Editing Republican Party (United States) (section)

==== Trump era ====
{{Main|First presidency of Donald Trump|Second presidency of Donald Trump|Trumpism}}
[[File:Donald Trump official portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Donald Trump]], the 45th president (2017–2021) and elected 47th president]]

In [[2016 United States presidential election|the 2016 presidential election]], Republican nominee [[Donald Trump]] defeated Democratic nominee [[Hillary Clinton]]. The result was unexpected; polls leading up to the election showed Clinton leading the race.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/12-days-stunned-nation-how-hillary-clinton-lost-n794131|title=12 days that stunned a nation: How Hillary Clinton lost|website=[[NBC News]]|date=August 23, 2017|access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128124221/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/12-days-stunned-nation-how-hillary-clinton-lost-n794131|url-status=live}}</ref> Trump's victory was fueled by narrow victories in three states—[[Michigan]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Wisconsin]]—that had been part of the [[Blue wall (U.S. politics)|Democratic blue wall]] for decades.<ref name= "elites">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/donald-trump-republican-party/presidency|title=How Trump won and proved everyone wrong with his populist message|website=[[NBC News]] Specials|date=December 14, 2016|access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108102242/https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/donald-trump-republican-party/presidency/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was attributed to strong support amongst working-class white voters, who felt dismissed and disrespected by the political establishment.<ref name="campani" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/upshot/why-trump-won-working-class-whites.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109094913/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/upshot/why-trump-won-working-class-whites.html |archive-date=November 9, 2016 |url-access=limited|url-status=live|title=Why Trump Won: Working-Class Whites|first=Nate|last=Cohn|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 9, 2016|access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref> Trump became popular with them by abandoning Republican establishment orthodoxy in favor of a broader nationalist message.<ref name= "elites" /> His election accelerated the Republican Party's shift towards right-wing populism and resulted in decreasing influence among its conservative factions.{{efn|name="RWP"}}

After [[2016 United States elections|the 2016 elections]], Republicans [[2016 United States Senate elections|maintained their majority in the Senate]], [[2016 United States House of Representatives elections|the House]], and [[2016 United States gubernatorial elections|governorships]], and wielded newly acquired executive power with Trump's election. The Republican Party controlled 69 of 99 state legislative chambers in 2017, the most it had held in history.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/republicans-expand-control-in-a-deeply-divided-nation.html?_r=0|title=Republicans Expand Control in a Deeply Divided Nation|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 11, 2016 |access-date=February 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119193906/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/republicans-expand-control-in-a-deeply-divided-nation.html?_r=0|archive-date=November 19, 2016|url-status=live|last1=Bosman |first1=Julie |last2=Davey |first2=Monica }}</ref> The Party also held 33 governorships,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-2017-2018-governors-races-predictions.html|title=2017–2018 Governors' Races: Where Power Is Most and Least Likely to Flip|date=January 3, 2017|website=Governing|access-date=January 28, 2024|archive-date=January 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128024618/https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-2017-2018-governors-races-predictions.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the most it had held since 1922.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-11-09/republicans-expand-control-of-governorships-legislatures|title=Republicans Governorships Rise to Highest Mark Since 1922|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915132840/https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-11-09/republicans-expand-control-of-governorships-legislatures|archive-date=September 15, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The party had total control of government in 25 states;<ref>{{cite news|title=Republican governorships rise to highest mark since 1922|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-11-09/republicans-expand-control-of-governorships-legislature|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|date=November 6, 2016|first=David A.|last=Lieb|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=Amber|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/12/these-3-maps-show-just-how-dominant-republicans-are-in-america-after-tuesday/|title=These 3 maps show just how dominant Republicans are in America after Tuesday|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 12, 2016|access-date=November 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113061740/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/12/these-3-maps-show-just-how-dominant-republicans-are-in-america-after-tuesday/|archive-date=November 13, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> it had not held total control of this many states since 1952.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lieb|first1=David A.