Imagining President Trump

There is great uncertainty about what kind of president Donald Trump would be if elected. Given he has now amassed the delegate majority needed to become the Republican nominee, it’s worth exploring what kind of president he would be and the implications of his nomination for the future of policy, whether he wins or not.

What do we know about Donald Trump’s policy positions?  Are they radical, conservative or moderate?  What's fixed and what's evolving? Is he challenging and reshaping the established Republican consensus or will he fall in line?  Is there an opening for Trump to govern as a moderate on policy?   What do his temperament, past actions and campaign tell us about what a Trump presidency would be like? 

Moreover, as Trump has bucked traditional Republican positions on immigration, entitlements, trade, the minimum wage and foreign alliances and relationships he has showed that the Republican voter base is open to new languauge and approaches.  Win or lose, will the Trump nomination lead to a Republican policy realignment that opens the door for future bipartisan agreements?

Join New America for an interesting discussion of the implications of this unorthodox candidate.

Introduction:

Mark Schmitt

Director, Political Reform Program, New America

Moderator:

David Gray
Senior Fellow, New America

Featured Speakers:

Dana Milbank
Columnist, Washington Post

Norman Ornstein
Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and Contributing Editor, The Atlantic

Indira Lakshmanan
Columnist/Editorial Writer, The Boston Globe and Contributor, Politico Magazine

Lara Brown
Associate Professor & Program Director of the Political Management Program
Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University

Matthew Continetti
Editor in Chief, Washington Free Beacon