Trump's takeover: In a redefined GOP, populism and a new coalition. Goodbye, old guard

MILWAUKEE − It's his party.

Donald Trump's takeover of the GOP has been on full display at the Republican National Convention − an even more complete transformation than at the two previous conventions that nominated him and propelled him to four years in the White House.

With a big win in 2016 and a volatile loss in 2020, Trump has managed to replace Ronald Reagan as the party's touchstone, excised the Bush dynasty that had been a political power and launched two presidencies, and pummeled the ranks of moderate Republicans into flight or silence.

His chief primary rival, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, drew both cheers and boos when she was introduced on the convention stage Tuesday night. During her campaign, she had denounced Trump as "dangerous" and "unhinged."

"We should acknowledge that there are some Americans who don't agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time," she said. "I happen to know some of them." There was a scattered laughter at that.

"My message to them is simple: You don't have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me. I haven't always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree," and she delivered a call for Republican unity and her "strong endorsement, period."

Another primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, spoke next, embracing Trump. A third, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, did the same.

Not on the program was former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, a primary contender who was critical of Trump and hasn't endorsed him. A year ago, he declared he wouldn't vote for a convicted felon for president − an unprecedented status that Trump has since attained.

But even Hutchinson is no longer so certain about that, saying in an interview that he has been impressed by Trump's call for national unity in the aftermath of the assassination attempt he survived at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday.

"I said it, and I meant it," he said of his pledge. "But a lot has changed since that moment."

It's now possible he will vote for Trump, too.

A realignment, 'Trump-style'

When Trump announced his first bid for the presidency, with that iconic ride down the escalator at Trump Tower, Republicans were split in their welcome. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll in July 2015, 42% of Republicans had a favorable opinion of him, only a tick higher than the 40% who had an unfavorable one.

That's changed. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk poll this July, Republicans had a positive view of him that was approaching universal, at 87%.

There's also been a shift in the views of groups considered part of the Democratic base. Among Black voters, Trump's favorable rating has nearly doubled, from 11% to 19% − still low, but a warning sign to Democrats who for decades have relied on solid Black support.

The favorable rating for Trump among Hispanic voters has doubled during those nine years, too, from 18% to 37%.

Since Trump's emergence as the face of the GOP, an analysis by the Pew Research Center shows the GOP remains overwhelmingly white, but a bit less so. Now, the party is 79% non-Hispanic white, compared with a near monolithic 93% in 1996.

Republicans have also gained support among blue-collar workers and lost it among the most highly educated voters, some of whom have moved to the Democratic Party.

Trump has forged his distinctive coalition with a message that is suspicious of elites, leery of foreign entanglements, energized by opposition to illegal immigration, willing to disrupt traditional norms.

"It's less about ideology and more about personal philosophy and personal circumstance," Frank Luntz, a pollster and communications analyst with roots in the GOP, said in an interview. "If you feel ignored, forgotten, betrayed; if you feel the elite doesn't understand you, doesn't care about you, and you've been left behind − that's the new Republican Party."

The sight on the convention stage Monday night of a significant number of blue-collar and Black speakers, delivering speeches that criticized corporate America and the status quo, reflected "the realignment of American politics, Trump-style," he said.

Missing in action: The old guard

Consider who wasn't speaking at the convention, or even attending it.

The ranks of the missing included the party's only living former president, George W. Bush, who rarely speaks publicly about politics.

Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, a persona non grata since he refused Trump's entreaties to try to overthrow their defeat in 2020. And Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee; he's decided not to run for reelection this year.

When veteran Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was recognized during the roll call in the convention hall Monday, casting Kentucky's delegation in support of Trump, his words were drowned out by a cascade of "boos" from other conventioneers.

Many of the Republican voices who opposed Trump at the start have now left the party, fallen silent or joined the ranks of the converted.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, for one, who ran against Trump for the 2016 nomination and failed. When he spoke to the Republican convention in Cleveland that summer, he created a firestorm when he pointedly declined to endorse Trump. "Stand and speak and vote your conscience," he said as an angry chant of "We want Trump!" rose in the hall.

Since then, Cruz has taken pains to reconcile with Trump. He was rewarded with a three-minute speaking slot Tuesday night. This time, he left no doubt whom he was endorsing.

His opening words: "God bless Donald J. Trump!"

The rising figures at the convention included several named Trump − son Donald Trump Jr. and daughter-in-law Lara Trump − and Trump's hand-picked running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a MAGA convert now poised to become his political heir.

A new platform, passed by acclamation

During this week, Trump and his team have determined who speaks from the dais and reviewed beforehand what they would say. They overhauled the platform to cut some conservative positions and add some populist priorities.

The party's 40-year commitment to a national abortion ban? Gone.

The emphasis in the last platform, drafted in 2016, to cut fiscal deficits? Nowhere to be seen.

The previous platform's endorsement of expanding free-trade agreements with friendly foreign nations? That was replaced by a promise to increase tariffs on foreign imports, to deport millions of undocumented immigrants − endorsing the policies and often echoing the language that Trump uses on the campaign stump.

The delegates shouted their approval of the platform on Monday, by acclamation. There were only a handful of shouted objections in the hall.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's takeover: In a redefined GOP, populism and a new coalition. Goodbye, old guard