|title=GOP-Controlled States Aim to Reshape Laws|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-tribune/20161229/281822873464433|date=December 29, 2016|agency=Associated Press|access-date=December 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075054/https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-tribune/20161229/281822873464433|archive-date=December 31, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The opposing Democratic Party held full control of only five states in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Greenblatt|first1=Alan|title=Republicans Add to Their Dominance of State Legislatures|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/elections/gov-republicans-add-dominance-state-legislatures.html|date=November 9, 2016|work=[[Governing (magazine)|Governing]]|access-date=November 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116125852/http://www.governing.com/topics/elections/gov-republicans-add-dominance-state-legislatures.html|archive-date=November 16, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[2018 United States elections|the 2018 elections]], Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, but strengthened their hold on the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/2018-election-results-democrats-regain-control-house/575122/|title=The Democrats Are Back, and Ready to Take On Trump|first=David A.|last=Graham|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 7, 2018|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209204842/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/2018-election-results-democrats-regain-control-house/575122/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Over the course of his presidency, Trump appointed three justices to [[Supreme Court of the United States|the Supreme Court]]: [[Neil Gorsuch]], [[Brett Kavanaugh]], and [[Amy Coney Barrett]]. It was the most Supreme Court appointments for any president in a single term since [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Anita |date=September 26, 2020 |title=Trump's legacy is now the Supreme Court |work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/26/trump-legacy-supreme-court-422058 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-date=February 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216160832/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/26/trump-legacy-supreme-court-422058 |url-status=live }}</ref> Trump [[List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump|appointed 260 judges]] in total, creating [[Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts|overall Republican-appointed majorities on every branch of the federal judiciary]] except for the [[Court of International Trade]] by the time he left office, shifting the court system to the [[Right-wing politics|right]]. Other notable achievements during his presidency included the passing of the [[Tax Cuts and Jobs Act]] in 2017; the creation of the [[U.S. Space Force]], the first new independent military service since 1947; and the brokering of the [[Abraham Accords]], a series of normalization agreements between [[Israel]] and various [[Arab states]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 22, 2017 |title=Trump signs tax cut bill, first big legislative win |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-signs-tax-cut-bill-first-big-legislative-win-n832141 |website=[[NBC News]] |access-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-date=February 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208215849/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-signs-tax-cut-bill-first-big-legislative-win-n832141 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leonard  |first=David |date=December 21, 2019 |title=Trump Officially Establishes US Space Force with 2020 Defense Bill Signing |url=https://www.space.com/trump-creates-space-force-2020-defense-bill.html |website=Space.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603070522/https://www.space.com/trump-creates-space-force-2020-defense-bill.html |archive-date= Jun 3, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Forgey |first=Quint |date=September 15, 2020 |title='The dawn of a new Middle East': Trump celebrates Abraham Accords with White House signing ceremony |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/15/trump-abraham-accords-palestinians-peace-deal-415083 |website=[[Politico]] |access-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226143445/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/15/trump-abraham-accords-palestinians-peace-deal-415083 |url-status=live }}</ref> The second half of his term was increasingly controversial, as he implemented a [[Trump administration family separation policy|family separation policy for migrants]], deployed [[2020 deployment of federal forces in the United States|federal law enforcement forces]] in response to [[George Floyd protests|racial protests]] and reacted slowly to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] before clashing with health officials over testing and treatment.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Horwitz |first1=Sari |last2=Sacchetti |first2=Maria |date=7 May 2018 |title=Sessions vows to prosecute all illegal border crossers and separate children from their parents |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-says-justice-dept-will-prosecute-every-person-who-crosses-border-unlawfully/2018/05/07/e1312b7e-5216-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html |access-date=4 November 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Golden|first=Hallie|date=2020-07-25|title='That's an illegal order': veterans challenge Trump's officers in Portland|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/24/portland-trump-order-federal-officers-veterans-protests|access-date=2020-07-26|issn=0261-3077 |ref=none}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Achenbach|first=Joel|date=13 October 2020|title=Proposal to hasten herd immunity grabs White House attention, appalls top scientists|url=https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2020/10/13/proposal-to-hasten-herd-immunity-grabs-white-house-attention-appalls-top-scientists/|access-date=2020-10-19|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref> Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/trump-acquitted-in-impeachment-trial.html|title=Trump acquitted of both charges in Senate impeachment trial|last1=Wilkie|first1=Christina|last2=Breuninger|first2=Kevin|date=February 5, 2020|website=CNBC|access-date=February 26, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230033735/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/trump-acquitted-in-impeachment-trial.