--- title: Donald Trump Can Unify the Republican Party description: He should trade style for substance and focus on policy proposals including reducing the debt, fighting minimum wage and backing tax credits canonical: https://time.com/4323897/donald-trump-republican-party-unity/ author: Richard Berman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-10T16:09:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:37.744Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Donald Trump Can Unify the Republican Party og:description: Trade style for substance og:url: https://time.com/4323897/donald-trump-republican-party-unity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta517ebe410e021f8/6988927e3c1639373345d31c/trump9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.V., on May 5, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Donald Trump Can Unify the Republican Party twitter:description: Trade style for substance twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta517ebe410e021f8/6988927e3c1639373345d31c/trump9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Donald Trump Can Unify the Republican Party > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Foreign Policy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4N6FRB5H.m3u8) (1:41)  _Published 2016-04-27. On the heels of a sweep of Northeastern primaries, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump outlined an “America First” foreign policy approach in what was billed as a major speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C._ by [Richard Berman](https://time.com/author/richard-berman/) ## Richard Berman May 10, 2016 4:09 PM UTC  Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.V., on May 5, 2016. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.V., on May 5, 2016. Mark Lyons—Getty Images by [Richard Berman](https://time.com/author/richard-berman/) ## Richard Berman May 10, 2016 4:09 PM UTC “@RealDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus [tweeted](https://twitter.com/Reince/status/727665447684820992) after Trump’s resounding primary [victory in Indiana](http://time.com/4316170/indiana-primary-results-donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-republicans/). The first part of the tweet is now undebatable, but the latter remains a major lift. Many current and former Republican leaders—including House Speaker [Paul Ryan](http://time.com/4320139/donald-trump-paul-ryan-republican-party/)—have declined to publicly endorse their party’s presumptive nominee, despite Trump’s obvious appeal to working-class Americans. One former Republican senator even [called](http://gawker.com/former-republican-senator-on-donald-trump-i-think-hes-1775460273) the real-estate mogul a “sociopath.” How can Trump rally a hesitant Republican establishment around his insurgent candidacy? The answer is substance, not style. The presumptive Republican nominee must prove to conservatives that he’s committed to their brand of reform—free-market solutions to the problem of Big Government. Doing so requires a firm stance on specific policy proposals near and dear to the Republican Party. The $19 trillion national debt is a good starting point. “Republicans believe that reducing the multi-trillion debt is imperative for the well-being of this country,” the Party’s platform [states](https://www.gop.com/topic/budget-and-spending-national-debt/canonical/). Yet Trump has [balked](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/09/politics/donald-trump-national-debt-strategy/) at serious entitlement reform and other forms of debt alleviation, while simultaneously proclaiming himself “[the king of debt](http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/05/investing/trump-king-of-debt-fire-janet-yellen/)” and admitting “[debt is tricky and it’ dangerous](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/09/politics/donald-trump-national-debt-strategy/).” A clarification of his position would help reassure Republicans wary of Trump’s commitment to reducing U.S. debt. The same goes for the minimum-wage debate. Trump has previously [acknowledged](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-wages-too-high) the job-killing repercussions of minimum wage hikes, but recently changed course and [appeared](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/09/trump-shows-flexibility-on-taxes-minimum-wage-in-turn-toward-november.html) to embrace the concept of a higher starter wage. This not only bucked Republican orthodoxy—Ryan and others have [warned](http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2014/09/02/paul-ryan-opposes-minimum-wage-hike-says-it-would.html) higher labor costs could lead to fewer jobs—but also basic economics: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed a $10.10 minimum wage and concluded it would [cost](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/44995) the country a half-million jobs. For political and policy purposes, Trump would be wise to highlight this unintended consequence. He could even go further and propose more constructive legislative reforms. For example, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)—a proposal floated by reform-minded Republicans like [Ryan](http://www.vox.com/cards/paul-ryan-poverty/what-is-paul-ryans-plan-to-expand-the-eitc)—would supplement the incomes of the working poor without hiking labor costs and discouraging employers from providing jobs for the least skilled in society. “The EITC is a far smarter way of pulling people into the workforce who are not there right now rather than raising the minimum wage,” [Ryan has said](http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2014/09/02/paul-ryan-opposes-minimum-wage-hike-says-it-would.html). He has a point: In 2013 alone, tax credits lifted[ 6.2 million people](http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/policy-basics-the-earned-income-tax-credit) out of poverty, including 3.3 million children—without putting jobs on the chopping block. The EITC enables Trump to appeal to Ryan—who remains open to endorsing him—and other conservatives, while tackling income inequality head-on. The [Employee Rights Act](http://employeerightsact.com/) (ERA) presents a similar opportunity. Introduced to update American labor law—which has remained relatively unchanged since the 1940s—the ERA would democratize the workplace by mandating secret ballot union elections and guaranteeing employee privacy during union organizing campaigns. The bill would also require labor organizers to obtain opt-in permission from their members before spending dues money on politics. It’s the kind of populist rallying cry right up Trump’s alley. The ERA is now co-sponsored by more than [140 members of Congress](http://employeerightsact.com/cosponsors/) and supported by [80% of Americans](http://employeerightsact.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ERAPolling-2015.pdf), including union households. What better way to woo Republicans—and the majority of Americans—than embracing such a widely popular initiative? Now is the time for Trump to get serious about policy. Style has catapulted Trump in Republican primaries, but substance will make him a real threat to Hillary Clinton. ## Transcript Foreign policy is a complete and total disaster. No vision, no purpose, no direction, no strategy. We're a humanitarian nation but the legacy of the Obama, Clinton interventions will be weakness. Confusion and disarray. A mess. My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people and American security above all else. Has to be first. Has to be. That will be the foundation of every single decision That I will make. A Trump administration will lead a free world that is properly armed and funded, and funded beautifully. Ending the theft of American jobs will give us resources we need to rebuild our military which has to happen and regain our financial independence and strength. Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, cannot be allowed. Remember that, cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. [ APPLAUSE ] And under a Trump administration will never, ever be allowed to have that nuclear weapon. Look at what China's doing in the South China Sea. They're not supposed to be doing it. No respect for this country or this president. We can both benefit or we both go our separate ways. 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