At some point, you’re not being tricked, you’re just in on it

It’s bad enough when low-information voters make up an imaginary moderate Donald Trump to support. It’s much worse when it comes from being people being paid a lot of money to write about politics?

• Even if this were sincere, a small tax increase as part of a huge package of mostly upper-class tax cuts — including a defunding of the IRS that will constitute a de facto upper-class and corporate tax cut that would dwarf anything being proposed — would not be a “new direction” for the Republican Party.
• There’s absolutely no reason to believe this is serious! Making vague “populist” gestures while doing straightforward upward wealth redistribution is Trump’s entire schtick! (Remember him saying he would close the carried interest loophole?) Believing (or pretending to believe) that it’s real this time is a worse value proposition that buying Hawk Tuah’s memecoin.
• “Populist” Josh Hawley? In 2025? Are you shitting me?
• Saying “a new direction has been set” even if it doesn’t happen is really giving away the show. It’s just openly saying “If Republicans are shown to have lied about their unpopular policies we are pledged to treat them as if they are telling the truth anyway.”

I’m not saying the political press covering the real Trump rather than a fake much more palatable one would solve everything, but it would certainly be better than the status quo.