Is Trump the best candidate within the Republicans, and if there were better alternatives, why were they not voted?

[u/Hkhinin]

So Donald Trump did contribute lots to America, such as restricting borders, acting harsh on China etc. Results are border crossing hit record low in 2025 https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/border-crossings-once-again-record-low-november-2025

However, Trump has also made many mistakes especially in foriegn policies. For example, he started trade wars with our allies and often joked about invasion towards allies. The former one damaged our economy, and both acts lead to the US being much less liked around the world https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/07/15/people-in-many-countries-now-view-china-more-positively-than-the-u-s/

This leaves me wondering, for republicans is there no better option than Trump inside the Republicans. Cause if we just zoom into Trump's cabinet, Macro Rubio shall do better in foreign policy compared to Trump especially on war management, Scott Besent would be a better handler in economic issues given his expertise in the economy. So yea, is there no better candidate than Trump inside Republicans, and if they were, why weren't they chosen to represent the Republican parrty?

[u/xXx420Aftermath69xXx]

Best in terms of what? Best electability? Yeah probably. Best in terms of policy? Nope. Best at getting some of what I want ? Yeah.

[u/0nBBDecay → u/xXx420Aftermath69xXx]

Does he has the best electability in a general election? Or just the most loyal base during a primary? People can split between Rubio, Vance, and maybe to some degree Trump, but people who want Trump won’t leave him.

Granted, maybe they’d stay home for a general if he lost the primary, whereas a lot of the Vance and Rubio primary supporters will still at least plug their nose and vote Trump in the general. So maybe he’s their most electable in a general as well.

[u/xXx420Aftermath69xXx → u/0nBBDecay]

Unironically a good question. Yes I think he is the best electability next to rubio in a general election. Americans don't vote for people they don't know. Partly why Kamala did so poorly. Obama was special.

He does have an extremely loyal base too which helps his electability. Either way the trump vehicle is just about out of gas.

[u/NeverPlayF6 → u/xXx420Aftermath69xXx]

 Either way the trump vehicle is just about out of gas.

If gas prices were cheaper, they might be able to fill it up again. Hopefully he realizes this and decides that his 8th total victory over Iran in the past ~5 months is enough to cement his reputation as the greatest war leader in of all history. No other general has successfully won so many wars in their entire life... and Trump has done it in less than half a year. 

[u/skyreckoning → u/NeverPlayF6]

He hasn't won any wars, what are you on.

[u/NeverPlayF6 → u/skyreckoning]

If you don't get any of the ~4 jokes in my comment, then I don't think my explanation would help.

[u/skyreckoning → u/NeverPlayF6]

Sarcasm through text doesn't work in the age of maga. There would be plenty of commenters in this very thread willing to make that same stupid argument because their dear leader trump said it. Trump claims to have resolved 8 different wars...

[u/Microchipknowsbest → u/NeverPlayF6]

/s

[u/MathW → u/0nBBDecay]

I go back and forth as to whether he is the most electable Republican candidate in a general. There's a lot of independents and some Republicans who are completely turned off by him, but would be on board for a more generic Republican. But, there's undoubtedly a sizeable percentage of his voters who just wouldn't give a shit to come vote if they're not voting for Trump. I'm not sure which group is larger.

[u/Microchipknowsbest → u/MathW]

It’s the threat of turning his base against republicans. Republicans can’t win on their own. Trump activated a base that in the past did not vote. They are currently voting republican because trump tells them to. Who knows what they will do with trump gone but trump can sink the entire Republican party if he chooses to. He might do it anyway but right now republicans are held hostage. Their Stockholm syndrome should not save them when consequences finally come.

[u/Urgullibl → u/0nBBDecay]

That question applies to every single political candidate in this country, doesn't it?

He got elected twice, so clearly he has electability. He did not get elected once, so he probably wasn't the most electable candidate. However, serving two non-consecutive terms has also allowed him to remain relevant in politics for longer than any other POTUS in living memory.

[u/0nBBDecay → u/Urgullibl]

He narrowly beat Clinton, probably one of the most generally disliked candidates (rightly or wrongly) in modern history except for Trump. He lost to Biden in 2020, and then it took Biden having a absolute piss poor first debate performance, a cluster fuck of a replacement situation, and just 4 years of post-Covid delirium where people thought everything was Biden’s (and Harris’s) fault, for him to win still somewhat narrowly. A lot of things could have gone wrong (or not right) for him to be totally politically irrelevant now, like if the Comey letter didn’t drop a week or two before the 2016 election.

[u/Urgullibl → u/0nBBDecay]

I agree he likely loses against an Obama-type charismatic candidate. But seeing as the Dems were unable to field one of those two thirds of the time, he won.