In a comment reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s infamous labeling of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables” in 2016, President Joe Biden this week referred to supporters of the former president – at least half the country – as “garbage.” The remark ignited a wave of backlash, further highlighting the remarkably broad and diverse coalition Trump has built for his third run at the White House.
“You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People,” Trump posted on X in response to Biden. “I am proud to lead the biggest, broadest, and most important political coalition in American history. We are welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. It is my desire to be the President of all the people.”
Indeed, public polling suggests that, win or lose, Trump has attracted Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life to his America First movement. Core Democrat constituencies like black men and Latinos are now backing Trump in significant numbers and could make the critical difference in key swing states.
Even high-profile Democrats have flocked to Trump’s “big tent” coalition, recognizing both the dangerous extremism of the modern Democrat Party and the common-sense nature of Trump’s policies.
Last week, for instance, former Democrat Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard formally announced that she was joining the Republican Party. Gabbard, who ran for president as a Democrat just four years ago, has, like many former Democrats, grown disillusioned with her party over the last four years.
It is important to note that Gabbard was never considered a conservative-leaning or even moderate Democrat. She hails from Hawaii, which hasn’t gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984. From 2013 to 2016, she served as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. Yet now her opposition to endless wars and pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into foreign countries while Americans are suffering has driven her from the party.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has likewise abandoned the Democrat Party and tossed his support behind Trump after withdrawing from his Independent bid for the presidency.
“These are the principled causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump. The causes were: Free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children,” he said in announcing his support for Trump. “One of the two candidates has adopted these issues as his own to the point where he has asked to enlist me in his administration. I’m speaking, of course, of Donald Trump.”
Tesla founder Elon Musk – a self-admitted former Democrat – has now also enthusiastically backed Trump, even campaigning for him in Pennsylvania. Former PayPal president and cryptocurrency pioneer David Marcus, venture capitalist David Sacks, and other key figures in Silicon Valley, normally a bastion of liberal progressivism, are likewise supporting Trump this year.
None of these individuals agrees with Trump on every issue. Musk believes that climate change is an existential threat, whereas Trump is more skeptical. Kennedy is far more pro-abortion than Trump. Gabbard is more socially liberal than the former president.
But what unites them is a common belief in core principles that both parties used to agree on – free speech, religious liberty, and the right to live free from fear of political persecution. While Democrats accuse Republicans of being “extremists,” they have alienated individuals once seen as rising stars within their own party by supporting far-left policies like transgender surgeries for children, late-term abortion-on-demand, and climate change mandates, all while ruthlessly bullying and silencing anyone who disagrees.
Democrats have attempted to counter defections to Trump’s camp by promoting establishment Republicans like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have built their political brand around a personal vendetta against Trump and are now backing Kamala Harris. But unlike Trump’s coalition, which is built on ideas and a hopeful vision for America’s future, Harris’s coalition is increasingly defined by hatred for Trump – and now all of his supporters.
Take, for instance, Cheney, who has all her career been a staunch pro-life advocate and even signed on to the amicus brief supporting the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Cheney is now backing a presidential ticket that includes Tim Walz, who signed a bill in Minnesota that removed a requirement that doctors provide life-saving care to babies born alive in failed abortion attempts. Purely out of spite for Trump, Cheney has abandoned the cause of protecting innocent unborn life.
Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans still believe that Trump’s successful 2016 campaign was a fluke. They hope that if he is defeated in 2024, they can return to the old political status quo, and the establishment GOP can re-assert itself.
But regardless of the outcome next week, Trump already appears to have built on the foundations he laid in 2016. The center of gravity in the GOP has permanently shifted, and Trump’s America First agenda is here to stay.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
