None of these issues would have been joined had not Trump entered the GOP presidential race, and yet all of them clearly resonate with significant numbers of Republican voters. Thus did Trump, with his bluster, unconventional thinking and pugnacity, transform the Republican debate in America—and expose the ideological gap that separated alienated voters from figures such as Jeb Bush and the rest of the conventional party elite.

Finally, a look at Trump’s political instincts in sizing up how to capture the fears and frustrations of large voting blocs. There’s no evidence that the billionaire developer pored over political/demographic/polling data in order to craft the message that has propelled him this far in his presidential quest. Nor does it seem that he employed the kinds of consultants who hang around hoping to be pulled into yet another presidential campaign every four years.

It seems that the man has been operating largely by instinct, rather like his tendency to operate off the cuff when he’s on the stump. Few politicians manage to pull this off. Trump may or may not win the nomination or the presidency. If he does, he may or may not prove beneficial to his party or his country. But in the meantime we are seeing a political phenom at work.

Robert W. Merry is a contributing editor at the National Interest and an author of books on American history and foreign policy.

Image: Flickr/Michael Vadon.