Trump shatters the biggest myth of his first presidency

When Donald Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign, his populist tone, scathing criticism of NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement) and bank bailouts were a big departure from the last three Republican presidents. Trump often sounded a lot more like paleoconservative Patrick Buchanan than Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and his rhetoric resonated with many working-class white voters who were soured on both Democrats and establishment Republicans.

In an article published on April 27, however, New York Magazine's Ross Barkan argues that Trump, during his second presidency, is repeatedly shattering the claim that he is pro-working class.

Barkan makes his point by noting the "implosion" of former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who recent left that position in disgrace. The journalist notes that although her father was a Teamster, she "did nothing to boost union density in the United States" and "spent little time championing the cause of organized labor."

"For those who believed she could be so much more — the Democrats who hoped for a pro-labor Cabinet official, the Trump Republicans who thought MAGA might realign the political firmament — the true scandal of Chavez-DeRemer's tenure was her profound lack of accomplishments," Barkan argues. "The former congresswoman was, at best, a figurehead…. Had Chavez-DeRemer been more serious or ambitious, would it have mattered? Was there a reality where Trump embraced a secretary who wanted to help organized labor? Theoretically, it was possible."

Barkan continues, "Trump has proved MAGA is whatever he says it is, and the fact that most of the Republican Party now supports extremely high tariffs is evidence enough that he can will all kinds of outcomes into being."

Trump's actions, Barkan argues, speak louder than his populist rhetoric.

"The cynical view of Trump and Chavez-DeRemer is probably correct: the actual birth of a labor-friendly Republican Party was a farce," Barkan laments. "As a real-estate developer, Trump hardly liked unions, and while their rank-and-file tended to support him, that was usually for social or cultural reasons. Trump might gesture vaguely in the direction of backing organized labor, but there was nothing to suggest, in his first term, he cared at all about whether Americans had better workplace protections."

Barkan continues, "He viewed the economy purely through the lens of the stock market — if stocks went up, he was glad, and if there were any prolonged dips, he began to panic. The reason he's attempted to wind down the war in Iran is the economic toll it's caused, the palpable unease in the markets. That's what moves Trump."