Donald Trump and the Republican Congress this week are straining every fraying seam in their party’s coalition.
In just days, Trump’s White House has advanced aggressively nationalistic initiatives on trade and immigration, while also starting an incendiary fight with protesting NFL players. Each of these confrontations has energized elements of his blue-collar political base but alarmed an array of business leaders usually aligned with the GOP.
Simultaneously, Trump and congressional Republicans have been finalizing a plan to massively cut taxes after mounting their latest futile push to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Those efforts reflect top priorities of the business community, but would sublimate, or actively undermine, the economic interests of Trump’s blue-collar supporters. CONT.
Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic