The GOP’s Next Leader Will Need More Than Populism

Donald Trump has always been just insider-enough to placate the Republican establishment and just outsider-enough to excite conservative populists. But keeping that political coalition together will be difficult for his successor in 2028.

Indeed, less than a year into Trump’s second presidency, the electoral consortium that made him only the second president to serve non-consecutive terms is showing signs of strain. That’s the best way to understand Republican infighting over Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein affair, as well as fresh fighting on the right over whether the GOP should tolerate antisemites and racists for the (presumed) sake of electoral expediency. That’s also the prism through which to view the Republicans’ intraparty debate over extending Obamacare health insurance subsidies — and the fact that congressional Republicans are beginning to demand more information from the Trump administration about US military strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean.