Photo by tom coe on Unsplash

P1: THE GREAT SHIFT FROM REPUBLICANS OF THE LINCOLN to REPUBLICANS of TRUMP; THE GRAND OLD PARTY| US HISTORY | CSS DIARIES | RMR

The Grand Old Party (GOP) or republican party is the only thing that connects the best and the worst of the same party. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the USA, was against racism and presided over the party as its first president from the Republican party, in his opposition against a bill Kansas–Nebraska Act, which was to expand slavery to western territory. Trump, the 45th president of the USA, on the other hand, represents the face of the very thing Republicans were against, the white supremacy, or treating people of other colors as inferior.

The story of the formation of the Republican party was based on two fronts, one being the civil liberty and the other being economic liberty. while Republicans and their presidents have always been outspoken about the liberty of civil and economic affairs under the law, and have been advocating a policy of non-discrimination, discouraging the racism in all its forms and shapes. The narrative seems to have gone rogue when they decided to nominate, Trump as the presidential nominee. The ideological shift was slow and it underwent many phases.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Abraham Lincoln is considered the greatest President to have ever lived. He is credited with crushing the rebellion of the south and keeping the United States together. He worked for the people of different races and provide them with the basic rights and freedom from slavery.

The Republican shift can be traced from 1912 when there was a deep ideological shift in the party regarding the inclination to be dominant in the southern states. The party had 19 presidents (including the current Donald Trump). The main motto of the party had always been a reduction in tax, strong immigration laws, and free trade policy. The current support of the Republicans can be seen among the Protestant Christians, white-dominated areas, rural areas, Silent Generations (people born in1928–1945).

Americans strong resistant to immigrants and Islamophobia along with resentment with Afro- American which still exists is quite visible in the stand and populism which Trump is cashing in.

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

In 1973, a lawsuit was filed against Trump and Trump management on account of racist discrimination against Afro-American employ. which was settled with the apology. The regressive views of president Trump after the presidency can be seen in the views and policies he framed.

TIMELINE

Immigration policy: Executive order passed banning Syrian refugees from entering the county. temporarily halted immigration from six countries Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.

Judicial appointment until June 2020: it presents an alarming situation when all of the two hundred nominations he made were white and only very few were black at the apex court, appeal courts, and trade courts.

Remarks which made headline regarding Nigeria and Haiti: Newyork times reports that trump on hearing the name associated Haiti to people with AIDS and Nigerians to people who would never go back to their huts.

Pardoning the racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Trump pardoned and named Joe Arpaio as the great American Nationalist. Joe Arpaio was accused of humiliating and using torture on Hispanic teens and his racist driven policing.

Chinese Virus: after the COVID-19 outbreak and the inefficient leadership response, which caused great casualties in America. Trump was outspoken on various occasions for the word China-Virus, associating the virus and its impact on the world with China.

Geoge Floyd incident: Trump went extreme and commented “ When the looting starts, shooting starts”. Which caused great outrage among the Afro- Americans.

Trump in an interview said he had done more for blacks in America than Abraham Lincoln (Abe). The Abe did good but the end was questionable, he remarked

White Power controversy: Trump in a tweet supported White Power, calling them great people. White Power is a controversial group hailing white supremacy, neo-nazi stand, and being racist.

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

FINAL WORDS

These all depict the great shift that underwent from the greatest proponent of the equality to the greatest opponent of the equality. The Grand Old Party (GOP) is in a great transformation. The current stand is popular among the white supremacist and is considered a great strategy going into elections 2020. The populist influence is likely to take place in the current elections.