Trump 2.0 is about to shock America once again

Is Trump the pugilist about to turn into Trump the conciliator? He’s always been a dealmaker rather than an ideologue

Donald Trump’s victory speech after winning the 2024 presidential election was very much a Donald Trump speech, full of random asides, anecdotes, bluster, and braggadocio. One thing it was relatively short on, however, was the airing of grievances against his rivals.
Then came a pair of boringly conventional press statements about his Democratic opponents later the next day, issued under the name of Steven Cheung, one of his more bomb-throwing spokesmen.
“President Donald J Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory,” Cheung said of the Harris concession call. “President Trump acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”
Next came a phone call from the current occupant of the Oval Office. “President Joe Biden called President Donald J Trump to congratulate him on his victory and extended an invitation to the White House to ensure a smooth transition between the current Administration and the incoming Administration,” Cheung said. “President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call.”
Note that this is not how Trump engaged with Biden and Harris after the 2020 election or in the lead-up to his subsequent departure from office. The incumbents are displaying a certain amount of magnanimity in defeat precisely to make that point. But what if Trump is making a point, too?
When Trump attended the Al Smith Dinner in New York City (famously skipped by Harris, who appeared via a cringeworthy video instead), he was seated next to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trump was awfully chummy with Schumer for much of the night, reminding everyone of his past donations to the New York Democrat when he spoke.
Longtime Trump adviser Paul Manafort, a former top official in the 2016 campaign, told the journalist Mark Halperin he expected the once and future president to reach across the aisle if willing partners are there.
“I think he will try to find common ground. He understands this is a legacy term for him now,” Manafort said. “The first term was a first term that was hopefully going to lead to a second. But this is his last term…. And he cares about his standing in history.”
Of course, we all remember Trump’s polite, if not quite chummy, White House meeting with outgoing President Barack Obama during that transition period. They seemed to have buried the hatchet, but it all proved quite temporary.
Indeed, the other model for the next Trump term that he has hinted at and his opponents expect is the revenge tour. Trump understands government better now. He will attempt to staff his administration and White House team with more loyal subordinates. His critics prefer to describe this as the absence of “guardrails.” And he is a pugilist, so “Fight! Fight! Fight!” may be the direction things go in right from the start.
But Trump fancies himself a dealmaker more than an ideologue. Vice President-elect JD Vance was surprisingly bipartisan in the legislation he introduced in the Senate. There are also some advisers who will surely tell Trump that his first term could have gone better if he led with a bipartisan initiative rather than tax cuts or Obamacare repeal.
Two things blew up any attempt at bipartisanship in 2017. The first was the Trump-Russia investigation, with the alleged spying on his campaign he blamed on Obama personally. The second was Trump’s need to mend fences with the top two Republican congressional leaders, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, by concentrating on shared legislative priorities.
Trump revisited this after Democrats gained more power in Washington in the 2018 midterm elections, meeting with Schumer and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – “Chuck and Nancy” – along with some ill-fated talks over immigration and gun control. But Trump’s working relationship with Pelosi quickly deteriorated and Democrats were focused on preventing his re-election.
“He used to have a lot of friends on the Democratic side before he got involved in politics,” Manafort told Halperin. “I think you’ll see that he will try and reach out again, but not at the expense of selling out his promises to the American people.”
There’s the rub. Some issues are polarising. It’s also unmistakably the case that, if someone angers him, all bets are off. It is easy to imagine Trump exploding during his sitdown with Biden the moment a reporter asks why he didn’t pay his successor-turned-predecessor the same courtesy in late 2020 or early 2021.
Whether vengeful Trump or dealmaker Trump wins out depends in part on whether others would rather deal or fight.
W James Antle III is executive editor of the Washington Examiner