Donald Trump, who rocketed to the top of the polls in the early GOP primary race, is an unlikely Republican front-runner: a longtime supporter of Democratic politicians with a history of taking views opposed to those of mainstream conservatives. A household name for his reality-television show and his tawdry tabloid history, he has connected with an underappreciated strain of right-wing populists by focusing his fire on a single issue: immigration.
In this Broadside, Kevin D. Williamson takes a hard look at the Trump phenomenon and the failures of the national Republican leadership and defects in our national character that gave it life. Trump may or may not be in the race for the long haul, but in either case, Trumpism will remain a force.