Voter Anger
Unexpectedly, voter anger comes the first on the list. The outlet explains that voter anger is the “essential prerequisite for Trump’s rise and for the simultaneous popularity of other anti-establishment candidates like Ben Carson and Senator Ted Cruz”.
“The GOP has systematically cultivated this anger for decades and has correctly recognized that it is a powerful force in mobilizing donors and voters.”
The magazine however warns that the party leaders might be wrong in “assuming that they could control the passions they stoked”.
Accountability
The magazine notes that being “a billionaire presidential candidate with significant personal popularity”, Trump is “almost wholly unaccountable”. He does not need to fear losing a governorship, a Senate seat, or another political post because of what he says. He does not need to fear being fired by his current employer or making himself unemployable.
“As a result, Trump is able to exploit the anger the GOP has cultivated more fully than any other candidate and to thwart the party’s partially successful efforts to channel it.”
Reputation
Media Coverage
As it turns, Trump is a brilliant showman, the magazine notes, who is able to “deflect unwelcome or even hostile media attention as biased, taking advantage of his supporters’ predispositions as well as the declining trust in many media organizations”.
He was able to turn it such a way that “political or media establishment criticism only enhances his image among his supporters.”
And Finally, Conservatism
This point seems to be the weakest, the magazine says.
“This should raise some profound questions about the party’s future and about the idea that greater conservative purity will lead to greater electoral success.”
It has already called into question whether Republicans will be able to unite around the GOP’s eventual nominee, the magazine says.
“The Republican National Committee’s apparent contemplation of a brokered convention is unlikely to solve this problem, in that if Trump wins a plurality of delegates and is passed over for the nomination, his anti-establishment supporters could easily be alienated rather than mobilized.”
“Notwithstanding the party leadership’s reservations about Trump, that won’t help to win the election.”