Trump's Leninist midterm pitch

The GOP is not functioning like a small-d democratic party. Instead, they're embracing the tactics of a Leninist vanguard party.

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Mark Wilson/Getty Images, Lebrecht Music & Arts/Alamy Stock Photo)

The president of the United States is making his closing argument for next Tuesday's midterm elections: Vote for the GOP because the Democratic Party places the good of illegal immigrants, many of whom are cop-killing sociopaths, ahead of the good of the country and the American people.

This is an almost comically tendentious and radioactively nativist message. But that's where President Trump has taken the GOP: away from acting like a small-d democratic party and instead embracing the tactics of a Leninist vanguard party.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.