Who could have guessed that a plurality of 'conservatives' don't believe in free trade?
Actually that's probably been a major bone of contention for the past couple of decades: those who believe it is good, and those who believe they've been harmed by it.
The assumption of "free trade is always good" that many in the GOP have taken as a writ of faith—and the ineffective attempts at defending it—are part of the reason a guy like Donald Trump has risen. People, many in the party's own core, are hurting, and they're looking for someone who will help. The Democrats' idea of help, just throwing around other people's money, is not, nor has it ever been, the solution they're seeking. Protectionism, the idea of defending ourselves against countries that have profited (often under starkly un-American principles) and gained while we have declined, using policies we've used in the past (tariffs have been a part of American foreign policy since the beginning), looks quite appealing.
(It doesn't make Donald Trump any less of a shallow, perverted fraud, but the point stands.)
