Why do I criticize Trump so much if I'm conservative? I expect better from GOP. | Opinion
I'm more conservative than the vast majority of those people might think. But I believe it's more important to be critical of your party than it is to cover up deficiencies.
I receive dozens of emails weekly from people labelling me a RINO, a Democrat in disguise, or a cog in the left wing propaganda machine. Naturally, these emails don’t warrant a response, but they do raise an interesting question collectively.
Why is it so bad to criticize my party or the people leading it?
The people who attack my frequent criticism of President Donald Trump and the direction of the Republican Party are wrong about my motivations. I’m more conservative than the vast majority of those people might think. But I believe it's more important to be critical of your party than it is to cover up deficiencies.
We should not be scared of criticizing our leaders as a way to strengthen conservatives in the future. The GOP will become weaker if we are unwilling to point out its blemishes.
The Trump administration lacks the moral foundation and conservative principles to truly represent a conservative outlook on American politics. Trump's expansion of power for himself, disregard for norms and the law, and his own character problems warrant criticism from those who claim to be conservative.
I'm critical of Trump and the GOP in hopes of making it better
It is true that I still agree with the GOP platform far more than I do with the Democrats', which many people find hard to square with the majority of my columns.
But I'm harder on the GOP because I expect more from conservatives. Before Trump, Republicans had a consistent belief system rooted in a handful of core principles, such as limited government and free markets. Now, that is just not true.
Today's GOP is abandoning that structure by supporting policy ideas like the expansion of tariffs, challenges to the separation of powers, and a blind alliance of the party to Trump. Even Congress has decided against legislating a conservative agenda despite having control of both chambers.
We see this in the news media, as well.
Many conservatives in the media approach their coverage as a balancing of the mainstream outlets, which generally do favor Democrats, especially in the Trump era. These people ask softball questions, provide cover for Republicans and excuse away Trump's behavior. Organizations like Fox News do little better the Republican Party by catering to it.
This approach is unproductive for several reasons. By protecting Republican politicians, conservative media limits the flow of information to red state voters. Voters then become less informed, and more likely to base their decisions on that limited information.
That's fine if you want a voter base with a fraction of the information. I don't.
Holding conservatives to the proper standards is part of making conservatism stronger. Iron sharpens iron, and if we want to produce the best candidates, we have no business taking it easy on conservative leaders, even if we’re on the same team.
Republicans have decided winning is all that matters
The start of the moral decline was when the Republican Party allowed Trump to be its presidential nominee, despite his many character issues.
The rationale for supporting Trump in 2016 was that holding your nose and voting for him was worth it because he was better than the alternative. A similar reasoning was employed in 2024, although by then more of the Republican Party had become Trump die-hards despite his 2020 loss.
The teardown of the party's principles led to the reshaping of the GOP for the single purpose of enabling Trump to win elections without regard for the long-term consequences. His administration operates with minimal checks and balances because of Republican acceptance.
This is why I’ve been willing to abstain from voting for Trump in the last two election cycles and will remain critical of policies I disagree with. His removal from the GOP is more important than winning any election.
I do not believe that one election can doom the country. I do, however, believe that several consecutive election cycles that tear down political norms can stress the fabric of our Republic, which is precisely what the “win at all costs” attitude has done to our country over the past decade.
Republicans should make decisions based on what is good for conservatism in the long run, rather than their short-term election prospects. I know this is an unrealistic ask. But I'll keep asking ‒ and people can keep emailing me about how they disagree.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.