It is oft debated the transformative effect President Donald J. Trump has had on the platform and principles of the Grand Ol’ Party, but according to former RNC chairman and former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, President Trump has not changed the GOP much at all. In fact, he apparently told a group of Georgetown University students that it will “basically return” to its platform prior to Trump once he leaves office.
According to the Georgetown student paper, The Hoya, Priebus claimed that there is not all that much different in the Republican Party itself, but that Trump is his own unique brand. However, for the present time, Trump has refocused the party on a populist message.
From The Hoya:
Priebus acknowledged Trump is, in some ways, not like any other Republican president. Trump is “extremely unique” in his personal style, Priebus said, and his campaign themes refocused the Republican Party on a populist message.
“President Trump’s been very good for the party in the sense that it’s returned to the idea that the American workers are worth fighting for. That we’re not about Wall Street — we’re about people that are making tools and working with their hands and have been forgotten,” Priebus said.
Reince Priebus also touted President Trump’s success in pushing for “traditional” GOP stances.
Priebus cited Trump’s accomplishments, which appeal to his Republican base, as evidence his unconventional leadership style has not impeded his success.
“You have the tax cuts, you’ve got the Supreme Court and you have a total deregulation and a dismantling of almost everything that Obama did by executive order,” Priebus said. “Those, if you’re a Republican, are great things. The decisions that he’s made have made him a pretty historic president in only a year.”
President Trump’s former chief of staff also credited President Trump with gaining new voters from Hispanic, black, and Asian communities.
Discussing Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, Priebus said the campaign won in part by reaching out to minority communities and staying faithful to the Republican Party’s traditional base.
“The president and the campaign funded an operation on the ground in Hispanic, black and Asian communities for not just a six-month period before the election, but for four straight years,” Priebus said. “It’s just a fact of life that you cannot grow a party by subtracting people out the door.”
But at the end of the day, despite President Trump’s success in growing the base, he predicted that it will not have a long lasting impact.
“I think post-Trump, the party returns to its traditional role and its traditional platform. It’s a Trump brand and he owns it and he has a way of protecting it,” Priebus said.