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Trump lost [[2020 United States presidential election|the 2020 presidential election]] to Democrat [[Joe Biden]]. He refused to concede the race, claiming widespread electoral fraud and [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|attempting to overturn the results]]. On January 6, 2021, the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|United States Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters]] following a rally at which Trump spoke. After the attack, the House [[Second impeachment of Donald Trump|impeached Trump for a second time]] on the charge of [[Sedition|incitement of insurrection]], making him the only federal officeholder to be impeached twice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/13/956449072/house-impeaches-trump-a-2nd-time-citing-insurrection-at-u-s-capitol|title=House Impeaches Trump A 2nd Time, Citing Insurrection At U.S. Capitol|first=Bill|last=Chappell|work=[[NPR]]|date=January 13, 2021|access-date=February 14, 2021|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220221620/https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/13/956449072/house-impeaches-trump-a-2nd-time-citing-insurrection-at-u-s-capitol|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|title=Trump Impeached for Inciting Insurrection|first=Nicholas|last=Fandos|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 13, 2021|access-date=February 14, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Trump left office on January 20, 2021. His impeachment trial continued into the early weeks of the [[Biden presidency]], and he was [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|acquitted on February 13, 2021]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-acquitted-impeachment-trial-7-gop-senators-vote-democrats-convict-n1257876|title=Trump acquitted in impeachment trial; 7 GOP Senators vote with Democrats to convict|first=Dareh|last=Gregorian|work=[[NBC News]]|date=February 13, 2021|access-date=February 14, 2021|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213205205/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-acquitted-impeachment-trial-7-gop-senators-vote-democrats-convict-n1257876|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the 2020 election, [[Election denial movement in the United States|election denial]] has become increasingly mainstream in the party,<ref name="c990">{{cite web |last1=Riccardi |first1=Nicholas |last2=Mascaro |first2=Lisa |date=2024-05-21 |title=Election deniers moving closer to GOP mainstream, report shows, as Trump allies fill Congress |url=https://apnews.com/article/congress-election-lies-2024-certification-president-460cde281d48e62e09e24c7573d6a9ff |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=AP |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521145524/https://apnews.com/article/congress-election-lies-2024-certification-president-460cde281d48e62e09e24c7573d6a9ff |url-status=live }}</ref> with the majority of 2022 Republican candidates being election deniers.<ref name="t387">{{cite news |last1=Blanco |first1=Adrián |last2=Wolfe |first2=Daniel |last3=Gardner |first3=Amy |date=2022-11-07 |title=Tracking which 2020 election deniers are winning, losing in the midterms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/election-deniers-midterms/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> The party also made [[Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election|efforts to restrict voting]] based on false claims of fraud.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Izaguirre|first1=Anthony|last2=Coronado|first2=Acacia|date=January 31, 2021|title=GOP lawmakers seek tougher voting rules after record turnout|url=https://apnews.com/article/bills-voting-rights-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-voter-registration-0e94844d72d2a2bf8b51b1c950bd64fc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131151357/https://apnews.com/article/bills-voting-rights-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-voter-registration-0e94844d72d2a2bf8b51b1c950bd64fc |access-date=January 17, 2023 |archive-date=January 31, 2021 |url-status=live|website=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=McCaskill|first=Nolan D.|date=March 15, 2021|title=After Trump's loss and false fraud claims, GOP eyes voter restrictions across nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315142648/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/15/voting-restrictions-states-475732 |archive-date=March 15, 2021 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/15/voting-restrictions-states-475732 |access-date=January 17, 2023 |url-status=live|website=[[Politico]]}}</ref> By 2020, the Republican Party had greatly shifted towards [[Illiberal democracy|illiberalism]] following the election of Trump,{{efn|name="Illiberalism"|Attributed to multiple sources:<ref name="Economist 10312020"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Encarnación |first=Omar G. |date=June 12, 2023 |title=Democratic Backsliding: Comparative Reflections on the American Experience |url=https://academic.oup.com/psq/article-abstract/138/3/407/7194282 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=138 |issue=3 |access-date=November 12, 2024 |pages=407–424 |issn=0032-3195 |doi=10.1093/psquar/qqad036 