Tag: donald-trump

Thanks to loyal reader, David, for providing the idea and much of the information for the following blog.

I am not voting for Donald Trump, the man, in the 2024 presidential election. I don’t hate the man as many others do. I don’t know him. I have never met him, but based on what I have seen and observed over the years it is likely that if I did get to know him, I wouldn’t like him personally. He would not be my choice for a dinner companion or any other type of social encounter. He can be abrasive, rude, abrupt, and arrogant. Over the years he has had a plethora of clashes with many people including, subordinates, business associates, and the media, among others. These types of qualities do not exactly endear him to many people on a personal level. No, I would not vote for Trump, the man.

However, I AM going to vote for the following policies and, by extension, the man who I deem best able to enact them.

1. Support and defend the Constitution, especially the first and second amendments.
2. Secure and defend our borders against illegals who we have no idea who they are, where they came from, and their intent. Contrary to what the Dems and the media tell you most of them are NOT asylum-seekers. Many of them are from countries that are our enemies and/or sponsor terrorism and comprise the dregs of society from those countries – criminals, terrorists and other undesirables.
3. Finish the border wall, reinstitute the “remain in Mexico” policy and deport illegal aliens that break our laws. Until and unless they become citizens they are guests in our country, and they should act as such.
4. Crack down on the importing of illegal, deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, which are killing tens of thousands of us.
5. Crack down on the Mexican cartels who essentially control the Mexican government and act with impunity on both sides of the southern border.
6. Terminate human trafficking and other human rights violations.
7. Crack down on sanctuary states and cities.
8. Be the president of all the people, not just some of the people.
9. Do away with the runaway wokeism and other inane and misguided far-left policies that have been plaguing our country and tearing apart our social fabric.
10. Stop treating illegal aliens better than our own citizens.
11. End censorship of differences of opinion, especially on social media.
12. Restore the traditional justice system. Make the Justice Department treat everyone equally under the law regardless of social status, economic wealth, color, religion, or political persuasion.
13. Make us feel safe again by refunding the police, ending “no-bail” laws, and demanding that local DAs actually prosecute crimes and judges sentence the guilty to prison.
14. Appoint judges and SC justices that will follow the constitution.
15. Resume drilling for oil and gas in order to restore our energy independence and eliminate our dependence on our enemies.
16. Replace the current administration’s “America last” policy with an “America first” policy.
17. Stand up to the leaders of foreign countries who are threatening us (e.g. Russia, China, and Iran), disrespecting us and taking advantage of us (e.g. NATO allies and Mexico).
18. Reinstitute unwavering support for Israel, our sole reliable ally in the critical, dangerous and mercurial Middle East.
19. Protect our critical industries by equalizing tariffs and preventing the export of jobs and manufacturing.
20. Support our military and our veterans.
21. Crack down on the anti-Semites and antisemitism that is running rampant in our schools and in our society, in general.
22. Reverse the US’s current downward spiral and make us proud to be an American again.
23. Secure the future of America for our children and grandchildren.

CONCLUSION

These are tall orders. They will not be easy to accomplish, particularly since the entrenched powers in Congress and government will resist by any means possible to safeguard their turf.

Of all the candidates which one is most capable of accomplishing the foregoing? We know the answer, because he did it already in his first term. The policies he has been espousing are precisely the ones we need and want now. Biden and his administration have had their chance, and they have f**ked it up royally.

In a recent poll people were asked to name the most significant accomplishment of the Biden administration. What was the winner? Was it the economy? No. Was it the border? No. Was it crime? No. The winner was “nothing.” That’s right, “nothing.” So, if you voted for him in 2020 are you happy with the result, or do you have buyer’s remorse?

My advice is to ignore the bloviators and spin doctors in the media and elsewhere. Your decision in 2024 should come down to the answer to one simple question. There is no deep analysis needed. “Are you better off today than you were in 2020?”

So, don’t vote for Trump, the man. Hold your nose, swallow your pride, ignore your personal feelings, and vote for Trump’s policies. Ignore what he says. Ignore his character flaws. Focus on his policies. He succeeded before. He can do so again.

Your children and grandchildren will thank you.

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Trump and Biden are now the presumptive nominees of their respective political parties. Although anything can happen in politics in all likelihood they will become the official nominees at their respective party’s conventions this summer.

