King Trump Reigns Supreme in GOP

There is no “crack up” among the Republican Party base over President Donald J. Trump, a popular narrative that has been churning in the news media since 2016. However, this storyline has become especially magnified due to Trump’s plummeting overall approval rating of 36%, his failed policy agenda, rampant illegal activity within the administration, and a wholesale embrace of mass corruption since his second inauguration.

Several days before Thanksgiving, Trump pronounced on Truth Social that “The Republican Party has never been so UNITED AS IT iS RIGHT NOW!” This may sound like the typical Trump hyperbole and balderdash, but he is correct if we are considering the views of Republican Party voters and not just the handful of Beltway Republicans willing to talk off the record with Beltway reporters about their frustrations with the president and his chaotic administration.

 

Sure, folks like Senator Rand Paul and Representative Majorie Taylor Greene have been more assertive in their pushback to Trump as of late, but they are also a poor proxy for the mood of most Republicans in Congress who are alarmingly loyal to him and Republican voters who remain steadfast in their enchantment and compliance with Trump. Additionally, you have to consider that Paul has long criticized Trump going back to Trump’s aggressive takedown of Paul in the GOP debates of summer 2015 and Greene is unadulterated kook that makes the old John Birch Society look mainstream.

 

Yesterday, Axios released a report by Neal Rothschild bearing the headline, “Republican unity crumbles as America's mood sours.” The truth is that Republican Party unity with Trump and Trumpism seems unshakable when considering the party’s actual voting base. For full disclosure, Axios is one of my most preferred news sources about American politics and one that I recommend that my students use both inside and outside of my classes. My criticism of them here is less about what they are reporting and more so about how the narrative is being framed. Allow me to explain.

 

America under Trump 2.0 is a dog’s breakfast. The economy is faltering, consumer confidence stinks, inflation is running rampant, tariffs are causing prices to spike, the administration is engaged in illegal and dubious actives left and right, the president is routinely threatening nations that pose no threat to the United States, ICE is causing fear to permeate American communities, and poor GOP policy is causing health care premiums to spike for millions.

 

Despite all of this, actual GOP voters within the electorate are not abandoning—and I am willing to predict—will never abandon their hero and leader, Donald J. Trump.

 

A poll released by IPSOS on December 5, 2025 told us that Trump is the King of GOP Land:

• Over 80% of Republicans approve of Trump (see table below from IPSOS).
• Despite the hullaballoo of the past 11 months, only 7% of those who voted for Trump in 2024 regret that decision. This is mainly driven by non-whites and voters 18-39 who uncharacteristically backed Trump last year and have buyer’s remorse.
• 77% of all Republicans say they “personally identify with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) Movement,” the same percentage who said this upon Trump’s inauguration in January.

Trump’s problem is not with the Republican Party if you believe as I do that the concept of “the party” is defined by the party’s voters. With that segment of the electorate, he is rock-solid and likely to remain in that position. You can see this by the way in with Speaker Johnson and the congressional Republicans meekly follow his orders, candidates for GOP nominations in 2026 agonizingly kiss his rings and FIFA Peace Prize, and the Republican media machine lionizes him more than ever.

Realistically, Trump’s problems include hemorrhaging support among Independents who lean Republican, losing non-white and younger voters who defied past election practices and backed him in 2024, and those who seriously doubt his administration’s ability to make life in America more affordable as he promised would be done by his administration “on day one.”

 

As of December 2025, the Republican Party is still the Party of Trump. It is unified in support of the president, there is no evidence that the Republican electorate is wavering, and Trump will undoubtedly be his party’s key player when it comes to influencing GOP primaries in the 2026 midterm election cycle. 

Shrader’s Monday Morning Straight Talk

 For the folks who thought Biden was too old and Harris was too Black or female, none of this fascist remaking of our country would be happening under them:

> Higher education is being gutted and rebuilt in the regime’s image.

> American cities are targets for military occupation and subjugation without cause.

> They’ve shut down the government to inflict mass pain on the most vulnerable Americans. 

> They’re ballooning the $38 trillion national debt to slash and burn vital programs and benefits we rely on. 

> Their tariffs are making life worse for everyone in the U.S. as the cost of living grows unabated. 

> ICE—who we fund—is being used as the regime’s enforcers of state sanctioned white supremacy.

> People are being told their identities no longer exist.

> They’re building third world style prisons but not expanding healthcare. 

> Their policy choices are actually causing death, disease, and suffering abroad. 

