Trump and Conservatism

While many associate Trump and his victory with that of the American will for change and the new growing power of the conservative movement that, in fact, is entirely not the case. While Donald Trump may seem to be a new Reagan for the conservative movement, his policies do not reflect this association. Even so, the conservative movement seems to be abandoning its roots and begin to progressively adapt in an America where "Trumpism" has become increasingly more popular.

Up until his candidacy, for many years Trump associated with the Democratic party and its ideals, supported liberal policies and to this day wanting to continue programs such as affirmative action. By comparing him to Reagan, people ignore Reagan's staunch conservative background, such as his support for Goldwater, in the face of Trump's clearly liberal-facing views.

Trump addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference(CPAC) in 2017

However, this is not to say that Trump is some sort of pseudo-liberal. Instead, he functions for the conservative party as an anti-establishment candidate with a hint of populism, with many flocking to his banner on the grounds of their disappointment with and resentment for the democratic party as it stands.

On the other hand, while conservative thought towards Donald Trump was at first wholeheartedly negative, with the Conservative Political Action Conference of 2016 almost completely focused on boycotting and slamming Trump, 2017's CPAC welcomed him and accepted waves of first time attendees flocking simply to hear their new conservative icon.

Thus, while Trump lacks the background of a conservative, and often leans farther left than basically any other conservative president in the past, the conservative party has found itself forced to assimilate to a new "Trumpist" environment in which economic nationalism is substituted for free trade and traditional conservative values are conflated with Trump's own.

http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170224102805-trump-cpac-large-169.jpg
https://home.isi.org/pillars-modern-american-conservatism
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/the-conservative-movement-is-donald-trump-214828
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/campaigns-elections/donald-trump-not-conservative/