In my view, the 2024 presidential election will be extremely contentious. The campaign will include a surfeit of obfuscations, exaggerations and lies, even more so than usual. It is virtually axiomatic that all politicians are guilty of the above to some degree. We all know this. We don’t like it, but we accept it. A politician who tells the absolute truth all the time, like Jim Carrey’s character in the movie Liar, Liar, would never get elected.

That said, I maintain that voters should ignore all the bloviations, exaggerations and promises by the candidates and reported by the media. After a while, it all becomes so much “white noise” anyway. Promises are meaningless. Most of them never come to pass anyway. Rather than listening to what they say or promise focus on what they’ve done or haven’t done. You will find that that will clarify matters.

We can do this because in 2024 we have a very rare situation. Both candidates have actually served a term as president. Therefore, we don’t have to guess. We don’t have to predict. We can see what they’ve each done or not done as president. According to Wikipedia, Trump is only the 7th former president to run again after having left office, the first to do so since Herbert Hoover in 1940. (Only one of the previous six won – Grover Cleveland.)

The best way to analyze this election is to ask yourself that age-old question – are you are better off today under Biden’s presidency than you were four years ago under Trump’s. For example, is your quality of life better or not? Do you have more money or not? Are you able to provide for your family better or not? Regardless of what the government says, in your personal experience are prices of the necessities you buy, chiefly food, gas and shelter, higher or not? Has inflation impacted you or not? Do you feel crime is on the rise or not? Do you personally feel safer or not? Do you think the world is safer or not? Are you more or less satisfied with the US’s relationship with our friends, notably Israel, and our enemies? Do you feel the justice system is more equitable or not? Are your children’s and grandchildren’s schools educating them better or not? If you are Jewish do you feel the level of antisemitism is greater, lesser, or the same? If you are Black do you feel opportunities are better, lesser or the same? If you are a legal immigrant are you happy with special treatment of the flood of illegal immigrants that have entered the country or not? These are just some of the questions you should ponder. Your answers will make it obvious for whom to vote.

Don’t pay any attention to real or perceived personality flaws. They are largely subjective anyway. Like I said, follow your objective analysis. If you feel you and the country are better off under Biden than you were under Trump vote for Biden regardless of his cognitive status and legal issues. On the other hand, if you feel you and the country were better off under Trump then vote for him regardless of his abrasive personality and legal issues.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, the answer to all of those comparisons strongly favor Trump. Do I like him on a personal level? I don’t know him. Never met him. But if I were to know him personally, I probably wouldn’t like him. But I say so what? Who cares? We’re not voting for senior class president. It’s not a popularity contest. We’re not going to “hang out” together. We don’t have to like him. We just have to think that he will improve things. Moreover, if you know your history you know that many of our best and most popular presidents had serious physical and/or personality flaws that were hidden from the public. Today, due to the internet and social media virtually nothing is hidden.

Furthermore, let’s not ignore the empirical evidence. We saw what Trump did as president pre-Covid. The economy was booming. Unemployment was at record lows for all ethnic and gender groups. We were energy independent for the first time in over 70 years. There were no wars. Our enemies feared and respected us. Our border was secure. Yes, some people were put off by his mean tweets and abrasive personality. Well, strap on your “big boy pants,” hold your nose and deal with it!

On the other hand, Biden’s record speaks for itself. His supporters perceive him as a nice old man. Many of them choose to ignore his cognitive decline and his nefarious, if not treasonous, activities. They voted for him in 2020 and will likely do so again. My question to them is how is that decision working out for you? I repeat, focus on what the candidates do or don’t do, not what they say or promise.

Tonight, President Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, members of the Cabinet (except for one “designated survivor), and the justices of the Supreme Court. The SOTU is required by the US Constitution, Article 2, Section 3, Clause 1, which states that the president shall periodically “give to the Congress information of the SOTU and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

George Washington delivered the initial SOTU to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1790. For most of the next 100 or so years presidents fulfilled the constitutional requirement merely by submitting a written report to Congress. Then, in 1913 Woodrow Wilson commenced the current practice of delivering the SOTU in person. Later, with the advent of television and streaming the address has been delivered live throughout the entire country and much of the world.

