Pat Buchanan says the Republican Party can never “go back” to what it was before President Donald Trump, but the far-right paleoconservative columnist thinks that’s a good thing.
In an interview with far-right Newsmax’s host Michelle Malkin uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 29, Buchanan argued that it was important for people who share his beliefs to support Trump’s reelection. Malkin asked Buchanan what he thought of the future of the Republican Party after watching some of the figures selected to speak at the Republican National Convention, which prompted Buchanan to celebrate that the party was bending toward their own liking.
“I don’t believe that a candidate who runs for the nomination, let’s say in 2024, is going to be able to go back to the free trade, globalism or interventionism or things like that because they simply—the Republican Party has been changed and reoriented to a great degree by Donald Trump. So, I think that’s what controls it,” Buchanan said.
“I mean, the Republicans today, many of them are as you say they are. They’re basically establishment Republicans, Conservative Inc., and all the rest of it,” he continued. “And they may not believe what they’re mouthing but the fact that they’re required to speak in a certain way and address these issues indicates a realization on their part that intellectually they have lost the battle for the party’s issues and the party’s identity.”
“Frankly, if someone came in and attempted to [propose] free trade and open borders on the Republican Party, it would not be nominated by the GOP,” Buchanan said.
“I hope you’re right,” Malkin said.
Buchanan has a sordid history of bigoted remarks that event Trump once found too hateful.
