I wrote last week of how social conservatives’ cowardice was partially responsible for Trump throwing them under the bus repeatedly:
Now consider an alternate reality in which socially conservative intellectual leaders cared more about their principles than about the cult of Trump. In this world, where they praise Trump when he does things they agree with and publicly shame him when he doesn’t, social conservatives have leverage over Trump, because their votes have to be earned. Would Trump have issued his endorsement of abortion in this world? I don’t think so.
Trump’s recent flip-flop on Florida’s abortion ballot initiative is evidence of that reality. Yesterday, he implied that he was voting for the amendment: “I think the six weeks is too short, there has to be more time.” Of course, the passage of the Florida proposal would make it impossible to restrict abortions far later than six weeks into a pregnancy, and Trump knows that. But he was counting on his pro-life supporters giving him a pass. For once, though, they stood up to him, and he was forced to respond. Haley Strack, for example, reports on the pro-life activist Lila Rose’s principled stand.
Now, Trump has backtracked, announcing (for the moment) that he plans to vote no on the Florida amendment. This is an important reminder that Donald Trump responds to leverage. When he feels that a certain position is causing him to be criticized by people who are generally prone to support him, he changes track.
Moving forward, conservatives would be wise to remember this. By treating Trump as a cult figure who can do no wrong, they fail to properly incentivize him to maintain conservative policies. In contrast, by actively pressuring him when he deviates from their preferred policies, conservatives can take advantage of his malleability — which has too often come to bite them in the rear end due to their fecklessness.