Albert R. Hunt, Columnist

It’s a Hard Time to Be a Never-Trump Republican

GOP voters back their president. That gives foes in the party few options.

July 1, 2018 at 2:00 PM UTC

Albert R. Hunt is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was the executive editor of Bloomberg News, before which he was a reporter, bureau chief and executive Washington editor at the Wall Street Journal.

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Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump have inspired overwhelming loyalty from their party's rank and file, probably more than any other modern president. But not in the same way.

Reagan articulated an optimistic philosophy of smaller government, lower taxes, anti-communism and traditional values that reflected what Republican voters believed. Trump has reshaped the Republican core, conjuring an anti-trade, anti-immigration party that welcomes racists and winks at dictators. To be sure, not all Republicans buy into Trump's grim worldview, but polls show that almost 90 percent of Republicans are Trump supporters.