Why Trump's Opponents All Failed | Opinion

The Iowa caucuses are upon us and with them, the first real test of former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's strength in a dwindling field of primary challengers. From the beginning of the Republican primary contest, Trump has dominated the field, but even as it narrows, none of his challenges have been able to get within single digits of the former president in polls.

The reason for this is that to win over the hearts and minds of Republican voters, the candidates needed two things: a clear policy agenda for conservative and working-class voters, and a clear explanation for why they were better to achieve that agenda than Trump. And no candidate was able to convincingly pair those two components together.

The only Republican candidate who had any real interest in sparring with Trump ended his campaign this week. Chris Christie was the only primary candidate who consistently attacked Donald Trump with any fervor. While any voter would expect these attacks on the former president from the Republican competition, Christie made a miscalculation in essentially framing his entire campaign around doing only that. This doomed his campaign from the start. Aside from not being politically formidable enough (there is a particular style and presence required that Christie just doesn't have), he sounded too much like the type of person the typical Republican voter is most suspicious of: a raving, agitated, Trump-obsessed Democrat. He could have avoided this dangerous association by pairing brutal and consistent jabs at Trump with a clear, productive conservative policy vision that speaks to voters' actual concerns. Since he couldn't achieve this, he was viewed as little more than a never-Trump mouthpiece. It's the voice Republicans voters associate with America's decline.

The fear surrounding the state of the country is also why no other Republican candidate can gain ground on Trump. People are on edge at the thought of a weakened and vulnerable America, and Republican voters feel that half of the country hates them and views them as half-wits. The smugness and elitist posture of many on the Left in politics and media display toward conservative citizens reinforces this perception on a daily basis. To combat the feeling of insecurity, Republican voters demand a formidable and politically hulking presence right now to lead the party.

And here's where Trump comes into it: In the face of the civic, social, and moral anxiety experienced by conservative America and the constant sneering of the Leftist and even GOP establishment elites, many on the Right are convinced that Trump is the only one willing to fight for them without selling out—or getting run over. Trump has earned the perception of being a political champion for the underdog. He represents not just resistance to progressive ideology and policy, but a beacon of hope for the progression of conservative interests.

So intense has this perception become that I find his almost messianic political status a bit disturbing at times, but many view him as the only person who can take on the political machine that would otherwise snuff them out. Indeed, no one can doubt Trump's ability to persist and steamroll his way to getting what he wants. Whether you think he is a conservative bull moose or a wailing man child, Trump did make a lot of what he promised to do for his supporters actually happen.

This is why, if he isn't chucked off the ballot by his political opposition, Trump will be the Republican nominee. Former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the two major candidates left standing, will never be able to triumph in the primaries because they campaigned as subordinates.

Neither was able to pair a clear policy vision with consistent, aggressive attacks on the man who voters have consistently viewed as the superior candidate. Haley and DeSantis may be able to garner a bit more faith in their ability to execute a policy vision than Christie did, but they lacked what Christie had—the willingness to go after Trump in the manner that a competitor worth taking seriously should.

If it wasn't clear before, it is now: Haley and DeSantis are fighting for second place. And not only is that politically clunky, it's also more indicative of personal ambition than it is of devotion to conservative America.

And to a hurting conservative America, there is only one thing as bad as sounding like the deranged Left, and it's a politician more focused on playing it safe than muscling their way forward aggressively without gimmicks.

Most politicians think their supporters are too stupid to see this about them—or too apathetic to care about it. But conservative America is not apathetic right now, and we see it plain as day. It will hurt them in the long term. Running for second is the behavior of a political operative as opposed to a political force of nature. And the emergence of a formidable, conservative behemoth is the political mandate of the Republican Party right now.

Trump's demagoguery is unattractive to me and many other conservatives. But therein lies the problem: Conservatives would rather have an aggressive demagogue that they trust to fight for real policy initiatives that matter to them over a calculating and cautious politician protecting personal prospects. If Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis can't come out and prove they aren't the latter, Trump will be the Republican nominee. And their patty-cake campaigns may cost them dearly in '28, just as it likely will in '24.

Skyler Adleta is an electrician. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.