> POTUS is using his office to engineer a massive real estate deal/land grab and in Gaza while enabling mass starvation.

> Putin continues to assail innocent Ukrainians without repercussions. 

> They are launching illegal attacks on Venezuela.

> The regime is supressing the Epstein files. 

The list can go on for ages, but what are we collectively going to do to stop it ?

Iran: Politics and Nuance Both Matter

I have a multitude of thoughts swirling around regarding the increasingly dire situation between Israel, the United States, and Iran. I will have time to write more later, but I wanted to share some of the the brief thoughts I intend to discuss with my Global Issues class today. 

Please email me at doctorshrader@gmail.com or comment below on other such nuanced points we ought to be considering, and I'll share them with my class (with full anonymity, of course).

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

1—Iran should never have nuclear weapons and 85% of Americans agree (June Harvard/Harris/Caps poll), but there is no verified intelligence showing they are in possession of such weapons.

2—Regime change in Iran is a long-time coming, but who could own the rebuilding of the country’s government other than the US and American taxpayers?

3—The U.S. can support Israel, yet be highly suspect of Netanyahu and his political schemes.

4—Israel doesn’t need a permission slip to defend itself if legitimately threatened, but that doesn’t mean it ought to act with impunity.

5—Trump ran as the “peace candidate,” but doesn’t give a flying damn about any promises or commitments he has ever made.

Bonus: Why has the United States willingly given Israel and Netanyahu full consideration on everything they have demanded or asked for, yet has made Ukraine--who is in the fight of its life and on the front line of defending democracy--jump through hoops for continued support? 

The GOP Death Cult Thrives

I just had the most surreal experience at my local barber shop here in Manchester, NH that reminded me exactly how deeply our nation’s present crisis truly runs. 

After a few minutes of sitting next to one another, an older gentleman in the waiting area started chatting. Sadly, he said that he is suffering from lung cancer and lost his apartment. He fortunately received government assistance to find a new, smaller place and relies on Meals on Wheels and food stamps to eat. He also told me he survives on his pension, but fears that it may go away all together or be drastically reduced. 

When the man arose for his turn in the big chair, he turned to shake my hand. I immediately noticed he was sporting a Trump hat! 

Despite the nightmare scenario he is living through, the fact that he relies upon vital programs Trump and company wish to terminate, and the administration’s overt fetish for inflicting as much pain as possible on the most vulnerable among us, this individual remains loyal to the cult. 

It is immensely discouraging to see people making their own lives—and those of hundreds of millions both here and globally—worse because of their senseless and irrational devotion to the Trump/MAGA/Republican Party death cult. 

Generally, I am an optimist in the mold of Ronald Reagan and Jack Kennedy, but it is nearly impossible to maintain said optimism about the future of our nation and the future of democracy when you experience these tragedies in real-life. 

We all have an obligation to defend America  and the people from this death cult that was once a proud, great political party. However, it is nearly impossible to do so when our fellow citizens live in an alternate universe of denial, irrationality, and fear. 

Trump Week 1: A Petty Tyrant Returns to the White House

 

It has been just over one week since Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the leader of nearly 90 Episcopal congregations in DC and Maryland did her Christian duty by publicly urging President Trump—with POTUS and his family seated nearby—to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now… There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives.” 

Let’s just say that, in typical Trumpian fashion, the 47^th president did not react well, taking to Truth Social to attack Bishop Budde and bringing down a torrent of MAGA-driven rage upon the prelate.

 

So, one week later, how does all this hold up? Well, Donald Trump has shown mercy on the 1500 domestic terrorists he released from our prisons and/or pardoned for the attempted coup on January 6, 2021. He’s show mercy on the world’s most powerful billionaires who kissed his rings at the inauguration, and he’s shown mercy for Project 2025.

 

In the meantime, Trump has sought to inflict pain on the most vulnerable by denying the existence of trans Americans, ending safe haven for migrants at churches and schools, rounding up and deporting people in our communities, unilaterally suspending all federal loans and grants, freezing all humanitarian and foreign aid, illegally trying to end birthright citizenship, likely crippling the World Health Organization, and upending efforts to reduce the costs of life-saving prescription drugs. He is also making intentional decisions to harm Black and Latino communities, despite drawing increased support from such voters last year.

 

As expected, Trump learned the wrong lesson. 

Aristotle is credited with saying that “Fear is the pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” Congratulations, Mr. President. You have achieved your objective in week one.

