Donald Trump seems to see himself as the Senator from the United States. Right now he's trying to get fairer trade deals for our country, especially with China. He's looking out for the interests of his constituency, which is basically America's middle class, and is trying to bring companies and jobs back home.
It's a job which previous Presidents seem to have considered beneath their dignity. Most of them preferred to see themselves as statesmen, or grand visionaries, or, perhaps, leaders of the free world. And they all had a sense of the ruffled feathers and potential chaos that trying to level the economic playing field would bring. So none could be bothered to disrupt the status quo.
Certainly all of the implicit threats of trade wars emanating from the Trump administration have been creating havoc in the financial markets. And Trump's own shoot-from-the-hip, freewheeling, keep-the-opponent-off-balance negotiating style has not been reassuring.
But we have long been regarded as a pitiful, helpless giant by other countries which have wanted to protect their own industries while being allowed more or less free access to our markets. And Trump wants to end that imbalance.
He's also annoyed by the fact that other countries don't pay their fair share for NATO, and is trying to rectify that. He's trying to get a better deal for the US. Which, as our President, is what he should be doing.
Trump's ego is as obtrusive as a second head on his shoulders, and Presidential decorum ranks low on his list of priorities. But, again unlike previous Presidents, he seems to have meant everything he said while running, and is doing his best to make good on his campaign promises.
Trump is our Senatorial President.
Obama seemed to view his job as President as if he were the head of the world's largest foundation, with the power to dole out lots of goodies to his favored constituencies, both here and abroad. He seemed to have little sense of how the money which funded the foundation was originally made. And for that reason, he never seemed to quite get why capitalism is more effective than communism.
This country is better off with a Senator than a foundation head in the Oval Office.
This country is better off with a Senator than a foundation head in the Oval Office.
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Great to have you back and making sense, as always, Mr. Craig. I grew up in a liberal family and bought the media's garbage for a few decades, which caused me to disparage our last great, transformative president, Ronald Reagan. I'm determined to think for myself and never let that happen again. Trump is equally revolutionary as Reagan in his straight-forwardness and dissatisfaction with the status quo. While his style can be off-putting and he unwisely lets some bad people into his inner circle (looking at you, Mr. Kushner), he really does seem to be on the side of the American public. Four more years? You betcha!
Anonymous --
First, thank you (though I'm not really back, no intentions to blogging regularly).
I'm glad you overcame your early brainwashing; it takes a strong (and smart) person to do that. We agree on Trump. I don't think I'd like the guy if I knew him personally, but he's determined to do the best he can by America, even if he has to ruffle a few feathers, which is certainly more than we can say for his predecessors.
We agree on Kushner as well.
Member countries contribute to NATO in accordance with an agreed cost-sharing formula based on Gross National Income. Since the US has a greater GNI, it's not "unfair" that the US pays more: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm
The way Trump snubs NATO, his obvious disrespect for the Queen of England, and the negative comments he makes about Western leaders like Merkel, has less to do with him being "senatorial" and more to do with him having been a Soviet/Russian asset since the 80s: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-putin-russia-collusion.html
Moreover, I don't think you're helping yourself with your repeated insistence that Obama was/is a communist. His economic system was to the Right of those that exist in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and even the U.K., but no reputable economist would call any of those countries communist! (Obamacare was nowhere near as comprehensive as the healthcare systems that exist in Europe). It really isn't as simple as "either you think no public healthcare system should exist, or you're a Marxist": capitalism and socialism exist in 57 varieties. I'm certain Obama is more than aware of the works of the great Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and the horrors that necessarily follow from trying to implement an economic system so contrary to our selfish human nature.
