On the public policy substance, Donald Trump sounds like an ignoramus. He knows almost nothing about a large percentage of issues. When asked questions, he responds like a student who hasn’t done the reading and is bluffing until the teacher moves on. …
Yet when it comes to managing political factions, the situation is completely different. Trump acts like he has a precise plan. This is his true gift — what has brought him to the cusp of the Republican presidential nomination. While Trump can’t discuss the details of policy, his campaign has taken many positions. When you look at them, as well as the cultural cues Trump gives off, it is all carefully calibrated to appeal to cultural conservatives while shearing off Koch-style libertarians and foreign policy neoconservative hawks. CONT.
Jonathan M. Ladd (Georgetown), Mischiefs of Faction