My Philadelphia Inquirer Op/Ed: History Will Vindicate Joe Biden

 

 

January 17, 2025

History will vindicate Joe Biden

Our 46th president has proven to be a person who not only talked the talk but walked the walk of middle-class values for over five decades in public life.

Nathan R. Shrader | Page: A13 | Section: Opinion

 Weblink: https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/biden-administration-legacy-history-20250116.html

I am convinced that several decades from now, President Joe Biden will be considered among the finest presidents in the history of the United States of America.

Sure, there have been flaws in the Biden administration, as with every presidency, but in great measure, President Biden has presided over the country with determination, patriotism, success, and sanity at a time when the nation was most in need of such a leader.

Although Biden is departing office with an approval rating in the red, currently sitting at -19.2% as of Wednesday, we know polls are simply snapshots in time and not indicative of the long-term arc of American political history. Just ask a few other presidents who were disparaged at the time of their departure from the Oval Office.

Several commanders in chief have seen a remarkable rehabilitation of the prevailing historical view of their respective presidencies decades after leaving office. For example, in the 2021 CSPAN Presidential Historians Survey, Dwight D. Eisenhower was rated fifth among all former presidents. Compare that with back in 1962, just a year after leaving office, when Arthur M. Schlesinger’s survey of presidential historians placed Ike as 22. In the same 1962 Schlesinger survey, Ulysses S. Grant ranked 30 of 31, but by 2021 historians moved him up to No. 20 of 44. More recently, Ronald Reagan experienced a similar reversal of fortunes, moving up from 25th in Schlesinger’s 1996 rankings to ninth in the 2021 CSPAN survey.

Our view of past presidents is always in flux.

The point is that judging a president’s place in history during or immediately following their presidency is risky business. Historians, political scientists, journalists, and the American public need time to properly evaluate our presidents after departing the White House.

Decades, or even centuries, later, their successes and failures are viewed in a different light when removed from their own eras. I would not be surprised if my students 30 years from now will read considerably different reviews of the Biden presidency than they will when he leaves office on Jan. 20.

During the final year of his presidency, Biden has become a convenient scapegoat. He is falsely blamed for our present inflation situation, is routinely faulted by some fellow Democrats for their recent electoral ills, and Republicans have been trying to sabotage his presidency before he even took office with unfounded accusations of corruption, incompetence, and malfeasance.

Because he is a lifelong creature of Washington, Biden became an easy target for spinmeisters who were more interested in his " stiff gait" or his footwear than in the actual achievements of his administration and his unwavering optimism.

The passage of time will show the historic economic growth under Biden, booming job creation, his firm and steady hand guiding the free world through a war started by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, scores of actions taken to protect the environment, saving Americans over $1.5 billion in lifesaving prescription drug costs, staunch support for women’s rights, unwavering commitment to working people, and a steadfast defense of democracy at home and abroad.

Perhaps more so than others, the Delaware Valley should be thankful for Biden’s leadership. For 36 years in the U.S. Senate, Biden functioned much like a third senator for Pennsylvania. He always looked out for the interests of the state of his birth, even during his eight years as vice president and four years as president.

For example, thanks to Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, the city of Philadelphia alone will have received over $531.5 million just for city infrastructure projects presenting tangible progress. Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act aided Bucks County with over $122 million to negate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, water and sewer infrastructure, and public health. Throughout the Keystone State, over 800,000 people will save nearly $500 annually due to Biden’s law lowering prescription drug costs that take effect this year.

As Biden himself might say, "Not a joke," especially since it is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what his administration has done to benefit middle- and working-class people in the Philly metro area and nationwide.

One day my children and grandchildren will likely look back on America in the Biden administration as "the good old days" when one of the most capable, ethical, and honorable men to ever lead the country was at the helm.

Our 46th president has proven to be a person who not only talked the talk of middle-class values but walked the walk of middle-class values for over five decades in public life.

As the old Irish proverb I’ve heard Biden invoke many times in his career suggests, "May the road rise to meet you," Joe.

Our nation will eventually recognize the enormity of your service and the magnitude of your accomplishments.

Nathan R. Shrader is a graduate of Temple University and a former resident of East Kensington. He serves as associate professor of politics and co-director of the Center for Civic Engagement at New England College in Henniker, N.H.

Shrader Column: Joe Versus the Volcano of Outrage (Concord Monitor, 12/10/24)

  

Thanks to The Concord Monitor for running my op/ed on President Biden's use of the pardon for his son:

https://www.concordmonitor.com/My-Turn-Joe-Versus-the-Volcano-of-Outrage-NH-58339148