Original, Unconventional & Inconvenient: Donald J. Trump and His MAGA Movement

by Bob Ehrlich

Overview

“It is straightforward and accurate—we had it right, and they know it.” —Donald J. Trump

A month-by-month analysis of President Trump, his administration, and the “MAGA” movement’s impact on America.

Original, Unconventional & Inconvenient is an analysis of the Donald J. Trump administration and its impact on America’s culture, both party establishments, and a strong but bitterly divided nation.

The Trump years were so full of controversy that many observers failed to digest the meaning and impact of the “Make America Great Again” movement. Original, Unconventional & Inconvenient delves into the historic wake-up call that was the Trump administration—and how its leader popularized a uniquely American brand of 21st century populism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637581247
Publisher:	Post Hill Press
Publication date:	11/23/2021
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich is a graduate of Princeton University and Wake Forest University School of Law, and is a former governor of Maryland as well as a former United States congressman and state legislator.

He is the author of Turn This Car Around, America: Hope for Change, Turning Point, and Bet You Didn’t See That One Coming, in addition to columns and opinion pieces that have appeared in America’s leading newspapers and periodicals, including The Washington Examiner, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Western Journal online.

Governor Ehrlich is counsel at the firm of King & Spalding in Washington, D.C., and lives with his wife, Kendel, and their children, Drew and Josh, in Annapolis, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Introduction: How We Got Here: A Brief Review xv

Chapter 1 Out of the Box 1

Let's Make a (New) Deal 2

From Transformation to Displacement 5

Like Him or Not, Trump Is Now a Member of the Republican Family 7

Yes, Trump's Presidency Is Still Worth It for Conservatives 10

Chapter 2 Survival Mode: Lead-Up to the 2018 Mid-Terms 13

Republicans Need to Play Obamacare Repeal Right or Face Disaster in 2018 19

Talking Past Each Other on Gun Control 21

Don't throw Stones ac Barking Dogs 26

Time to Take Obamacare Off Life Support and Let It Go 28

Trump's "Big Stuff" and "Little Stuff" and I low to Know the Difference 32

Tuesday's Election Will Show if Left's 'Hate America' Strategy Worked 35

Chapter 3 Disruptor 38

So Which Part of "Disrupter-in-Chief" Did You Expect to Play Nice? 40

How Trump's Surprising Election Triggered the Left's Spectacular Self-Destruction 44

The Common Thread Between Reagan and Trump 48

Polls Won t Tell the Whole Story in 2020 50

Trump's SOTU Was about Showing He's Gotten Results-In Nov., That's What Will Matter 52

In 2020 Predictions, Democrats, and the Media Are Overplaying Their Hand 55

Chapter 4 The Progressives: McGovern Revisited? 59

Happy Graduation! 61

The Left's Views on "Wealth Equality" Aren't about Compassion, They're about Envy 64

Socialism Is for Dummies 66

America Will Never Become a Socialist Nation 69

Competing Revolutions-The Progressive Left vs. the Deplorables 72

Five Things the Left Refuses to Get 74

Five More Things the Left Refuses to Get 78

Liberals and Conservatives Must Fight against the Left's War on Free Speech 81

FBI's Treatment of Flynn a Wake-Up Call to All Americans 84

Chapter 5 The Deplorables: Not Tired of Winning-Just Tired of Getting Screwed 88

Takeaways from the NFL's Kneeling Era 91

Five Things the Left Doesn't Get about Trump's "Deplorables" 93

How to Engage the Resistance without Losing Your Mind or Your Integrity 97

Thoughts on Kaepernick, Nike, and America's Former Favorite Sport 99

The "Other Deplorables" the Media Can't Even Fathom 102

The Deplorables vs. the Progressives-Whose Version of America Will Win? 105

We Can't Back Down in the Fight for Voter Integrity 108

Don't Forget White-Collar Trump Voters 110

Average Americans May Not Wear MAGA Hats, but It's Clear How They'll Vote 113

Chapter 6 The Trump Doctrine: Speak Loudly-Carry a Big Stick-and Skip the Expected Hypocrisies 116

What Would Jack Kemp Make of Trump? 121

Thanks for Taking a Stand for Free Speech on Campus, Mr. President 125

Trump Is Making High-Stakes Foreign Policy Plays Like No President Before Him 128

