Case study President Trump

Trump's policies are not typically Republican and are best characterized as right-populist. His populist attacks on racial minorities and abortion rights please the social conservatives, and fiscal conservatives welcome his desire to cut financial regulations and reduce corporation tax. However, many of the policies he proposed in his first term seemed more atune with radical, progressive Democrats, such as opposition to international trade deals like the TPP. However, this was always motivated by nationalist isolation rather than opposition to the concept of globalization.   In particular, Trump's trillion-dollar infrastructure plan could be seen as the opposite of fiscal conservative traditions. 

In office, 2009-2016 the infrastructure plan became less ambitious and more oriented to Republican preferences for cars over mass transit. Trump's infrastructure spending plan stalled due to Democrats who took issue with the fact that Trump preferred private funding and highways to federal funding and public transit. Of the projected $1.5 trillion, the federal government would spend only $200 billion.[95] Under the Obama administration, funding for transit on the one hand and for highways and bridges on the other hand were roughly equal. Under the Trump administration, some 70% of the funding went to highways and bridges and only about 11% to transit.

Regardless of their mandate or style, presidents find it increasingly difficult to persuade members of the opposing party given the high levels of partisanship that now exist and party unity means support from the president's party is not guaranteed.

Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan tried to pass the American Health Care Act (to reform the Affordable Care Act) in March 2017 which would have replaced and largely destroyed Obama care. Despite concerted efforts, Trump was unable to persuade any Democrats or enough Republicans to support the bill.