Opinion | We Wanted a New Republican Party. Trump Delivered.

Hosted by Ross DouthatOn this episode of “Matter of Opinion,” Ross Douthat is joined by his good friend Reihan Salam, a former housemate and co-author and the president of the Manhattan Institute.As young conservatives, the two teamed up in the waning days of the George W.

Bush era to write “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.”After Donald Trump’s second election victory, the two look back at their prescriptions and debate what they got right and wrong about building a durable Republican majority.Below is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation.To watch the full episode, click the play button on the video above.

To listen to this episode, click the play button below.Ross Douthat: The second election of Donald Trump didn’t just win a majority for Trump himself.It also solidified a remarkable transformation in the Republican Party, which has gone from being a party associated with the wealthy and the white suburban upper middle class to being a party that represents a much more diverse coalition — more blue collar, with fewer college-educated voters and, in this election, with a much more multiracial coalition as well.That’s quite a shift, and it’s quite remarkable that Trump himself would be the one to accomplish it.

So to map out the recent history that brought us to this moment and some of the arguments that Republicans and conservatives have been having about their changing coalition, I’ve brought on a very special guest.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....