Six Takeaways from the Trump Presidency after Four Years 131

Polarization a Result of Policies, Not Partisanship 135

Chapter 7 Crises: Mueller & Ukraine 138

More Excuses for Democrats to Impeach Trump 145

Opposition to Trump Is Rooted in Anger 148

Chapter 8 Apologies & Acting Out: Democrats Turn Hard Left 151

Where Have All the Liberals Gone? 154

Elitist Left Won't Be Satisfied Until Trump Is Out of the Oval Office 157

"It's Always Something" with the Campaign to Delegitimize Donald Trump 160

There's Still Hope for Race Relations in America 163

Acting Out 165

A Guide to Understanding the Language of the Left 168

Democrats' Lurch to the Left Is Unprecedented 171

There Are No "Moderate" Democratic Presidential Candidates 174

Dems Were Sliding toward Socialism Long Before Bernie 176

Trump, Like Grant, Faces a Multi-Front Challenge 179

The Left Has Completely Abandoned Free Speech 183

The Real Joe 185

What the Left Is Doing Right Now Will Never End, Even if You Give In 189

Biden Has Broken a Longstanding American Tradition & It May Cost Him the Election 191

Here's a Great Option for Sticking It to the Left without Giving In to Cancel Culture 194

Trump Is Robbing Democrats of Their Base Across the Country 196

Chapter 9 China, COVID-19 & Trade 200

Lessons Learned from Coronavirus 204

Coronavirus Offering Students a New Opportunity to Learn 207

COVID Proves China-Not Russia-Is World's Most Formidable Authoritarian State 209

COVID & China Have Exposed How Globalism's Virtues Were Exaggerated All Along 211

Biden's "Back to the Future" Plan Is Going to Destroy American Workers 214

Chapter 10 George Floyd & the 2020 Campaign 217

This "Murderers Row" Lineup Is Set on Destroying Donald Trump in 2020 221

Biden, Defunding Cops, and a Few Other Thoughts on America's Summer of Discontent 224

If Gun Sales Are Any Indicator, Race Rioters Are Creating New Trump Voters as We Speak 227

Let's Rename "The Lincoln Project" to "The Benedict Arnold Project"-That Makes More Sense 230

The Trick to Trump Winning the Next Debate Is to Make Biden Debate Biden 232

My Favorite Pollster Has Boosted Trump's Chances by 10 Percent 234

The Mainstream Media Is Now Employing Boulders in Order to Tip the Election for Biden 237

The Deplorables, Clingers & Chumps Are About to Shout "We. Count. Too." 239

Chapter 11 The End…but Not So Fast 242

12 Warnings for Trump Supporters if Biden Survives the Courts and the Recounts 247

The 4 Tricks Democrats Will Soon Use to Bring America to Its Knees 251

Political Predictions Rarely Come True, But Here's One You Can Take to the Bank 254

Here's One of the Most Insightful Replies a NeverTrumper Ever Sent Me 256

The Media Are In for a Nasty Surprise from a Biden Presidency 259

2020 Has Taught Us That the Elite No Longer Have to Pretend to Care about "Flyover" America 261

Closing Thoughts 265

Epilogue 269

Special Thanks 271

Editorial Reviews

"Original, Unconventional, and Inconvenient is vintage Bob Ehrlich—insightful, powerful, and well-written. It's a must-read for anyone interested in better understanding Donald Trump, his movement, and its impact on our nation and politics."

Charlie Gerow

"Governor Robert L. Ehrlich's writings on the Donald Trump era's political and rhetorical ups and downs are the most incisive and realistic of our times. Writing from a responsible conservative perspective, his analysis is unimpeded by ideological blinders, writing at one point, in summarizing the tremendous accomplishments of the administration as undermined by conflicts of Trump Republicanism, 'The establishment wants its party back...and Trump's ways certainly turned off many veteran Republicans.'"

Richard E. Vatz

"Ehrlich knows politics, he knows America, and he knows how things work both in D.C. and outside the Beltway, where the rest of us live. In his columns for the Western Journal, he has brought clarity—and a desperately needed civility—back to political discourse, without ever compromising his conservative values. If our nation still stands a century from now, it will be because of the thoughts, words, and deeds of Americans like Gov. Bob Ehrlich."

George C. Upper III

"Bob Ehrlich knows politics—not just from books and articles, but from personal experience. From being out on the stump, and 'in the arena,' and in office. He has a lot to say, to Republicans, Democrats, and Americans at large."

Jay Nordlinger

"Governor Ehrlich's latest is an insightful look at the successes and failures, triumphs and defeats of a very different political leader. You will come away with a better understanding of what the Trump Administration accomplished—and a sense of the array of opposition to his agenda and manner."

Governor George Allen