and Nazis or Fascist believe in total government control, require a leader with power to dictate policy and believe the economy should be a function of government direction. While historically, Fascist and Communist saw each other as the enemy, it was much like two similar gangs fighting over territory. The extremes have a lot in common. Mussolini was a man of the left before becoming the Fascist leader of Italy. "Nazi" is National Socialist.
Neither far left nor far right regimes make room for individualism. The press, freedom of expression, rule of law, and what we think of as human rights must be curtailed. The human will must be suppressed and bent to the will of the state.
This brings me to my contention that Donald J. Trump is not a conservative but a man of the extreme right. Fascist is a problematic term to describe someone because it is imprecise and because due to overuse it has become pretty much a meaningless pejorative. I am hesitant to label Trump a Fascist but if he is not, he comes close. I do not see Donald Trump as a conservative. Let's take a look at some consistent conservative position since at least the end of World War II and see if they align with the positions of Donald Trump.
American conservatives believe that America had an essential role to play in the world and conservatives accept America's leadership responsibility. We believe in peace through strength and a strong military. We also believe we should not go it alone; that we need strong alliances. This has not been an exclusively conservative position, of course. For the most part, there has been bi-partisan support for these positions. However, when there have been divisions, it has been Republicans who were the most hawkish and the strongest advocates of a robust foreign policy. The faction that wanted to placate the enemies of freedom and voices for unilateral disarmament could be found as part of the Democrat coalition.
Trump is weaking America's position in the world by slashing America's soft power, with cuts to USAID and America's trusted news broadcast services and American intelligence services. USAID not only serves mankind and saves lives, but by doing good the U. S. wins friends and gains influence. By slashing USAID we are giving China a huge advantage to win friends. Already, China is gaining widespread influence throughout the developing world through its belt and road initiative. By cutting USAID we are cutting a source of American influence and leaving the field to China. A conservative would not be withdrawing from the world in this manner.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about Trump's foreign policy is his abandonment of Ukraine. At present we don't know if we are back to supporting Ukraine of if we are still siding with Russian. It has been utterly disgraceful to watch the President of the United States blame Ukraine for starting the war or for not ending the war when they were the victim of an unprovoked attack by their more powerful neighbor. Trump is trying to bully Ukraine into accepting their annihilation. America's position since the end of World War II has been to side with the victims of aggression. If we did not always come to their defense, one knew our sympathies were with the victim of aggression; we did not side with the aggressor. Neither a liberal nor a conservative president would have taken the pro-Russian position that Donald Trump has taken.
If Russian succeeds in taking Ukraine, it is doubtful it will stop with Ukraine in its quest to reassemble the empire of the USSR. A conservative would know that and realize what is at stake. Trump is also weakening NATO and casting doubt on whether or not we will honor our Article 5 commitment. This is not something one would ever expect from a normal Democrat or Republican president.
It is hard to know what to make of Trump's foreign policy or what to call it. It has been referred to as isolationism, but it is not isolationism. I think isolationism is a disastrous policy, but at least one understands it. Trump has talked of turning Gaza into one big, beautiful beach resort. He has threatened to take Greenland by force. He has talked of retaking the Panama Canal. And, he has repeatedly talked of annexing Canada and making it the 51st state. That is hardly isolationism. Trump's foreign policy is certainly not the policy that a liberal or a conservative would recognize. It is something different. It harkens back to an era of might-makes-right and colonialism and imperialism.
When it comes to economics, Trump's policies are certainly not conservative. Free Trade has been a bedrock principle of conservative thought since at least WWII and a foundational principle of conservative thought since the enlightenment. Conservative look back to enlightenment figures like Adam Smith, David Hume, David Ricardo, and Frederic Bastiat for an understanding of the benefits of free trade. Twentieth Century economic thinkers like Henry Hazlitt and Milton Freeman and a host of others have written about and made the arguments for free trade. There is not one single idea more firmly established as a belief of conservatives than a belief in free trade.
Of course, the truth of the benefits of free trade has been accepted by most liberals also. There is pretty much a broad consensus on its benefits. Since the end of WWII both Republican and Democrat administrations have worked for tariff reductions and lowering of trade barriers. When there were those advocating for protectionism, it was usually Democrats pandering to labor unions. They remained a minority of the Democrat coalition however, but protectionism found its home in the Democrat Party. It is hard to believe that now Republicans are the enthusiastic advocates of protectionism.
Another way in which Donald Trump is not a conservative is his disregard for the constitution. Both Democrats and Republicans take an oath to defend the Constitution, of course. Both Republicans and Democrats have attempted to exceed constitution authority, probably none more than Andrew Jackson and FDR. Republicans used to pride themselves on being the party most committed to felty to the Constitution and Jackson and FDR were used as bad examples.
In their approach to the Constitution, Republicans tended to be originalist or strict constructionist believing the constitution should be interpreted to mean what the founders intended it to mean. Liberals tended to believe in a living constitution that could be interpreted to reflect contemporary circumstances and values. Liberals believe the constitution is much more fluid and flexible, while conservatives believe it is more rigid and fixed in meaning. Given these attitudes toward the Constitution, one would expect a Republican president to be more committed to the constitution than a Democrat president.
Donald Trump treats the Constitution more like a suggestion and sees it as an impediment to enacting the policies he sees himself as elected to fix. In violation of the Constitution, he has refused to spend money appropriated by Congress and he has repeatedly denied persons the due process to which the Constitution entitles them. Most telling, he attempted a coup on January 6th to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. That is not the actions of a conservative president.
Conservatism is about more than a set of policies, but it is also a set of attitudes and sensibilities. Conservatives believe in ordered liberty. Conservatives believe in a cautious, measured approach to governance. We believe in order over chaos. Change should come slow and be measured. We have respect for what has come before and believe in inherited wisdom. We value societal and government institutions and practices. We believe in measured reform rather than impulsive revolution. Trump violates all of these norms.
On foreign policy, economic policy, respect for institutions and the Constitution, or attitudes and sensibilities Donald Trump is not a conservative. In addition to all this he embraces the support of far-right fringe figures and thinkers. He is comfortable with weird conspiracy theorist like Laura Loomer. On the world stage he seems to admire strong leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and authoritarians like Viktor Orbán of Hungary. Even planning a big parade with displays of America's might on the day of the Leaders birthday, is not something one would expect to see in America from anyone of the center-left or center-right. It is not normal. Trump's actions and attitudes is not what one would expect from a conservative. Donald Trump is an authoritarian and a supporter of oligarchy. He is the kind of far-right leader we have seen in various countries throughout history and the world.
Donald Trump is far right, but he is not a conservative.
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