He may not have won “Person of the Year,” but as far as the Republican Party is concerned, Donald Trump is the center of the universe. The Summer of Trump turned to autumn, then winter, and he’s continued to thrive through pundit-predicted fall, after fall, after fall — because the GOP base loves him and everything he stands for.
To commemorate the year Trump took over — his dominance and uncanny ability to influence the rhetoric and policy positions of the rest of the GOP field — American Bridge is closing out 2015 with a five-day countdown of the extreme, far-right policies that Donald Trump has reinforced and left as his legacy.
Donald Trump was late to the party when he called Mexicans “rapists.” Trump’s campaign kick-off might have crystallized the GOP’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, but he’s definitely not the first one to espouse far-right conservative policies against immigrants.
If anything, Trump was playing catch up in June to Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to compete for out-of-touch immigration stances. Jeb Bush even got in on the action by going after “anchor babies,” which forced Trump to match Bush’s rhetoric.
But now that it’s December 2015, it’s the rest of the field trying to match Trump — and causing further damage to the GOP in the process. Building the yugest, classiest wall with a giant door and making the Mexican government pay for it is now the de facto position of the Republican Party.
No Republican candidate supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now that Lindsey Graham is out. Conservative Tea Partiers have such a stranglehold on the Republican Party that Donald Trump has become their chief spokesperson on anti-immigration policy and everything else.
This is the year Trump took over:
- Ted Cruz opposes legal status for undocumented immigrants in addition to a path to citizenship, might support self-deportation, definitely opposes DACA and the DREAM Act, and supported Arizona’s “papers please” law.
- Marco Rubio opposes a path to citizenship, comprehensive immigration reform, DACA, the DREAM Act, and supported Arizona’s “papers please” law.
- Jeb Bush opposes a path to citizenship, DACA, and spent a week in August denigrating American citizens as “anchor babies” — kickstarting the conversation on ending birthright citizenship.
- Ben Carson opposes a path to citizenship, supports ending birthright citizenship, and would “be willing to listen” to ideas about deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants.
- Chris Christie opposes a path to citizenship and DACA.
- John Kasich opposes a path to citizenship, DACA, sanctuary cities, and wants to build the wall. When he thinks of Latinos, he thinks of reasons “why in the hotel you leave a little tip.”
- Carly Fiorina opposes comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, which she calls “amnesty.”
Published: Dec 27, 2015