The politics of performance
In the Trump era, the narrative around legislative efforts seems to matter a lot more than the actual results.
Century illustration
After the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Congress enacted a bipartisan law, to great fanfare, that included $1 billion for mental health programs in schools. This spring, the Trump administration zeroed out this budget line. According to The New York Times, no GOP member has offered a single public word in protest.
In July, Congress narrowly enacted President Trump’s tax law. It’s a hit parade of destructive provisions: tax relief for the rich, draconian cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, $3 trillion in new federal debt, and more. It breaks promises Trump and other Republicans made, and many of its provisions will disproportionately harm people in red states. Multiple GOP members offered sharp criticisms of the bill. Then all but four of them voted for it anyway.
These events point not just to Trump’s domination of his party but also to a broader problem. Because most voters pay more attention to political tit-for-tat than to substance, politicians have long emphasized the performance of useful narratives—their political value is much greater than just as a means to a public policy end. In the Trump era, it’s grown worse: the performance now seems to be the entire point.
