Comment by unclebucknasty

You've trotted out a few traditional social conservative issues as evidence that Trump is not far right, but it's pretty obvious that "far right" means something entirely different than simple social conservatism. It includes traditional right-wing beliefs in social hiearchies, extending to ethno-nationalism and frank "fascist-adjacent" beliefs.

>"Has the GOP base actually moved that much?"

Of course they have, and your very next lines explain it. That Trump destroyed the GOP establishment's ability to control some of its constituents is the first tell. How was the establishment able to maintain control pre-Trump and what was the impact on the party once those constituents were unleashed?

Further, this wasn't the base. These were always Tea-partiers and Freedom Caucus members who were in the vocal minority. Trump centered them, lurching the entire party sharply rightward.