by Duane Norman, Free Market Shooter
Its been two years since Trump convinced me to vote for him – and while he hasn’t been perfect, and in spite of relentless government and media pressure against him – I’m still convinced that Trump was the best choice, given all the candidates running who could have won.
Even though Trump is only through 50% of his term, and a lot can happen (and change) in the next 50%, there’s no doubt that Trump has at least tried valiantly to fulfill his campaign promises.
Throughout his entire presidency, Trump has had to operate with all three branches of government working against him. The executive branch (deep state) that is supposed to take orders from Trump instead labors to subvert major elements of his agenda. The courts have become an extension of the “resistance” – with Obama judges issuing more sweeping rulings against Trump than perhaps any other president in the last 100 years. And the Paul Ryan-led “majority” in the House did almost nothing to advance Trump legislative proposals, which has now given way to the Pelosi-led House, which will surely reduce Trump’s already-scant legislative victories to near zero.
Its easy to say the Ron/Rand Paul agenda would be more ideal than Trump’s platform of “we’re not cutting your social security or medicare” – but its simply impossible to win a Presidential election in today’s America while threatening to cut entitlements, shed millions of government jobs, dump wasteful military spending, and work to lead the country away from financial ruin. Trump was smart enough to realize that (which is why he won) – which is also why he has completely written off any discussion of curtailing debt and deficit spending.
Anyone who thought that a real estate developer and reality TV star was going to be the silver bullet to all of America’s problems is naive and/or ignorant to America’s problems. Trump’s election was merely a step in moving the Overton window away from control by establishment neocons and their deep state subversives. If Trump’s agenda stalls in the next two years of his term, and he is replaced by a Democrat (establishment) candidate in 2020, it may very well be one of the last steps away from globalist control that this country ever makes.
As I’ve documented in the past, the absence of an establishment platform wasn’t the only reason I voted Trump:
- Most importantly, I will vote for Trump because of what he is not – controlled by the global elites.
- I will vote for Trump because he represents the polar opposite of our dysfunctional and corrupt political system.
- I will vote for Trump because he is the only true anti-war candidate with a chance for victory this large in the 30+ years that I’ve been alive.
- I will vote for Trump because of his position on healthcare. Notably, that the only bit of defined policy he has is the repeal of Obamacare, and allowing insurers to compete across state lines.
- I will vote for Trump because I really don’t care about the “social issues”, and I don’t think he does either.
- Finally, I will vote for Trump because he is politically incorrect.
While it can be argued that Trump is controlled by the elites, I don’t believe that to be the case, as I’ve previously explained:
While this is certainly up for debate among many, Trump has gone in steadfast opposition to the globalist policies of the world’s wealthy and powerful. While some elites are surely benefiting from tax reform and relaxed business policies, Trump has demonstrated that he will not bend to the whims of Democrats and establishment Republicans who have opposed him at every turn and are allied with globalist interests. Trump has been a refreshing change from the Bush/Obama years, and while he has demonstrated that he is influenced by the elites, he is certainly not controlled by them.
As for the rest? Trump is definitely hated not just by the existing political order, but by the deep state, court system, and basically the vast majority of government leeches that have worked tirelessly to prevent him from implementing his agenda. On war, Trump has already ordered US troops out of Syria – and may order them out of Afghanistan soon. Much to my surprise, Trump managed to somewhat de-escalate tensions with North Korea, even after referring to Kim Jong-Un as “Rocket Man” in front of the entire UN. If current trends hold, he will be the most anti-war president since Eisenhower – and possibly even more anti-War than him.
Trump’s political incorrectness (and Twitter feed) is a major part of appeal – which ties into the “social issues” he doesn’t care about, and the wave of identity politics that has swept over the US. The recent situation with the Covington High students highlights this – Trump is taking the politically incorrect position to defend these students, in what has become a near-constant affair to brand anyone who supports Trump’s agenda as “Hitler”, a “mass shooter”, or any number of other pejoratives.
Meanwhile, Trump’s opponents have abused the social issues to “resist” Trump – as is demonstrated by New York State celebrating the passage of a state law legalizing third trimester abortions for effectively any excuse the mother comes up with. I don’t really care about abortion as an issue at all (and I don’t think Trump cares either) – but when the anti-Trump crowd is so hell bent on going against Trump that they pass a law which upsets even pro-choice advocates, its clear they’ve taken their virtue signaling way too far.
Many potential pitfalls await Trump this year, the most worrisome being the perilous state of the economy:
- Having successfully kicked the can of US economic issues down the road for two years, Trump will have to prove he can set himself up to do the same until November of 2020 if he wants to win re-election
- Though Trump’s military incursions have thus far been limited to two cruise missile strikes in Syria which ultimately amounted to expending aging cruise missiles on aging Syrian aircraft and testing new cruise missiles in a live-fire environment, the potential of starting another endless war still exists
- Jeff Sessions has finally left the Trump administration (in what was likely part of a “deal” for him to retake his Senate seat in 2020 from Doug Jones), but the Justice Department could remain in a state of incompetence and/or deep state control if a suitable replacement is not appointed
And much of Trump’s success or failure in 2019 will depend on whether or not construction begins on a southern border wall. Trump misplayed his shutdown hand and let Pelosi and Schumer get the best of him, but none of that will matter if Trump declares a national emergency and begins construction on significant portions of the wall. However, his voters will be very displeased if he fails to produce, even if anti-Trump elements in the executive branch and/or the courts are to blame for the lack of a border wall.
If the country’s finances are in shambles anyway, and since walls work well enough for Israel to build over 484 miles of them, Trump’s demand for a physical barrier hardly the most outrageous budgetary request a President can make. Compared to Obama wasting hundreds of billions on increasing the cost of healthcare for the average American – and Bush wasting trillions of dollars on a pointless war in Iraq – Trump’s wall request could end up as a bargain.
In spite of Trump’s growing pains, missteps and clashes within his own administration, I remain convinced that Trump was the best choice out of all the potential candidates who could have defeated Hillary Clinton. In spite of libertarian desire for a Paul, or neocon desire for any of the other GOP candidates, conservatives and libertarians alike would have been in much worse shape if anyone besides Trump won – especially given that “better” alternatives never could have won a general election.
Trump certainly has big shoes to fill in the next two years of his presidency – but given how he won in 2016, he’s the last guy I’d want to bet against. He’s taken perhaps the best shots the never-Trump opposition has…
…and he’s still standing. And as long as he’s still fighting for the same agenda he was elected on, I’m still confident that America came away with the best possible choice to lead the country.