From trade tariffs to government stakes in companies, Trump is rewriting the Republican rule book.
WASHINGTON—On April 29, four weeks after introducing tariffs of at least 10 percent on nearly every country, President Donald Trump stood before a crowd of blue-collar workers in Michigan to mark his 100th day in office.
“After decades of politicians who destroyed Detroit to build up Beijing,” Trump said, “you finally have a champion for workers in the White House.”
Since his first term, Trump has broken with Republican Party orthodoxy, particularly on free trade and globalization. By championing steep tariffs and protectionist policies—cornerstones of his “America First” agenda—he has attracted a surprising new crowd to the party: union workers.
Republican National Committee member Shawn Steel said the GOP has become the party of the working class.
“What Trump has done, which is really intriguing to me, is he has taught Country Club, middle-class Republicans to work and align themselves with the working class,” he told The Epoch Times.
“That hasn’t happened in 120 years.”
Steel, a veteran party official from California, calls it a welcome change.
“Our party is doing better than the Democrats among working-class males,” he said.
“At one time, the Republican Party had farmers, merchants, ranchers, and working class people together—Trump has returned to that.”
Some have said that Trump has reshaped the Grand Old Party in ways that were once unimaginable. He has combined traditional Republican planks—such as tax cuts, deregulation, and boosting energy production—with policies often associated with the political left, including tariffs, TrumpRx, and government ownership in private companies.
Trump, however, avoids boxing his policies into a single ideology. He refers to them as “common sense” solutions. And a growing number of party members have rallied behind them.
“There are some areas where Trump has veered away from more orthodox, free-market conservative policies,” former Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told The Epoch Times.
Moore praised Trump’s strong support for deregulation, his energy policy, and his tax cuts, describing them as a significant stimulus to the economy. However, he said he’s not a big fan of tariffs.
Historically, Republicans supported free trade, while Democrats favored protectionism.
By Emel Akan