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112000309/https://academic.oup.com/psq/article-abstract/138/3/407/7194282 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |quote=Despite the appearance of being consolidated, the American political system is institutionally vulnerable to backsliding—from an electoral system fraught with so many deficiencies that election experts deem it archaic and undemocratic; to an imperial presidency that sits at the center of federal power and towers over the legislature and the judiciary; to the recent transformation of the Republican Party into an illiberal force more interested in acquiring power than in governing. ... The Republican Party's pivotal role in enabling backsliding in the Trump era mirrors the post-Communist experience. In recent years, the Republican party has fashioned itself after the Fidesz Party in Hungary (Europe's most sobering example of backsliding), from embracing the ideology of Christian Nationalism to using the state to fight culture wars to cynically rejecting the idea of democracy. In connection to the last point, a popular argument among Republican election deniers is that the United States is not a democracy but a republic. As noted by the New York Times, "There is more at stake than the health of the Republican Party when its core activists, as well as a growing number of officials and those campaigning for governmental positions, openly espouse hostility not just to democratic principles, but, increasingly, to the word 'democracy' itself." Indeed, this illiberal behavior puts American democracy in peril. |quote-pages=410{{ndash}}423}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Main |first=Thomas J. |date=January 4, 2022 |title=The Rise of Illiberalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPL2DwAAQBAJ |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |page=188 |isbn=9780815738503 |quote=A sharp repudiation at the polls would have checked the vogue for illiberal and identitarian ideologies and driven the Republican party back within the bounds of the liberal democratic political spectrum.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laruelle |first1=Marlene |date=March 1, 2022 |title=Illiberalism: a conceptual introduction |journal=East European Politics |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=303–327 |issn=2159-9165 |doi=10.1080/21599165.2022.2037079 |quote=Classical conservatives—such as the Christian Democrats in Europe or the Republican Party in the US before Donald Trump—are/were fervent supporters of political rights and constitutionalism, while illiberalism challenges them ... The struggle of the European People's Party to win concessions from Orbán's Fidesz or the Polish PiS, as well as the subjugation of the Republican Party by Donald Trump, have revealed how attractive illiberal leaders may be to the more mainstream right. As Marc Plattner has stated, the future of liberal democracy will largely depend on how successful or unsuccessful the classical conservative right is at resisting illiberalism. |quote-pages=315{{ndash}}316|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cooley |first1=Alexander |last2=Nexon |first2=Daniel H. |date=January–February 2022 |title=The Real Crisis of Global Order: Illiberalism on the Rise |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2021-12-14/illiberalism-real-crisis-global-order |magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=101 |issue=1 |location=New York City, New York |publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |access-date=November 12, 2024 |issn=0015-7120 |quote=The election of Donald Trump in 2016 sparked a major debate over the nature and fate of the liberal international order, suddenly caught, it seemed, between the Charybdis of illiberal great-power challengers and the Scylla of a hostile U.S. president. Trump may have lost the presidency in 2020, but the liberal order remains under threat. ... In the United States, one of the two major political parties remains beholden to an authoritarian demagogue. Motivated by the "Big Lie" (the objectively false claim that Democrats stole the election from Trump through systematic voter fraud), the Republican Party is purging officials who stood in the way of efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Republican voter-suppression efforts are accelerating.}}</ref><ref name="Dunwoody 2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Dunwoody |first1=Phillip T. |last2=Gershtenson |first2=Joseph |last3=Plane |first3=Dennis L. |last4=Upchurch-Poole |first4=Territa |date=August 9, 2022 |title=The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |journal=[[Frontiers Media|Frontiers in Political Science]] |volume=4 |issue= |issn=2673-3145 |doi=10.3389/fpos.2022.907681 |doi-access=free |quote=All the components of the fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy were evidenced in the recent 2020 U.S. presidential election. … In classic authoritarian fashion, Trump sought to remain in power by asserting his preferred fiction over more objective realities promoted by those in traditional, truth-based professions. Trump engaged in threat othering to work up his base so that they would support the use of force to "save" their country. The result of these combined mechanisms was the support of blatantly illiberal antidemocratic behavior at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. |quote-page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hopkin |first1=Jonathan |author1-link=Jonathan Hopkin |last2=Blyth |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Blyth |editor1-last=Vormann |editor1-first=Boris |editor2-last=Weinman |editor2-first=Michael D. |title=The Emergence of Illiberalism |date=2020 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |chapter=Global Trumpism: Understanding Anti-System Politics in Western Democracies |isbn=978-0367366247 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_3vDwAAQBAJ&q=global+trumpism&pg=PT107 |access-date=October 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215222839/https://books.google.com/books?id=C_3vDwAAQBAJ&q=global+trumpism&pg=PT107 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norris |first1=Pippa |date=2017 |title=Online Exchange on "Democratic Deconsolidation |url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Journal-of-Democracy-Web-Exchange-Norris_0.