Trump’s course hazy after coming election
GOP candidate in position to launch new party
GOLDEN, Colo. — Donald Trump has whipped up a political movement like none other in modern politics, but there’s a surprising ambivalence from his army of supporters — and even the candidate himself — over what to do next.
Beyond the bombast of picking up arms to storm the White House should Hillary Clinton become president, ardent Trump voters are beginning to think seriously about their post-election role in American politics.
Will they organize as a new political force, spark a revolution inside the GOP or — as some supporters at Trumprallies recently hinted — retreat into the background after an exhausting and divisive campaign?
Kathy Smith and her neighbor were waiting eagerly last month for Trump to speak at a rally in Golden, Colo., wearing matching “Deplorable American” Tshirts.
But Smith acknowledged that political fatigue has set in — along with the frustration of polls showing Trump was unlikely to win her state.
“I want my life to be back,” the hairstylist said. Smith has been active locally in politics, but said she is ready to hunker down if Trumploses to “take care of mybirds, mydogs, myfamily. I figure, I give him my best shot.”
On the other hand, Eddie Creech, a tobacco, corn and bean farmer who lives near Kinston, N.C., said he’s ready leave his “little slice of heaven” at a moment’s notice and go protest in Washington, D.C., if Clinton is elected and Trump’s supporters call for help. “We will kick her out,” he said.
Win or lose, Trump is in a prime position to either lead a remaking of the party he has upended or launch a new one.
He has offered mixed messages as he jets across the country making closing arguments before Election Day.
“I will never let you be the forgotten people again,” he told a packed crowd at the St. Augustine amphitheater in battleground Florida. “I will never let you down. I promise.”
But at the same rally, Trump’s comments raised questions about his longterm commitment, saying if his supporters don’t get to the polls to elect him, “we will have wasted a hell of a lot of time, energy and — in my case — a lot of money.”
It’s unlikely the election will sweep away the anger and frustration felt by the mostly white, workingclass Americans who now proudly call themselves “deplorables” — embracing Clinton’s derisive label. Trump built his unlikely ascent by reviving many of their long-simmering fears and resentments over race, class and the Washington elite.
But it remains to be seen whether those passions will be sustained without the pageantry of campaign season.
Trump has said little in public about his next moves. One recent report mentioned his desire for some time off.
Also, Trump’s team may prefer to monetize the movement as a new business venture rather than a purely political one. For a man who has a tendency to flit from one trending topic to the next, he may choose to move on to other opportunities. Many of Trump’s supporters say they imagine he will simply return to the life of a wealthy New York businessman.
Others predict the movement will go on, with or without Trump.
“I don’t think it’s going to go away,” said Shauna Godwin, wrapped in an American flag-styled sweater as Trump alighted from his plane in Kinston, N.C. “There’s too many people.”