Donald Trump Has Stolen the GOP’s Machismo

Women backing both Cruz and Rubio cite the candidates’ ability to protect America from threats as well as their steadfast commitment to God and conservative principles as the foundation of their support. Yet more than any other single issue, terrorism looms over every campaign rally, and over many conversations.

It’s why Amy Kay, a Rubio volunteer from Charleston, says she’s getting a concealed weapon permit, and why other women she knows are buying guns.

Jeb Bush, meanwhile, is tough on terrorism only by proxy — his brother. At a rally in North Charleston on Monday night, former President George W. Bush, not Jeb, was the draw for some undecided voters. Chris Mullinax, a voter from Charleston, says she came “because George W. Bush is the ultimate favorite president of my lifetime.” She says he did an “incredibly wonderful job at tackling terrorism,” adding that she believes he didn’t play golf or take a vacation after 9/11.

Mullinax’s niece, Kelly Sokevitz, a nurse and recent graduate of Clemson University, is also undecided. She says Trump has campaigned heavily at her school. “Dudes, fraternity guys love Trump,” she says with a laugh.

The frat bros might like Trump, but the Bush family is trying to convince South Carolinians that a political scion with “quiet conviction” is their man. While George W. Bush said as president that he “made a lot of tough calls,” tough is not a word he uses to describe his brother. Instead, he says he has a “strong and steady hand,” is “thoughtful and trustworthy,” and “understands the most solemn job is to protect us.”

When Jeb Bush takes the stage, a small but steady stream of people begin to exit the conventional hall.

The next day, Jeb tries once again to rehabilitate his standing by tweeting “America” with a photograph of a gun engraved with his name. But Twitter erupted in ridicule, not admiration.

Rubio, by contrast, presents himself as the hard-working, dedicated family man, the embodiment of the American dream – not the son of a political dynasty, like Bush, nor a messianic ideologue like Cruz. He’s styling himself as the rescuer of conservatism and, crucially, American exceptionalism.

While America is “on the road to decline,” Rubio says — a process he claims began with the election of Obama — “we are on the verge of the greatest chapter in the story of America.” He says we’re “on pace to lose the American dream,” and therefore “we need to convert more people to conservatism.”

For his supporters, particularly conservative women, Rubio is “Reaganesque,” “the real deal,” “electrifying” and “unifying.” Renee Calvert of Summerville, a Rubio volunteer, describes him as a family man who will “bring honor back to the White House.”

Pamela Sloan, a Rubio supporter from Mount Pleasant, has brought with her to the rally a Bible verse she says is relevant to his candidacy. She reads to me from 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

Rubio speaks frequently about his hardworking immigrant parents and what he portrays as his own achievement of the American dream. Later in the day, Sloan emails me to say Rubio’s gratefulness for what America has given his family is what makes him a strong leader. “He has a thankful heart and it is visible, noticeable, and, I believe, empowers him to do more,” she says in the email. For some voters, at least, winning back the party’s stolen virility may not require the highest form of flattery to Trump.