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Democracy]] |volume=12 |access-date=9 November 2024 |quote=The rise of populist authoritarianism in the United States, especially by the risks that President Trump poses to core democratic values, practices and institutions, pose major threats to liberal democracy. ... When the populist style of governance is coupled with authoritarian values, however, this potent combination presents most dangerous risk to the principles and practices at the heart of liberal democracy. Trump falls into this category. ... populist-authoritarian forces threatening to dismantle core values in liberal democracy pose the gravest risk, especially in America, given the vast powers of the U.S. presidency and its hegemonic role in the world. The mainstream news media, the courts, and a reenergized civil society are actively pushing back to resist the threats to democracy arising from the Trump administration. In Congress and State Houses, however, the Democrats are decimated, and the Republican party and conservative activists seem willing to be seduced by dreams of power.|quote-pages=14{{ndash}}15{{ndash}}18}}</ref>}} and research conducted by the [[V-Dem Institute]] concluded that the party was more similar to Europe's most right-wing parties such as [[Law and Justice]] in Poland or [[Fidesz]] in Hungary.<ref name="Economist 10312020">{{Cite news |date=October 31, 2020 |title=The Republican Party has lurched towards populism and illiberalism |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/31/the-republican-party-has-lurched-towards-populism-and-illiberalism |access-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-date=June 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602072716/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/31/the-republican-party-has-lurched-towards-populism-and-illiberalism |url-status=live |issn=0013-0613|quote=In the late 20th century the Republican Party already looked a bit less liberal and more populist than most mainstream European parties. But according to the V-Dem Institute's analysis, it only really started to deviate to "illiberalism" when it embraced religious values under Mr Bush after his election in 2000. The party then veered into populism in 2010 with the rise of the Tea Party movement, which vowed to curb what it saw as the unjustifiable expansion of the federal government under Barack Obama. However, the greatest shift, especially towards illiberalism, came with the election of Mr Trump.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lührmann |first1=Anna |last2=Medzihorsky |first2=Juraj |last3=Hindle |first3=Garry |last4=Lindberg |first4=Staffan I. |date=October 2020 |title=New Global Data on Political Parties: V-Party |url=https://www.v-dem.net/documents/8/vparty_briefing.pdf |journal= |series=Briefing Paper |publisher=V-Dem Institute |issue=9}}</ref>

In 2022 and 2023, Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump proved decisive in landmark decisions on [[New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen|gun rights]], [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization|abortion]], and [[Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard|affirmative action]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-guns-decision-second-amendment-new-york-2022-6 | title=Supreme Court strikes down century-old New York law, dramatically expanding Second Amendment rights to carry guns outside the home | website=[[Business Insider]] | access-date=November 21, 2022 | archive-date=June 26, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626001859/https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-guns-decision-second-amendment-new-york-2022-6 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/roe-v-wade-overturned-by-supreme-court-ending-federal-abortion-rights.html | title=Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of federal abortion rights | website=[[CNBC]] | date=June 24, 2022 | access-date=November 21, 2022 | archive-date=June 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624141534/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/roe-v-wade-overturned-by-supreme-court-ending-federal-abortion-rights.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The party went into the [[2022 United States elections|2022 elections]] confident and with analysts predicting a [[Wave elections in the United States|red wave]], but it ultimately underperformed expectations, with voters in [[swing state]]s and competitive districts joining Democrats in rejecting candidates who had been endorsed by Trump or who had denied the results of the 2020 election.<ref name="FiveThirtyEight 2022">{{cite web|date=November 8, 2022|title=<!--2022 Election: Live Analysis and Results-->How Election Week 2022 Went Down|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/2022-midterm-election/|access-date=November 17, 2022|website=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|archive-date=November 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116174931/https://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/2022-midterm-election/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hounshell 2022">{{cite news |last=Hounshell |first=Blake |date=November 9, 2022 |title=Five Takeaways From a Red Wave That Didn't Reach the Shore |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/politics/midterm-elections-takeaways.html |access-date=November 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118043809/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/politics/midterm-elections-takeaways.