The Conflict Is the Point

Playbook: “In an era with low trust in institutions, widespread frustration with politics and deep cynicism about Washington, how do you continue to win when you’re the party already in power? By continuing to brand yourself as the outsiders — and picking fights that try to underscore that.”

“More than most politicians, Trump innately grasps a reality that drives our modern moment: Attention means power, and conflict generally means attention. Trump’s ongoing MAGA revolution in Washington has concrete policy goals, but it has an overarching political one, too: driving a message that frames their actions time and again as those of outsiders going to war against the status quo.”

“That’s the throughline that connects a seemingly disparate array of stories right now.”