"Trump isn't ideological"

What do they mean when pundits, reporters and ""journalists"" say that Trump isn't ideological?

Damage control

it means they took the time to look up the word in a dictionary

They don't want to say he's egotistical.

Who cares what "they" say?
The last election proved that they are spineless idiots who cant find their own asshole with both hands and a flashlight.

They're saying he's not an idiot

This.

they probably insinuate that he is an opportunist who used racists/sexists/literally hitlers to gain power rather than being one himself

tldr; damage control

he's not a "true conservative" he's a liberal who won while running as a republican

also this

He does not do what he thinks should be done, he does what needs to be done.

They might not really mean this, but he's a pragmatist. He rationally examines the resources available to him, then uses them in a way that best achieves his goals. Following a particular ideology is not a concern.

So for example, Trump has stated in the past that he wants Americans to have good health care. Coming into office, he's presented with Obamacare as the law of the land. As a policy, it has shortcomings in meeting the goal of ensuring that Americans have good health care, but it's not entirely bad. So as Trump prepares what will replace it, he intends to keep things like the prohibition of denial for preexisting conditions because they are useful in meeting the goal, regardless of who proposed them or the political ideology behind the policy.

That white nationalism is the utilitarian way.

It means he is too stupid to have ideas, or a philosophy, or a set of policy prescriptions. He is just an animal demanding that the world acknowledge him.

It's one of those games they play wherein you're wrong no matter what you do.

If Trump spent his time at rallies expounding the minutiae of his policies and lulling the crowd to sleep, he'd have been an ideologue; but because he didn't, he's a demagogue.

He's not principled. He won the election because he saw the wave of conservatism in the US. He read the pulse in America and decided to run his ticket a certain way. It won him the white house.

But when it comes down to it, how principled is he? He doesn't seem to have a lot of conviction. He seems to be more pragmatic and present-oriented than someone who has clear long term goals.

For comparison, compare him to someone like Ted Cruz. He's an evangelical. His conviction behind his political beliefs is very clear. Donald Trump's, by comparison, are not.

Truth

It means he hasn't been indoctrinated by liberal colleges with a hardon for marxism

>His conviction behind his political beliefs is very clear.
And this is what "ideological" means in this context. Unlike Cruz, Trump's political beliefs aren't shaped by a religious belief about the way things ought to be and its accompanying deontological rules. Instead, Trump is interested in what works, and it is foolish to hold beliefs about what works so strongly that they are immune to revision based on evidence.

George W goes for a jog: "the country needs leadership and he's wasting time"
Obama goes for a jog: "fitness is important, what a great example he's setting"

Wow, have you read any of his supposed policies?

*TRIGGERED*

I'm literally shaking right now guys.

the same thing they mean when they say he's racist, sexist, homophobic. islamophobic, xenophobic etc etc. it's leftist buzzwords that translate into finger pointing and screeching "ENEMYYYYYY". it has no merit whatsoever as every leftist accusation.

Because he is a money-man, not a morality-man. He'll do what is right for the national economy, not what is right for the feelings/emotions of the non-working class.

They don't know what he is, because he is wearing it on his sleeve. He is not clothed in Jesus or dead babies. Money is the name of the game.

>What do they mean when pundits, reporters and ""journalists"" say that Trump isn't ideological?

It means he is a pragmatist but most journalists are thick and have never heard of that word hahahaha

He's not hung up on "muh anti gay muh abortion muh Christians". Honestly doubt he gives a shit about abortions which he just says leave it to the states as opposed to "I'm 100 anti abortion and passing a law"

Which is good and bad. Bad in that it does make him a bit unpredictable and difficult to know exactly how he's going to turn out or what he's going to do. Most people in America have pretty clear ideas in mind about what they want to change in this country, so having a President who has a "we'll see, I'll take a look at it/I'll take care of it when it happens" attitude leads to uncertainty and low faith over time.

But on the flip side, it is good to be flexible and not stubbornly insist that your first approach was correct and just doggedly stick to it.

However, I don't think the article was wrong. I don't think Donald Trump is driven by ideology. I think he is driven by success, which is probably a good thing...though maybe not quite so good for the conservatives that shoved him into office.

In for pics of thicc journalists

He is not locked in to one set of beliefs about how things should be done. A nazi wants things done this and that way, a commmie wants things done this and that way because that is what their political orientation says. Trump does not really have a political orientation. He will do whatever works.

>Trump isn't idealogical
What they mean is "Trump isn't an ideologue".
But their cognitive dissonance prevents them from telling the truth, lest they be projecting.

>I think he is driven by success
Sure. But what kind of success?

Perhaps he's a narcissist interested in personal aggrandizement, and is interested in making a bigger mark in history. If so, he'll try to make America great again so that others may look upon his works and despair.

Perhaps he's really interested in using his political power to boost his business ventures. He's mostly in commercial real estate, so boosting that would involve improving peace and prosperity, i.e. making America great again.

Or maybe in the twilight of his life, he wants to make a nice place for his children to live and prosper. Or maybe he has a sense of patriotism and saw an opportunity that only he could take. So he'll try to make America great again.

Life is not a zero sum game. We don't live better than caveman because we're living at the expense of cavemen who now have it worse off. If Trump pulls it off (and he might - 9D blindfolded parcheesi memes aside, he does appear to be very competent), the conservatives who voted for him stand to be much better than the status quo, even if his policies don't primarily benefit them.