Traditionally, the president uses this opportunity to review his administration’s accomplishments, outline what he hopes to achieve prospectively, and foster unity among the voters. In this case, however, I wouldn’t count on it. As I have written many times I cannot think of any positive accomplishments by the Biden administration. Moreover, I doubt that he will be able to achieve any in the remainder of his (hopefully only) term. Finally, the notion that he will unify the country, or even try to, is a joke. On the contrary, thus far his administration has done everything to demonize and criticize Republicans and, in particular, Trump and his supporters.

Those of you who have been paying attention over the last three years are cognizant of the following Biden lowlights, and I apologize for wasting your time by repeating them here, but for those of you who have been drinking the Dem Kool-Aid below please find a brief summary:

1. Opened the border to virtually anyone who wants to enter the US. Millions have entered in the last three years. We don’t even know the identity of these people, how many there are, where they’re from or their intentions. What we do know is they done significant damage to our country economically, politically, criminally, and socially. And that doesn’t even address the real threat of terrorism they present. The negative ramifications of this action are incalculable and will be long-lasting.
2. Suspended the production of oil and gas. Succinctly put, this took us from energy independence to energy dependence and in the process damaged our economy. Additionally, it has propped up the economies of many of our enemies, such as Russia and Iran. As a result, Russia has used its oil revenue to prosecute the war against Ukraine, and Iran has been able to finance terrorist activities in the Middle East and elsewhere.
3. Created massive inflation through profligate spending. Don’t believe the government’s publicized inflation numbers. Anyone who has bought groceries, filled up their car’s gas tank, or tried to buy or rent a home knows they don’t reflect reality. We’re being gaslit.
4. The evidence of his and his family’s corruption continues to grow. It’s getting to the point where only his most ardent supporters can deny their guilt of corruption and maybe even treason. In my view, he has been the classic “Manchurian candidate.”
5. There are wars and conflicts all over the world. His weakness has encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine, Arab terrorists to attack Israel in the most heinous fashion, and China’s saber-rattling vis a vis Taiwan. The botched exit from Afghanistan was a disastrous embarrassment and caused the loss of hundreds of American lives. Furthermore, his tepid support of Israel should make every Jew very uncomfortable.
6. The rise of crime due to the proliferation of “no bail” laws and woke DA’s reluctance to prosecute crimes has made all of us unsafe.
7. He has done nothing to curb the very disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in the country and indeed the entire world. He has not taken any action, not condemned it, not even spoken out. I am not saying Biden is an anti-Semite, but his lack of support for Israel and Jews makes one wonder. Based on the foregoing, it is beyond me how any self-respecting Jew could vote for him.

It has taken over three years, but voters are finally catching on. All the polls speak loudly and clearly. Voters are beginning to realize that “the emperor [really] has no clothes.”

1. According to the latest NY Times-Sienna poll Two-thirds of voters say the country is “heading in the wrong direction.”
2. The latest CBS News/You-Gov poll has revealed that only one-third of voters think Biden’s presidency has been “excellent” or “good.” Some 61% of voters say he is “too old to be an effective leader.” It’s not just his chronological age. Many people have been lucid and effective well into their 80s. Contrary to what his supporters say, anyone who has seen Biden speak or even move around can readily see he is declining cognitively. It brings to mind the old Groucho Marx joke: “Are you going to believe what I tell you or what you see with your own eyes?”
3. Despite the Dems’ and their supporters attempts to discredit Trump with bogus claims, even to get him disqualified from the ballot in some states voters are not being fooled. In fact, these false claims have served to boost Trump’s popularity. People are coming to realize that what’s being done to him could easily be done to them. Presently, the latest polls indicate that he leads Biden in every battleground state. This has led to widespread panic among the Dems. Some believe Biden may be replaced on the ticket, possibly at the convention.

CONCLUSION

I believe that tonight’s SOTU speech will be very interesting. I am anxious to see how Biden conducts himself. I’m not interested in what he says so much as how he says it. The pressure is on him to be articulate, cogent, coherent, and lucid. How will he justify his record? Will he attack Trump and his supporters? How many “Pinocchio’s” will he get. Who will deliver the opposition rebuttal, and what will he or she say?