Rhetoric and Reality in the United States of America: Trump, Populism, and Health Policy

There is no formal national populist radical right party (PRR) in the U.S. Rather, the PRR is led by political actors within existing parties, like Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Trump exhibits predisposition to PRR through his xenophobic, authoritarian, and populist policies. Yet, health policy under the Trump administration has delivered few concrete policies, PRR or otherwise. Where Trump has had policy success is with welfare and liberal chauvinistic policies, which seek to rein in the role of government in the welfare state and deny benefits to out-groups, such as minorities and immigrants. These policy successes include changes to the public welfare Medicaid program and the public charge rule. These policy successes have occurred because of its overlap with the policy preferences of the broader Republican Party. The U.S. failed response to COVID-19 is due in part to Trump’s reliance on PRR policies. While Donald Trump lost his bid for re-election in 2020, his candidacy and administration provides a blueprint for future officials to leverage PRR policy for electoral success, while also further establishing PRR policies within the Republican Party.