Donald Trump: republican, democrat, or just an opportunist?

UPDATED: Nov 8, 2024 16:10 IST

Former Republican president Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential elections. With this, he has scripted history as the only former president to be re-elected for a non-consecutive term in the White House.
Undoubtedly, today, Trump is the image of the quintessential Republican – from his protectionist border policies, regressive position on women’s reproductive rights, and pro-business position, to campaigning with evangelical Christians. But this was not always the case.

Not only did he not have a real opinion on the abortion issue in the past, in the late 90s he also publicly supported legalisation of drugs. At one time, Donald Trump was not only a supporter of the Democrat party but also a Democrat himself. He was a registered Democratic party member for 8 years between 2001 and 2009.

Trump: the Democrat

In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in 2004, he said that ‘in many cases’, he identified more as a Democrat than Republican, that the economy invariably did better under the Democrats than under Republicans, and that if he ever ran for office, he’d do better as a Democrat. Earlier in 1999, Donald Trump had proclaimed Republicans ‘too crazy right’.

After his brief two year stint with the Reform Party, Trump joined the democrats in 2001, and briefly considered standing in the 2004 presidential elections. He extended support to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary, but later endorsed Republican John McCain for president in the general election.

He then registered as a Republican for two years between 2009 and 2011, and then as an independent till 2012, before finally joining the Republican party. Nevertheless, 2012 marks his final transition to becoming a Republican – one started in 1987 when he first registered as a Republican. Interestingly, when he rejoined, conservatives feared that he was trying to sabotage the GOP at behest of the Democrats, especially the Clintons.

Donations and political position

Trump donated – twice – to the campaign of now defeated democratic presidential candidate, and then California Governor Kamala Harris in 2011 and in 2013 – while being registered as a Republican. He however dismissed this as a business strategy during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Before entering politics, he had also made donations to Democrats including then-Senators Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, and California governor Gavin Newsom. Before 2011, a majority share of Trump’s listed donations went to the Democrats.

Who really is Donald Trump?

Trump’s initial attempts at a political career were not taken seriously, and were often assessed as attempts to promote his reality show The Apprentice, and by extension, his real business. Interestingly, just before the 2024 presidential election, John Miller, the CMO for the show, apologised for creating the false image of ‘a successful Trump’.

Donald Trump has clearly been around for a long time, tasting and testing the waters of different political positions. And finally settling around one, where he saw reasonable scope for ascendency to power. Clearly, he made the right choice. Trump the Republican will now be the U.S. president for a second time!

Not a lot of details are known about his frequent flip-flopping, but what one can say with absolute certainty is that the political ambition of the businessman trumps his ideological positions. Every time. Trump’s desire to access elite circles and receive validation from the American elite have determined his political choices. He is decidedly politically inconsistent. Moreover, donations to parties and legislators are widely accepted ways to influence decisions. The donations to Harris were made at a time when Donald Trump was facing a class action on defrauding students through his university.

Power—and, in Trump’s case, business interests—lose out to ideological clarity and commitment—big time!