No, I think he’s a conservative convert as of about 2011. He has been changing throughout. I gave Romney the same opportunity when he claimed a conversion. He lasted about 3 months and went back on those words. To date, Trump seems to have grown in his conservatism.
Is he perfect? Well, no. Who is, really?
But is he already a better conservative than Bush, Graham, Rubio and crew? I think so. I think he’s as conservative as Carson, moreso than Fiorina, and Cruz’s disappointing mistakes on TPA, H1B, and Corker Iran have reminded me that no one is perfect.
But you tell me this. Who would you rather have if this were the choice before you: Jeb Bush or Donald Trump?
I am a conservative fundamentalist. I believe conservatism is the recognition of reality. If we compromise on conservatism (I’m not talking about mistakes here and there, I’m talking about conscious compromise) then we deny the existence of conservatism and reality itself. If we don’t know what conservatism is or deny its existence, we deny the existence of reality. If we don’t like conservatism, we don’t like reality. When conservatism gets into trouble is when we think that raising depth limits, funding illegal exec orders, raising taxes over fiscal cliffs, buying politicians, funding the good parts of planned parenthood, bailing out banks, and voting for a liberal because he can win is sometimes the smartest thing to do. In that case Trump vs Bush is a false dichotomy. Neither are conservative and neither make any attempt to adhere to a systematic philosophy of conservatism. In that case, both are no better than Liberalism, Leftism, Hegel, Marx, Hitler, Nietzsche, Nimrod, and Cain (who slew Abel) who all believed we can create and manipulate reality through acts of the will. If we don’t believe conservatism is reality, then why can’t we bail out banks, bring in thousands of illegals, and allow Sodomites get married? If we do, then shouldn’t we let it affect every decision we make?
Ideas matter. Ideas are all that matter. Therefore, I’m done voting for people who are not conservative. I will not vote for Hillary over Sanders, I will not vote for Rubio over Trump, and I will not vote for Trump over Bush. If Cruz wasn’t running, I wouldn’t vote for anyone.