Looking better as events look worse.
File photo © 2016 Paul L. Gleiser
I have taken quite a bit of heat from listeners to my on-air broadcasts, viewers of my TV commentaries and readers at this forum for having expressed reservations about Donald Trump’s candidacy for president in 2024.
I have expressed those reservations after having always been careful to disclaim that I am a solid Trump policy guy. I have been unequivocal in stating my belief that from a pure policy perspective, Donald Trump’s presidency was a roaring success.
I have been very consistent in expressing my concerns about Trump 2024. Those concerns spring first and foremost from my fear of the consequences of a Democratic victory in 2024 – be that in the person of Joe Biden or some other certain-to-be far left nominee from the party that has lost all connection to sanity.
My concerns spring also from my fear that Trump’s legal woes – the majority of which I acknowledge are bogus – coupled with his personal excesses that many people find off putting, put him at great risk of losing on the margins in five must-win, blue-leaning swing states. Those states are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.
The criticality of success or failure on the margins cannot be overstated. Trump lost the presidency in 2020 by just 40,000 votes spread over just six counties in just four states. (And if you believe those votes were stolen, you may be right. But that only further reinforces the notion of criticality on the margins.)
With all that said, however, those who are still rock-ribbed, full-throated supporters of Donald Trump have a point. And it’s a solid one.
None of the insanity that seems to be popping up in every direction you look would likely be happening if Donald Trump were still in office.
Let’s take it point-by-point.
If Trump were still president, it’s unlikely that Hamas would be terrorizing Israel today. Tensions in the Middle East were abating during Trump’s presidency. His neutralization of ISIS (whom his predecessor dismissed as the J-V team), got the attention of friend and foe alike.
The catastrophic and humiliating pullout from Afganistan that certainly served to embolden Russia’s Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine wouldn’t have happened.
Though he wasn’t as fiscally restrained as I might have liked, I firmly believe that Trump would never have signed the nearly $6 trillion in federal spending that Biden did. That Biden spend-a-palooza reawakened inflation from a 40-year nap. As a result, nearly two thirds of Americans are now living paycheck-to-paycheck.
With Trump in office, an idiotic fixation on climate change wouldn’t have led to the kneecapping of the American oil and gas industry – foolish policy that led to higher energy prices, which also fuels inflation.
And certainly, if Trump were still president, millions of people – a significant percentage of whom are criminals, drug dealers and incipient terrorists – wouldn’t be pouring across our southern border.
Trump is far from perfect. His electability in 2024 is a legitimate concern.
But nevertheless, events are unfolding in real time that make him look better by the minute.
I agree
Finally – I’m so happy we are on the same side again!!
The sad reality that Paul and others ignore is that “81 million” simply don’t care and won’t until it’s too late. It’s already too late in most of the Democrat run cities and they still vote for these clowns. When the suburbs match the conditions in the cities their MIGHT be a change in voter patterns. Even still, the depth of corruption within both parties and federal government as a whole, will not change no matter who is elected.
President Trump has proven himself over and over again in keeping his word to the AMERICAN people. It is a proven fact by actions from the donkeys that they meant to keep President Trump from doing what he said he would! AND President Trump WOULD have kept all of them if all the donkeys were locked up in the barn. BUT these wylie coyotes instead of destroying President Trump, made him three times as STRONG and diligent in completing his mission of making America Great Again!
SURE, he has some irritating ways about him. But you know what? Each and every one of us has them also. It is human nature! I never liked his tweets but you know what? I didn’t have to listen to them…and didn’t! The Great things about President Trump FAR FAR out weigh what is perceived as bad or irritating! When you put a bad thing out there, you plant a BAD SEED. But if you plant the GOOD SEEDS, you usher in GOOD.
As far as your fear the donkeys will do again what was done before? Course with the popularity rising ever more with each dumb act the donkeys pull as they did before without showing any kind of remorse can only backfire. Just as with every stupid act wylie coyote cooked up only resulted in disaster landing on his head! So will it be for the donkeys.
Just remember this…HOW many times have you heard just lately about how what President Trump said being right about this and that? I’ll let you chew on that for a while.
Virtually everyone I know, and millions more–and what I suspect is the majority–want to see Donald Trump return as president. We want him back for the reason cited by Linda: “President Trump has proven himself over and over again in keeping his word to the AMERICAN people.”