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Tumulty 2022">{{cite news |last=Tumulty |first=Karen |date=November 9, 2022 |title=The expected red wave looks more like a puddle |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/09/no-red-wave-midterm-outcome-analysis/ |access-date=November 10, 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112060937/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/09/no-red-wave-midterm-outcome-analysis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The party won control of the House with a narrow majority,<ref name="Cowan 2022">{{cite news |last=Cowan |first=Richard |date=November 17, 2022 |title=Republicans win U.S. House majority, setting stage for divided government |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-one-seat-away-winning-house-us-midterm-vote-2022-11-16/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125100214/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-one-seat-away-winning-house-us-midterm-vote-2022-11-16/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but lost the Senate and several state legislative majorities and governorships.<ref name="composition_2023_05_23_ncsl_org">[https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/state-partisan-composition "State Partisan Composition"], May 23, 2023, [[National Conference of State Legislatures]], retrieved July 4, 2023. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704082911/https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/state-partisan-composition |date=July 4, 2023 }}.</ref><ref name="states_2023_07_01_gazette">[[Thomas Cronin|Cronin, Tom]] and Bob Loevy: [https://gazette.com/news/american-federalism-states-veer-far-left-or-far-right-cronin-and-loevy/article_47b241d8-1604-11ee-a860-3383285a990d.html "American federalism: States veer far left or far right"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704082911/https://gazette.com/news/american-federalism-states-veer-far-left-or-far-right-cronin-and-loevy/article_47b241d8-1604-11ee-a860-3383285a990d.html |date=July 4, 2023 }}, July 1, 2023, updated July 2, 2023, ''[[Colorado Springs Gazette]],'' retrieved July 4, 2023</ref><ref name="trifectas_2023_01_18_nytimes">[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/us/politics/state-legislatures-democrats-trifectas.html "In the States, Democrats All but Ran the Table"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704082911/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/us/politics/state-legislatures-democrats-trifectas.html |date=July 4, 2023 }} November 11, 2022, ''[[The New York Times]],'' retrieved July 4, 2023</ref> The results led to a number of Republicans and conservative thought leaders questioning whether Trump should continue as the party's main figurehead and leader.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Michael C. |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |date=November 10, 2022 |title=Trump Under Fire From Within G.O.P. After Midterms |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/politics/trump-republicans-midterms.html |access-date=November 23, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122225849/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/politics/trump-republicans-midterms.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gomez |first=Henry |title=Battleground Republicans unload on Trump ahead of expected 2024 announcement |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/battleground-republicans-unload-trump-ahead-expected-2024-announcement-rcna57153 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123151640/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/battleground-republicans-unload-trump-ahead-expected-2024-announcement-rcna57153 |archive-date=November 23, 2022 |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=[[NBC News]] |date=November 15, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Despite the 2022 midterm disappointments, Trump [[2024 Republican Party presidential primaries|easily won the nomination]] to be the party's candidate in  [[2024 United States presidential election|2024]], marking the third straight election he was the GOP nominee.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pfannenstiel |first=Brianne |date=July 15, 2024 |title="Make America great again!": Iowa Republican chair gives fiery Trump nominating speech at RNC |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/15/rnc-2024-iowa-gop-chair-jeff-kaufmann-trump-nominating-speech-republican-national-convention/74411262007/ |access-date=July 18, 2024 |work=[[The Des Moines Register]]}}</ref> Trump - who survived two asassination attempts during the campaign - achieved victory against Vice President [[Kamala Harris]], who replaced President Biden on the Democratic ticket after his withdrawal in July, winning the [[United States electoral college|electoral college]] 312–226, becoming the first Republican to win the popular vote since [[George W. Bush]] in 2004, and (relative to the 2020 election) improving his vote share among [[Working class in the United States|working class]] voters, particularly among young men, those without college degrees, and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] voters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lange|first1=Jason |last2=Erickson|first2=Bo|last3=Heath|first3=Brad|date=November 6, 2024|title=Trump's return to power fueled by Hispanic, working-class voter support |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-return-power-fueled-by-hispanic-working-class-voter-support-2024-11-06/ |website=Reuters |access-date=November 11, 2024}}</ref> The Republicans also held the House (albeit with a slim majority) and retook control of the Senate, securing the first [[Government trifecta|Republican federal trifecta]] since Trump's first presidency in 2017.