Trump wants 'American-first’ version of European nationalism and therein lies the rub
Donald Trump represents a challenge to the status quo because he doesn’t want to democratize the world through bombing raids, says Richard Spencer from Radix Journal. US Congressman Alan Grayson agrees, saying the Republicans are desperate to stop Trump.
RT: Mitt Romney devoted his recent speech to bashing Donald Trump. What does that tell us about Donald Trump's current standing in the presidential race?
US Congressman Alan Grayson: I have to agree, just this once, with Donald Trump. I think it is irrelevant. Part of the problem that we are facing this year is that the candidates want to make this some kind of war of personalities rather than a discussion of what is good for our country. I think that is very unfortunate. I don’t think the Trump candidacy should be determined on matters of the value of a degree from Trump University, or any of these ad hominem attacks that we are seeing by one candidate against the other – often, by the way, perpetrated by Mr. Trump himself. I don’t really think it matters what the size of his fingers might be; I don’t think it matters that Rubio is definitely a thirsty young man. I don’t think it matters that Bush is low energy, although he is certainly is. These are not the things that we should use to determine who our national leaders should be. Obviously, they’ve all indulged in it from one time or another. And I don’t think the voters favor that. But the fact is the voters are going to make up their minds based upon what’s good for the country, what’s good for them individually. I think the voters have this one right.
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The Republican establishment as reflected in Mitt Romney and others is absolutely desperate to stop Donald Trump. But what really is underneath it all is the fact that Trump does not adhere to the Republican Orthodoxy: ‘they’ve never met a war they didn’t like.’ It is true that there are hawks within the Republican Party who are dismayed by the fact that Donald Trump rightly points out that the war in Iraq was a disaster in everyone’s light. And they are disconcerted by the fact that he is willing to criticize predecessors like George W. Bush, and frankly, rightly so. America lost four trillion dollars in the war in Iraq and we left a quarter of a million of our young men and women with permanent brain abnormalities because of injuries they suffered in that war. At least there is one Republican candidate who is willing to actually address those issues which has caused the hawks a great deal of consternation.
RT: After Donald Trump and Fox news journalist Megyn Kelly’s previous meeting, comedians and politicians alike have taken quite a few shots at Trump. What should we expect further?
Richard Spencer from Radix Journal: I think we’re going to expect fireworks. In fact the mainstream media, the so-called conservative movements and the Republican Party have all declared war on Donald Trump. It was a silent war for many months, now it is an explicit war. They want anyone but Trump; they want anyone else in the Republican Party to win this nomination. It doesn’t matter if Rubio is a moderate and Ted Cruz is an extreme Libertarian or something. They want anyone but Trump because Trump actually represents a different ideology from traditional American conservatism. Trump actually represents something closer to European nationalism. It is a version of the right that is “let’s look at the Americans first, let’s use the government to help the American people, let’s actually have friendly relations with great powers like Russia as opposed to: let’s democratize the world through bombing raids.” So Trump really represents something different. He represents a challenge to the status quo. And that is why the conservative movement, the Republican Party, the mainstream media are all out to get him.
RT: From Senator Marco Rubio to Mitt Romney Trump doesn't seem to be afraid of any speeches condemning him. Why is he so self-confident?
RS: Trump is self-confident because he is Trump; he was born self-confident. But he is also self-confident because he has so much popular support. He has brought so many new people into the Republican Party and he has brought so many more people into the Republican Party than Mitt Romney did who attacked him. The fact is Trump’s version of nationalism, this idea ”it’s not be the world’s policeman,” let’s actually look after ourselves, let’s use the government to help the people. This kind of nationalism that cuts across left and right, cuts across liberal and conservative, cuts across Democrats and Republicans. It is a new thing for Americans. Trump is leading it. I would never have predicted that, but Trump is leading it. And the fact is the status quo doesn’t like it because this is upsetting some of their assumptions. It is upsetting what they take for granted and so they are all in unison attacking him. And in the US the so-called conservatives, the left, the liberals they are all attacking Trump of the exact same reasons.
RT: Is Trump likely to issue an apology after his offensive comments towards Megyn Kelly?
RS: I couldn’t imagine Donald Trump apologizing. I don’t think he said anything completely outrageous towards Megyn Kelly. The fact is Megyn Kelly doesn’t like Donald Trump. Megyn Kelly wants the status quo to continue. Megun Kelly wants a neoconservative candidate or a typical Republican candidate. Maybe Kelly doesn’t like this new kind of nationalism that Trump represents. So there’s no way… that Donald Trump will apologize to Megyn Kelly. What he said effectively is that “Megyn Kelly is out to get me.” … But the fact is, Trump has proved that you don’t need Fox News; Trump has proved you don’t need the GOP establishment; Trump has proved you don’t need the conservative movement establishment. Trump is Trump. Trump has a populist base that’s bigger than those forces.
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