The choice is becoming startlingly clear.
Photo © 2024 Paul L. Gleiser
I have been taken to task by some of you who listen to me on the air at KTBB 97.5 FM in Tyler-Longview, Texas — or who follow me here on this site — for being anti-Trump.
Let me hasten to say it. I am not anti-Trump.
From 2017 to 2021, I posted dozens of articles on this site in full-throated support of his presidency. (You can sample some of those articles here, here, here, here, here and here (among many others). I believe that Trump’s policy successes during the four years of his presidency speak for themselves. Economic growth was robust. Unemployment was at historic lows – most particularly among blacks and Hispanics, two demographic groups who saw the lowest unemployment rates since records began being kept. For the first time in 30-plus years, real wages for the middle class began to rise.
Trump energy policy resulted in the lowest inflation-adjusted prices for gasoline and diesel since the 1960s, and the first time that America could claim energy independence since the Truman administration.
The Abraham Accords were, at last, bringing real peace to the Middle East. Bad actors like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jingping and Kim Jong Un were minding their manners.
And in stark contrast to what’s happening today, the southern border with Mexico was well under control and illegal border crossings were at their lowest levels in recent memory.
Trump had, by most objective measures of policy, an extraordinarily successful presidency.
But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had concerns about him. As of this writing, he is doing very well in the polls. But I believe it would be a huge mistake to underestimate the Herculean challenge he faces in his attempt to become Grover Cleveland II in 2024.
I worry about his appeal to independent and moderate voters – the very cohort that ultimately determines the outcomes of American presidential elections.
That concern drives my worry about his ability to generate a cheat-proof margin in the key swing states that will decide the election. I further worry that his penchant for unforced verbal errors will cost him just enough votes in those states to cost him those margins.
Not only do I worry about these things, but I also staunchly defend my right to worry. The prospect of a second Biden term frightens me to my core.
But my worry beads aside, I recognize that the voters have had – or will soon have – their say. Barring some sort of cosmic intervention, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. I therefore acknowledge the resulting binary choice. It’s Trump vs. Biden (or some other far-left loon that the Dems will put up when Biden’s growing decrepitude makes it impossible for him to carry on).
That is, as the cliché says, a ‘no brainer.’
The border catastrophe alone is enough to disqualify Biden. Add in a weak economy, a shrinking middle class, unsustainable federal spending, a historically weak American military (against the backdrop of a world on fire that he is wholly unprepared to address), and the case against Joe Biden becomes the unequivocal, undeniable, full-stop case for Donald Trump.
Little more need be said.
Paul, what do you think they would do to any other Republican candidate, give them a pass? I don’t think so. They’ll shred any and all comers running against their candidate be it Biden, Michele or anyone else. Trump has had everything thrown at him including the kitchen sink and he’s still standing Desantis, Haley, I’m afraid would end up like Romney. All we can do is vote and pray.
Trump’s ongoing slander toward independents and conservatives who like his policies but don’t like him are a big reason why he cannot win even against the feckless Biden and his puppet-masters. And the latest tirade against Haley’s donors alienates the very voters he needs to win. I think Andy McCarthy is right. Trump can’t get out of his own way. And because of that, he can’t / won’t win.
Native texan will not vote foi Trump again. Am a brutal rape survivor with no protection undbjr heartbeat bill. Sirter did not survive incest. At least 300 inmy church are changing from red to blue over this. I voted for Trump
I beg to differ, more does need to be said. When you say, “That concern drives my worry about his ability to generate a cheat-proof margin in the key swing states that will decide the election.” That is a backhanded way of saying that you recognize what many of us have been saying all along– that the last presidential election was stolen, and that it could be stolen yet again. So, now we conservatives must field a candidate able to not only win over a majority of voters, but one who can turn out a super majority large enough overcome Democrat voter fraud? And somehow Donald Trump is not the right man for the job, but maybe Nikki Haley is?
“I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.” – Margaret Thatcher.
“A broader reading of history shows that appeasement, no matter how it is labeled, never fulfills the hopes of the appeasers.” – Ronald Reagan
I am sticking with Trump and, despite the inevitable voter fraud by the Democrats, I don’t think it will be enough to prevent a Donald Trump landslide.
Buddy, I’m sticking with Trump, too. Make no mistake about that. And no, I don’t think Nikki Haley is the person to address the massive problem of the deep state. And, no, I am in no way trying to appease anyone.
I guess our disagreement comes down to your assertion of a “Donald Trump landslide.” Yes, that is distinctly possible. So, too, however, is a razor-thin defeat.
Corrupt Democrats control key counties in key states. If there is a way to shave points, they are going to. There is little that Republicans can do about it. Thus my concern that Trump rack up a sizable enough margin in the other counties in those states so as to make cheating a practical impossibility.
Let me illustrate my concern. Trump has had two appearances recently following which I said to my wife that he could carry 29 states. One was the townhall with Bret Baier and Martha McCallum. The other was a one-on-one with Sean Hannity. In both, his personality was able to come through yet he remained measured and statesmanlike.
Then, in stark contrast to those successful appearances, in his victory speech in New Hampshire last week (at which I was present), he went off on Nikki Haley’s dress. When I got home, that was the first thing my wife mentioned. (She will vote for him, of course, but she noticed and she didn’t like it.)
My concern is that such episodes are completely unnecessary. Talking trash about how a woman looks is ungentlemanly. Such should be beneath a man who was, and again wants to be, the president of the United States. His speech on Tuesday night should have been 100 percent about defeating Joe Biden and zero percent about anything having to do with Nikki Haley. She cannot win. He should therefore ignore her rather than gratuitously insult her. Women and independents and squishy moderates take note of such insults. Unlike my wife, a distressingly high percentage of them will let such aesthetics, rather than policy, inform their votes.
