Trumpism is the movement that has been inspired by and grown up around the political ambitions of Donald J. Trump. But what is it actually? What does it stand for? What are its core convictions and beliefs? Let’s try to unpack some of this here. At its core, Trumpism is a populist, anti-democratic movement being led by a demagogue who is bent on gaining as much power as possible for himself. With this power, Trump seeks to upend government regulations and cultural norms to create a new future that will benefit him and his core supporters. It is a movement that nurses the anger of those in our country who feel left out and left behind by recent changes in our history and economy. It seeks to use cultural issues to drive wedges between Americans in order to splinter our society. A divided America is much easier to beguile and mislead than a united one. Trumpism does out of the ordinary things to slowly but systematically normalize behavior that previously would have been considered abhorrent and disqualifying. Here are nine characteristics of Trumpism which help explain its danger to America.
Trumpism is anti-democratic
At its core, Trumpism is an anti-democratic movement because it is built around the prejudices and anger of one man. When Trump clearly lost a free and fair election in 2020 he assembled an array of politicians, lawyers and advisors to try to overturn the election results. He had a legal right to challenge certain aspects of the election, but when no significant irregularities were found by the courts, Trump still refused to accept the results. For 220 years, in the midst of crisis, depression and war, America had managed to transfer power peacefully after a presidential election. Donald Trump broke this streak. Apart from the moral courage shown by his Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to accept the “stop the steal” lies, he may have succeeded. Trump inspired an insurrection on January 6, 2021, which included in its numbers some who wanted to hang the Vice President, an action Trump allegedly endorsed.
Trumpism relies on and is fueled by misinformation and lies
When things don’t go Trump’s way, or when the truth is simply inconvenient, Trumpism lies. It is not just one person who does it. Trumpism relies on a chorus of liars who each perform their part. Here are just a few of the many lies in addition to the “Big Lie” mentioned above: Trump said COVID-19 would be gone by Easter of 2020, that it could be treated easily with home remedies, that it was not going to be a big problem. All lies. Trump’s original big lie that helped launch his career in politics was his claim that Barack Obama was not born an American, and could not legally be president. Trump lies about abortion, even claiming at the Republican Convention that they occur after birth. Trumpism attacks the mainstream media when it holds him accountable for his lies. There are literally thousands of lies told by Trump and supported by Trumpists.
Trumpism ironically uses elites to attack elites
Donald Trump is a Wharton graduate. Josh Hawley (R Missouri) attended Stanford. Ted Cruz (R Texas) attended Princeton and Harvard. Yet all of them unite in a war against elites, scapegoating them for all that is wrong in our country. By taking down elites Trump also takes down experts who may stand in the way of what he wants in the areas of public health, environment, education, or any other area he chooses to subvert. Most prominently, Trump attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, our nation’s leading disease expert, after he criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trumpism creates a persecution complex among its followers
Trumpism is masterful at manipulating people to believe their rights are under attack and that the government will destroy their freedoms. They are coming for your guns! (the truth is they would only like to ban weapons of war like assault weapons). They are taking away your freedom of religion! (the truth is all they want is separation of church and state). Trumpism seeks to turn government into the enemy while it subverts government to benefit Trump elites.
Trumpism relies on the cult of personality
It became clear in the 2020 election that Trumpism was a personality cult when the Republican National Convention did not adopt a platform of policies and initiatives. They were all in on Trump the person, and stood for nothing else. In 2024 they did adopt a simplified platform but have shied away from the anti-democratic beliefs found in Project 2025 and Agenda 47 because they know they are deeply unpopular with the majority of Americans. Again, they are all in on Trump.
Trumpism will justify or minimize violence to achieve its goals
During Trump’s first term, domestic terrorism became a focus of the FBI, but Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security actually diverted funds intended to protect against far right white supremacist groups. At his debate with Joe Biden prior to the 2020 election he infamously told the white supremacist group, the Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by.” And on January 6 2021, when he was told that some in the gathered crowd had weapons, he was incensed that they might not be allowed through the magnetometers to hear him speak. This is the same crowd that he later sent to march on the capitol.
Trumpsim loves a strongman wherever he may be found
When he was President, Donald Trump had a strange and troubling attraction to dictators around the globe. He met with Kim Jong Un at the Singapore Summit and again in Hanoi. After each meeting, Trump was effusive in his praise of the dictator whose ten year rule had by then been marked by starvation, repression and brutality. They wrote a series of love letters to each other, some of which were among the documents discovered later at Mar-A-Lago. He also holds both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in high regard, praising both of them regularly. Does he admire them because he wishes he was a dictator himself? Does he think he can more easily enrich himself and his businesses? Or is the reason more psychological? Feeling weak inside, does he covet the strength he sees in others? Whatever the explanation, this is inexcusable behavior for the leader of the free world.
Trumpism co-opts and corrupts religion for its own ends
Trumpism sees those who oppose him as anti-religious or anti-God. Instead of engaging in a normal political debate, Trumpism uses religion as an absolute to bash opposing views. He both co-opts and has been co-opted by some in the religious right as both seek power. For a further analysis of this, see the article On Rendering to Caesar and God in Blue Views.
Trumpism is attempting to overpower our judicial system
Trumpism seeks to subvert the rule of law and to control the judicial system whenever possible. With the help of Mitch McConnell (R Kentucky), Senate Republicans delayed action on Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in the last year of Obama’s presidency. This eventually led to the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Court under Trump. Then, in the very last months of the Trump Presidency, they sped up the process which enabled the prompt confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. And that was the end of Roe v Wade. Now that this Court has issued its ruling on presidential immunity, Trump’s lawyers are arguing that his attempts to overturn the 2020 election were part of his “official duties” so all charges should be dismissed.
If this critique of Trumpism makes sense to you, what can we do? First, we can agree that Trump must never return to the Office of President. Our system of checks and balances was able to keep Trump from doing his absolute worst the first time, but there is no guarantee it will work a second time. He learned the first time around not to have people around him who could challenge and check him. In a second term, Trump loyalists are prepared to join his government and do the worst they can to our democracy. Together, we must stop this. We can speak up about our concerns and hopes for our country to friends and family. We can get involved with the Central Chester County Democrats by using this website to sign up to canvass or mail out postcards to voters. We can give money to the cause. Go to oath.vote and register. Then use their “defeat Trump” algorithm to see where your contributions can do the most good. Stay vigilant. Remain hopeful. Work as if our democracy depends on it because it clearly does.