The Trump Administration’s Favorite Answer
President Donald Trump once promised, “I alone can fix it.” Now he has a different message.
By David A. Graham, The Atlantic
One of the key predecessors of the modern Republican Party was the Know Nothing Party, so called because of its secrecy. When asked about the organization, members would reputedly reply, “I know nothing.”
The Donald Trump–era GOP shares some things with its 19th-century ancestor: populist politics, xenophobia, and staunch opposition to immigration. And like their forebears, many current Republican officials profess to know nothing. But whether they are also equivocating or simply unaware is not clear.
