Charles Krauthammer: If Trump Prevails, GOP Split a “Real Possibility”
Fergus Hodgson, 31 October 2016 
Charles Krauthammer flew into Louisiana this weekend, but he did not coming bearing good news for attendees at the 2016 New Orleans Investment Conference. Although the Washington Post columnist and retired psychiatrist cannot bring himself to lend any support to Hillary Clinton, he is fearful of a Donald Trump presidency and gave two predictions.
His fears stem from the view that Trump has little if any ideological backbone or concern for limited government in the US tradition. Past GOP presidential candidates have been lacking in this domain too, but Trump appears less stable and more at odds with power brokers in the party.
The weight of this division leads Krauthammer to believe that if the wave of “Trumpism” prevails, there is a “very real possibility” of a new political party in the United States. In other words, he foresees a clean break, with the anti-populists or never-Trumpers rejecting any ongoing coalition.
“Ultimately, a country like ours will have a conservative party — one way or the other. It’s too broad and ingrained a philosophical tendency not to have a political vehicle, but the GOP may turn out to be no longer the vehicle.”
Charles Krauthammer has been a consistent guest at the New Orleans Investment Conference, seen here in 2013.
We met with Krauthammer on Saturday morning in the green room, prior to his participation in the Summit on America’s Future Panel, which also included Stephen Moore and P. J. O’Rourke. Given the audience of investors, he pointed to the recent drop in the US stock market “at just the very thought of Trump winning.” This came after news of Clinton facing a new FBI investigation, and a boost to Trump’s chances of victory.
“It’s the specter of trade wars, as well as tax cuts which are uncompensated for.
Fergus Hodgson (@FergHodgson) is an economic consultant and Gold Newsletter‘s roving editor.