Following the 2020 election I dove deeply into the numbers, Buddy. My big takeaway from that exercise is that the margins are astonishingly thin. There are about seven counties in six states in which Donald Trump can ill afford to lose even a single vote from anyone who is on the fence about him. That’s why he needs to rein in his penchant for verbal wild pitches. He needs to maximize the contrast between him and Joe Biden and minimize the name calling.
Unlike 2016, he has a record to run on. Unlike 2020, he has an opponent who cannot stand up to a comparison against that record.
If he runs accordingly, if he lets that inform his rhetoric, it’s a 29-state landslide. If he is insulting and off-putting, it’s another heartbreakingly narrow loss.
I will reiterate. Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee. I stand in solid support. But I’m not wrong about my concerns about the critical margins that will spell the difference between victory and defeat next November.
If the voters in this country are not SO DISGUSTED by the picture of the immigrants that beat those cops in New York and then shot the finger at THEM walking free from jail with no consequences that they will vote for anyone other than Trump, because they can’t DEAL with Trump, this country is already lost.
A weak economy? What world are you living in?
The one in which two out of three Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. The one in which wages haven’t caught up with the rising costs of food, fuel and shelter. The one in which the average first-time home buyer is now a staggering 43 years old.
That world.
Ralph are you not hurting financially? Not throwing rocks here just asking a question. My wife and I both are retired from professional jobs with salaries that were very comfortable until Bidenomics kicked in. We are struggling and our savings are going down! Food cost at the grocery store, what little we eat out, the cost of everything is outrageous! We spend at least a third more at the grocery store every time we go and we are not “steak” eaters. I catch fish, freeze them and grow a garden every year to help out. That helps a lot but lets face it factor in insurance costs on home and auto is criminal; real estate taxes are criminal, a set of so called middle of the road tires for my pick up truck costs over a thousand bucks! They were $460.00 bucks in 2019; that is 110% increase!!! A little can of vegetables or beans at the store is almost $2.00; that is insane! Bidenomics is a complete and utter disaster period. Every aspect of life costing money is ridiculous due to Government regulation, foreign production, dang climate nuts, and Democratic Progressive plans to bring the Middle Class to submission. Happy you are doing well; but a heck of lot of us are not.
I agree with you but I’m worried that even If DJT wins the nomination it would be an uphill battle. His rhetoric is alienating the undecided and independent voters he needs to win. That’s probably why he wouldn’t stand a chance against Biden and his ilk.
I’m voting for PRESIDENT TRUMP! If you don’t like what he says, you are free to tune him out. But if you like what he did for America while he was in OFFICE ignore what you don’t like and do the RIGHT thing for this Country and the citizens of this country and vote for the one who has shown us what he is made of…PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP. Think that about says it all!
I think the bigger issue is that Jimmy Failla has proven himself to be a mistake and it’s time to find somebody else to be on the radio. Jimmy treats the show as a part time gig, that comes second to his comedy career. He takes off too much time to go to his comedy shows, and when he’s on the radio, he is self promoting his side hustle more then anything else. When he is at work, he is focused on why Trump shouldn’t be the nominee. Jimmy Failla is not a Conservative. He is not an honest supporter of our Country or it’s laws. Proof of this is every time he’s had Bill Barr on his show without ever asking him a serous question about his refusal to do his job as the Attorney General. Why he ignored the Laptop, why he allowed the Russian Hoax to continue, why he allowed the Impeachment to happen when he knew that Joe Biden was corrupt and the phone call was perfect. Bill Barr might be the most corrupt AG to ever hold that position when you consider everything he allowed the FBI to do without a single arrest of any of them. Of course, his greatest crime was to ignore the thousand affidavits of voter fraud in 2020 and then lie about it not happening. Jimmy Failla has proven that he supports what Bill Barr has done, and he is actively using his Radio Show guarantee Joe Biden wins in 2024 by having Nikki on the ballet. Trying to lie to everyone that she is capable of getting votes from both sides of the isle is beyond dishonest!!!!! The Choice IS VERY CLEAR, it’s time to replace Jimmy Failla on the radio!!!!!
So long as Jimmy Failla a.) continues to be such a good friend to this radio station and to East Texas and, b.) continues to put up the winning audience ratings that he is putting up, he will be a part of the lineup at KTBB.
When Rush died, I never imagined that we would find a show that would perform as well as FOX Across America has in that daypart. The show has been a huge success for us.
And I can assure you, from many, many hours spent one-on-one talking with him in the studio, at dinner and at the bar, Jimmy Failla is absolutely a conservative.
I share your concerns Paul. While I think Trump will easily coast to a victory in the primaries, my concern is his ability to win the general. I also worry about those he gets behind in other races. In my opinion, a lot of the people he got behind in the last election lost because of his endorsement that came primarily because they agreed with him on his loss in the 2020 election, that the election was stolen. While that may be and probably was the case, when I look at people who won, it’s almost as bad as looking at what we ended up with in the Oval office. Trump’s policies were great, but the way he conducts himself in public is a turnoff for many would be republican voters. No matter who we end up with on the ballot in November, I will do what I did in 2016 and again in 2020, I will hold my nose and vote for he or she as I fear the alternative. I’m retired military and go to Barksdale regularly and I often hear what our brave men and women in uniform think about our current commander in chief and military brass under him.