“A strong party system would have strangled Trump’s presidential bid in the cradle.”
As I recall, they tried. Didn’t work. They sold out to Hilliary and it backfired.
[As I recall, they tried. Didn’t work. They sold out to Hilliary and it backfired.]
A strong party system means Trump would not have been able to run for the nomination at all. Candidates would have been selected by party honchos in smoke-filled rooms. Prior to 20th century reforms, the popular vote in each state played no part in the nominating process. In Europe, that’s still how the process works - party leaders decide who gets to run:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election#United_States
[The United States is one of the few countries to select candidates through popular vote in a primary election system;[10] most countries rely on party leaders or paid up party members to select candidates, as was previously the case in the U.S.[]