NYT columnist renounces 'Never Trump' label, admitting lack of understanding of MAGA movement.

Bret Stephens, a New York Times columnist, seems to be abandoning his "Never Trump" stance, acknowledging that he and his fellow media members were incorrect in their predictions after the 2024 election.

Since the time I first criticized Donald Trump as a "loudmouth vulgarian appealing to quieter vulgarians," over nine years have passed. Despite agreeing with some of his policies at times, I have consistently identified as a Never Trump conservative. In my recent column, "Done With Never Trump," I expressed my opposition to him throughout his 2020 campaign.

"Yes, his second term could be as bad as his critics fear, and it's time to stop the heavy moralizing and doomsaying that characterized the Never Trump movement, which made it politically ineffective and often confusing," he conceded.

Trump's "sulfurous contempt" for the political elite, his "refusal to be shaped by their norms," and his "willingness to call out their hypocrisy" make him a "hero" to his supporters, something that Trump and other Never Trumpers "never quite got the point."

According to Stephens, it was not due to forgetting Clinton's scandals or being unaware of the allegations against the Bidens that led to the negative perception of Trump. Rather, it was because Trump's actions were perceived as a violation of the values that conservatives were expected to uphold. Additionally, Trump's actions were seen as a form of illiberalism that was incompatible with the "free people, free markets, free world" brand of conservatism, which was believed to lead the Republican Party down a dark path.

"We weren't wrong in our dislike and fear of Trump from a conservative perspective. However, Never Trumpers overstated our case, which ultimately defeated our purpose."

The Times columnist acknowledged several concessions, including his incorrect prediction that Trump would cause a global war, the Russia collusion allegations being unfounded, and Trump's tough stance on Russia being more effective than previous administrations.

"Trump's rhetoric was predicted to harm the Republican Party's chances of winning over key constituencies, but his working-class appeal also reached working-class minorities, including 48 percent of Latino male voters who voted for him. Despite concerns about Trump's protectionism and big-spending ways, the economy mostly thrived under him until the pandemic."

Stephen acknowledged that he and other "elites" prioritized the issue of "democracy" while average voters were more concerned about inflation and the immigration crisis.

How did Trump, who is often criticized as a lucky fool, comprehend this so effectively while we continued to discuss the nation's soul in a careless manner?

"What else did we not sufficiently appreciate? That, despite Trump's tendency to lie, Americans also felt lied to by the left, particularly when it came to the White House's cover-up of Biden's physical and mental decline. That, although elements of the MAGA world can be bigoted, there is plenty of bigotry to go around, not least in the torrent of Israel-bashing and antisemitism that emerged from the cultural left after Oct. 7. That, despite our fear that Trump could wreck some of our institutions, whether it's higher education or the F.B.I., many of those institutions are already broken and may need to be reconceived or replaced."

The critic who has been opposing Trump for a long time is pledging to remain open to the possibility of a second Trump presidency and encouraged other Never Trumpers to do the same.

Stephens advised that we usher in the new year by wishing the new administration well, giving Trump's cabinet picks the benefit of the doubt, avoiding historical comparisons to past dictators, not sounding paranoid about the end of democracy, hoping for the best, and fighting against real wrongs rather than just fears. Whatever happens, he added, it too shall pass.