In front of a packed room, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt spoke on Jan. 13 about his hopes for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
At a lecture held by the Center for Political Thought and Leadership at ASU, Hewitt served as an advocate for Trump’s policies.
“I thought the (Republican) Party was shattered and divided but it's remarkable that it came back together,” Hewitt said.
At the very beginning of his remarks, Hewitt asked people in the room to stand up if they actually thought President-elect Trump would win the election — only a few dozen stood.
“The country does not want what President Obama offered,” Hewitt said to the crowd.
Hewitt admitted that he did not think that Trump would win until about 10 p.m on election night. It was in that moment the Trump-critic converted to Trumpism.
“Trump is channeling Alexander Hamilton,” he said of the President-elect's stance on enterprise and free markets.
Hewitt spoke mostly about the economic arguments made by Trump that shifted the once-liberal middle-America, using the results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa as examples.
“Obama's victories were unique personal victories,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt said America is potentially in a stage of a political realignment and if Trump takes advantage of it he may be seen as the most important political figure since Ronald Reagan.
Kevin Calabrese, business senior and president of the ASU College Republicans, said it took a while for Trump to get support from Republicans.
“By looking at some of the results from the election … really one of the reasons why Donald Trump won was because he got a lot of support from voters in middle America,” Calabrese said.
Trump's win has reinvigorated optimism in the conservative community, according to a NPR report from Nov. 2016, areas that have been Democratic strongholds became new territory for Trump.
“Hugh did a really great job presenting his analysis of the election,” Calabrese said.
Many millennials like Calabrese were in the room, reaffirming a CNN report from September 2016, that said young people identify more with conservatism than previous generations.
Though millennials are typically associated with progressivism and liberalism, the report stated, this is demonstrative that these perceived norms are not always true.
But Randy Perez, junior triple majoring in political science, justice studies and public policy and a member of the Young Democrats of ASU, said regardless of political opinion, it's important for people to hear new perspectives.
“Bringing new ideas anywhere ... is a fundamental part of the political process no matter what,” Perez said.
Reach the reporter at rcloughl@asu.edu and follow @CloughleyRyan on Twitter.
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