There isn’t a lot that the traditional conservative establishment and the new isolationist right have in common. But while they are very clearly opposed in policy matters, both are still prone to the same mistakes in navigating the Trump era. 

Both of these groups seem to think they can control President Donald Trump for their own ends. In both cases, Trump has used them to advance his political aims and quickly discarded them when they no longer served him. 

This late into Trump’s political career, it is almost comical for people to think they can make Trump do their bidding.

The isolationist right is furious that Trump betrayed them

Let's start with the isolationist right, who are seemingly surprised that they have been betrayed by Trump's interventions in Venezuela and Iran. Trump decides what Trumpism is, and anybody else who thinks they have a say is naive. 

On the campaign trail, Trump dipped his toe into the sentiments of this population for the purposes of returning to the presidency. He even went so far as to select JD Vance as vice president to placate the isolationists within his party.

However, since his second inauguration, Trump has completely betrayed this faction on the right. Through his military interventions in Iran, then Venezuela, then Iran again, Trump has increasingly alienated this population, who actually thought they could harness a second Trump term for their own ends.

Things have gotten so bad that Vance’s ally Tucker Carlson has become a leading voice outspoken against the administration. Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist Trump nominated to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, posted a lengthy resignation claiming that Trump had fallen victim to an Israeli “misinformation campaign” akin to “the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war.”

Aside from the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, nobody is having a worse time during the Iran war than this crowd on the right. Even Vance, the heir apparent to the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, has been completely sidelined in the midst of a decision he apparently disagreed with. The result is the vice president shrinking to the background on the issue rather than being an advocate for his own administration’s policy. 

Trump latched on to traditional conservatives for reelection, then dumped them

In his first term, establishment Republicans saw Trump as someone who could be harnessed to reach their ends. They thought that Trump could be restrained to the point that he would advance traditionally conservative ends rather than his own personal desires. To an extent, they succeeded throughout his campaign, but as Trump's term aged, it became clear that Trump would do what was best for Trump.

They were able to get him to latch on to a number of traditionally conservative positions, such as the pro-life movement and the Second Amendment. Advocates for each of these causes thought they could use Trump to advance things he didn't truly believe in.

However, in hindsight, they were obviously wrong, and he was only looking for reelection. His policy platform for his second term essentially abandoned the pro-life movement, and he has eroded gun rights throughout his presidency. His administration went so far as to attack gun rights after federal agents shot and killed protesters in Minnesota.

There is a lesson here for everyone on the right, and that is Trump cannot be used to do things he does not want to do. 

Trump is an uncontrollable force who, by himself, decides what the MAGA movement stands for. Anyone who has tried to harness this force for the gain of a particular cause has inevitably been betrayed by Trump. 

Isolationists and anti-Israel voices on the right approached Trump’s second term from a similar flank. They thought that Trump could be guided into their isolationist, anti-Israel and antisemitic positions. Now that it is clear that he is no true believer in any of that, and merely used them for his own personal ends, this faction of the right is furious. 

By now, it should be abundantly clear that anyone who seeks to harness Trump’s unpredictability toward a specific political aim will inevitably fail. Trump does as Trump sees fit, with no exception. This was true when Republicans tried to make him more tame, and it is true now when the isolationist right wants to use him for their ends.

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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