Refuting Conservative Myths: Since Trump was a lifelong Democrat, why doesn't the Democratic Party accept responsibility for his alleged misbehavior?

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This question was originally asked by conservative memberTrevor Hamlen on Quora as:

Since President Trump was a lifelong Democrat before running for president and he polished his interpersonal skills during his formative years, would the Democrats take ownership for the very behaviors they claim him to possess?

My reply: 

Oh, boy. It is really sad to see just how ill-informed you must be about Donald Trump, based on the wording of your question. So many distortions, so many mistaken conclusions. So, as a public service, I’ll try to educate you on the realities of Donald Trump’s political affiliation and how he changes parties to suit his whims.

Let’s get started, shall we?

First of all, Donald J. Trump has never been a “lifelong” member of the Democratic Party. In the mid-1980s, for instance, Trump registered as a Republican voter with the Department of Elections in Manhattan. He remained a Republican until 1999 when he registered as a Reform Party voter. Two years later, Trump switched parties again in 2001, when he registered as a Democrat.

In 2009, Trump changed his party affiliation yet again, this time to return to the Republican Party fold. Two years later, Trump made his first political speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee, which was the first of many steps he took to prepare for his 2016 Presidential run.

Considering that Trump only identified as a Democrat for eight years, this punches a Mack truck-sized hole in your argument that the current occupant of the White House was a “lifelong Democrat” until 2015.

As for the rest of your query: you presume on false assumptions.

First, the only person who needs to take ownership of Trump’s actions is Donald Trump. The Democratic Party is not an omnipresent, omnipotent force for evil (as many Trump supporters claim it to be). It is a huge, privately-owned political organization with various factions that run the gamut from idealistic social democrats to conservative Democrats who have more in common with moderate Republicans than they do with the more progressive liberal members of the party. To its detriment, the Democratic Party does not have a unified agenda, other than to ensure that every American, especially the elderly, the disabled, and disenfranchised minorities get a “fair deal.”

The Democratic Party did not, as your “question” seems to suggest, create the Frankenstein monster that is Donald John Trump, Sr. If any one person is responsible for foisting Trump on the rest of us it is his father, Fred Trump, Sr. Additionally, he was mentored in politics by none other than Roy Cohn, the very same Roy Cohn who helped Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-WI) to usher in the Red Scare during the Eisenhower Administration.

Basically, if any political party or organization owns Trump and his behavior, it’s the current Republican Party. The Democrats had zero to do with the tutelage of Don the Con.

Thus endeth this lesson.