Rather than push his party to the sidelines, as President Obama did to the Democratic Party, Trump has given the Republican Party a central role in his reelection campaign and enabled it to reap the benefits of the experience. For example, before COVID-19 stay-at-home orders took effect, Trump's large “personality cult” campaign rallies were also carefully orchestrated party-building events designed for “massive data capturing,” new donor recruitment, volunteer outreach, activist training, message testing, and base-building. Second, he has amalgamated his 2020 reelection campaign with the party apparatus, creating a “single, streamlined entity,” and invested heavily in its organizational capacities. He has thoroughly personalized its organization, deployed it instrumentally to promote his personal brand of politics, and used carrots and sticks to root out opponents, stifle dissent, and demand fealty to his administration from elected Republicans at all levels of government.

First and most conspicuously, he has achieved unparalleled dominance over the Republican Party.

Recent reports have drawn attention to two defining characteristics of President Trump’s first-term party leadership. This article examines Trump’s party leadership to date, compares it to previous presidential party leadership projects, and considers the implications. By setting into motion a mutually reinforcing cycle of party domination and base mobilization, and amplifying its effects through organizational investment, Trump has turned his party into a formidable vehicle for advancing his personal purposes and augmenting his power – while raising troubling questions about the stability of American democracy. Instead of trying to diversify the GOP and extend its reach, his strategy aims to swell the number of like-minded supporters who are active in electoral and party politics (while suppressing, demobilizing, and delegitimizing the opposition party). Rather than fan out horizontally in search of new groups to join the party coalition, Trump’s strategy drills down vertically to penetrate and deepen his base. Trump, in contrast, has (thus far) predominantly pursued a base-mobilization strategy. Reaching out to new demographic groups and trying to persuade them to join the party was integral to this project. Previous Republican presidents dominated and invested in their party for the explicit purpose of building a new majority in American politics. Where Trump’s party leadership diverges qualitatively from past patterns is in its apparent purposes. This dual approach to party leadership – domination paired with organizational investment – bears a strong resemblance to the way every Republican president since Eisenhower interacted with his party, different only in degree. He has also given his party a central role in his reelection campaign and invested heavily in its organizational capacities.

Since the 2016 election, President Trump has achieved unparalleled dominance over the Republican Party.

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