That same majority believes the past presidential election was stolen, and that the Republican elites welcomed the theft and were complicit in the cover-up. Getting rid of Trump was that important to the Republican elites. They all knew that Donald Trump could not be bought, even as they continue to go about selling themselves, just like the Democrats, to every special interest that would pad their pockets.
If we want to save our country, we all need to stand firm with Donald Trump. As I’ve said before, my fear is not Donald Trump returning as president. My fear is how on God green earth will we find another Trump to replace him after he is gone!
Buddy, I was recently at a very small gathering in Tyler at which Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke. I am perplexed by his campaign’s inability to gain traction. But I have to tell you, I did see a President of the United States talking to me. He is sharp. He is right on the issues. He has demonstrated that he won’t be cowed by the media. He has proven that he can attract Hispanic votes in large numbers.
I’m not in the tank for him. And I don’t see him overcoming Trump’s enormous lead in the primary race. He has lost ground in the polls every month since he formally announced.
But I believe he could do the job and do it well.
And, besides, Buddy, it can’t be just about a single man. If we’re down to only one single human being out of 330 million who can lead the party and the nation, we are in deep, deep trouble.
Buddy, you are so right to identify Trump as the TOP standard for having the wisdom, courage, and the determination to IDENTIFY and FIGHT the Cartels of the Uni-Party that STILL control our lives thru the corrupt DEEP State that is taking this Nation down to a Communist hell hole by design by way of a multitude of tactics too many to mention, here. It is his VISION of reality that is so attractive to save this nation. He isn’t the only one that can do this; however, there is NO doubt that he is the most FEARED by the Communist-Marxist sympathizers as he is their TOP target for defamation and personal destruction: a banner that he proudly claims that most knowledgeable Patriotic Americans acknowledge and support!
It is a shame that too many are not willing to acknowledge his leadership and wants to tag along, hoping to gain selfish support for themselves in his wake. It is time to see that the end of our Republic both in financial and sovereignty domains is NEAR if his VISION (not him personally) is not adopted in the next election. Throughout history, great solutions come from “individuals with courage” and the willingness to take the arrows of severe opposition. It is not by way of academic prowess or by acclamation from the status quo crowd. Trump is NOT beholden to the political winds that typically compromise career politicians looking for support from mega-donors who are expecting favors from government largess if they were to get elected.
I share your concerns Paul and also agree with Chris’ post above. Personally, I’ve never liked the guy, but held my nose and voted for him anyway as I did for Romney and McCain and was pleasantly surprised when he kept his word and did most of what he said. While I still don’t like his braggadocios ways, his texting or his management style of criticizing in public rather than behind closed doors, he is still better than “anything” on the other side, not that I would ever vote for a democrat anyway…learned my lesson on that in 1976. Like Chris said above, I’m afraid we still have 81 million, maybe even more with all that’s coming across our border that don’t care or don’t have access to anything other than the MSM or social media for their news so they don’t have a clue about what is going on around them. If only we could make them listen to KTBB!!! Also, I’m afraid that even then, with all the shenanigans that took place in the 2020 election and with all the bogus charges that have been made against him, I think he’s probably going to need around another ten million votes more than he got in 2020 to cover all the fraud on the other side that I’m sure is already in the works. God help us.
At this point, can a newly elected President Trump solve the Nation’s problems? I do not think anyone Republican can solve the Nation’s issues. A newly elected Democratic President can only make it worse to the point of civil strife. Trump, as much as I support his policies, can only make it authoritarian. Maybe that is what it will take a Caesar crossing the Rubicon; but what will that bring? We are, the ignorant, stupid, completely divided citizens of the USA are at a historic cross road. Where do we go from here? The choice is “good” or “evil”; but that is completely clouded. Blue States versus Red States, good vs evil. YOU have to choose.
Paul, I enjoyed your hosting of the Mark Davis show.
Thank you.
If not Trump then who? Hailey is a product of the RINO cartel. Biden again? No thank you!!! We have got to become brave and determined to stop the socialization of America. that includes electing someone who has the will and integrity to do it. I do not want to hear why Trump is a bad choice, I want to hear who is a better choice. I do not believe at this point there is one.