As for Reagan: his own daughter said he would've have been "appalled" by Trump: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mourning-america-what-my-father-ronald-reagan-would-say-today/2018/06/03/a0fe1cfe-65be-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f1941fc77efd
Reagan helped bring down the evil Soviet Union, whereas Trump is a Russian asset. If it wasn't for Reagan and Thatcher's joint efforts, the Berlin Wall might still exist now. It disgusts me to see people saying Reagan's name and Trump's in the same sentence. Just take a look at Reagan's unforgettable 'Tear Down This Wall' speech to see why: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1HnWwzmNk
- Gethin
Gethin --
The original agreement with the other NATO countries, as I understand it, is that they would pay 2% of their GNP to their own defense. Most of the countries are falling far short of this, even rich countries like Germany. Of course the US pays more in total dollars, but that's not the point I was making.
True, Trump is not much of a diplomat, and I wish he were more of one. But a Russian agent? Even the author of the article you linked, Jonathan Chait, called his proposition a "plausible theory." And how is it that the Democrats have done such a 180 in just six short years? Remember when Obama mocked Mitt Romney in a 2012 debate for saying that Russia is our biggest geopolitical foe, saying that "the 1980's want their foreign policy back?" Remember when Obama got caught on that hot mike telling Medvedev, "Don't worry, I'll have more flexibility after the election"? Remember Hillary's "reset button" in that meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister?
The fact that Obama was unable to move this country as far left as he wanted to is hardly proof that he himself is not at heart a communist. Yes, Obamacare is not nationalized healthcare, but his first choice would obviously have been nationalized healthcare. Obama just had the little problem of having to get it by Congress and the American people. He himself admitted that when he was in college the professors he was most drawn to were the Marxists. And just because he raised long term capital gains taxes to "only" 20%, does that mean that if given is choice he wouldn't have gone further? Of course he would have.
Reagan's daughter is a lifelong liberal, of course she's going to say whatever bad she can say about Trump. And just because she was Reagan's daughter, that doesn't mean sh knows what he would have said about a political leader who was in office 30 years later.
Please blog whenever you get the inspiration! Even if only 5-6 times a year, it's always interesting to read your takes. I want to keep the bookmark:)
Curt Flood --
Thank you very much. Ever now and something occurs to me that I ought to point out, but I've just been letting it slide.
Please look into Qanon drops. I watch/listen to prayingmedic on YouTube. He is really good at explaining (decoding) the Q drops. President Trump was asked by military leaders to run for office. It was either perform a coup against the deep state or get a President into office who was not owned by the deep state. Trump complied and thankfully won the race. Thank you, God. The NSA is headed by the military and they are in the process of cleaning the swamp. Just listening to the Q drops decodes, grasping what they mean, is an eye opening experience. The deep state exists, having it's tentacles in everything (to control the masses) being completely diabolical. The times that we're living in is now known as the Great Awakening (per Q). Q is connected to President Trump and his military advisors. They are speaking to the public, letting the masses know that the deep state is going down. God bless Trump, the world, and fellow patriots.
- birdie
P.S. I look forward to future posts from you.
Birdie --
Hi, thanks for your comment. I just looked into the QAnon movement, a lot of it seems little far-fetched to me. The idea that Trump is colluding with Mueller to expose the Clinton/Obama/Soros axis seems crazy, to be honest. I agree that there's a Deep State, i.e., permanent employees of places like the State Department, the CIA, and the FBI, people who subscribe to a leftist ideology and do whatever they can to thwart Trump (and thus the will of the people).
I'd LIKE to think the swamp is being cleared out, but I think human nature precludes that. Ex-politicians will always want to make money as lobbyists, and a government worker's priority will always be keeping his job. And roughly half the country is going to lean Left, and they will always try to implement their agenda in whatever ways large and small that they can. But I have a hard time believing the NSA and military are actually doing anything about this.
The Q movement seems legit. I found prayingmedic on YouTube and somehow that led to learning about Q. I'm hopeful. Prayingmedic feels that God is leading him to discuss/decode the Q drops for his watchers/listeners. The man is an EMT, on the job for 30+ years. We'll wait and see what the future holds.
- birdie
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