Donald Trump is a one-trick pony who puts on the same performance at every campaign rally. He spoke of a “rigged” 2020 election and slammed the “radical left Democratic Party,” RINOS, the mainstream media, the prosecutors who prosecuted him, and the judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials. . Apparently, even his supporters don’t really listen to him anymore.
Trump has said little about his policy priorities for his second term, other than vows to stop “invasions” at the border and deport millions of illegal immigrants. In that case, he gives virtually no details and hides behind a misleading “have it both ways” workaround.
President Trump seems more interested in returning to the White House and punishing his enemies without leaving prison than in improving the lives of his fellow citizens.
About the economy: President Trump has vowed to reduce the national debt to zero over his eight years as president, without mentioning that he has added $7.8 trillion to it. Or that he failed to deliver on his touted $1 trillion infrastructure initiative to “fix our city centers and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, and hospitals.” Or that his administration caused a net loss of 3 million jobs, the worst four-year performance in more than 60 years.
President Trump predicts a deep recession, expects a crash (under President Biden’s watch) “to happen within the next 12 months,” and says investors “think I’m going to win.” He asserted that stock prices have risen dramatically. He said he would not reelect Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell because he is likely to lower interest rates to “promote economic growth and support Democrats.”
President Trump plans to impose a 10% across-the-board tariff hike and deport millions of illegal immigrants, despite warnings that it would cut wages, increase unemployment and reignite inflation. Economists at the conservative American Enterprise Institute called these policies “absolutely insane.”
Although a record number of people now have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and nearly 60% of Americans view the law favorably, President Trump has called Obamacare a “disaster.” ” and reiterated his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, claiming he is “seriously considering it.” Alternative proposal. According to a Republican familiar with the Trump campaign, “There’s no real ‘out there.’ No one is working on this.”
About abortion: Trump, who is allergic to taking credit for others, claims that “pro-lifers had absolutely no standing until I came along” and called Roe v. Wade “the biggest LIFE victory in a generation.” He engineered a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the case. But since pro-choice candidates and popular vote wins in 2022 and 2023, President Trump has changed his tune. He argues that Florida’s six-week abortion ban is “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” Asked about the number of weeks he thought would be appropriate, Trump said: “We’re looking at a lot of different things.” And, “frankly, I don’t care whether the bill comes from the states or the federal government.” President Trump has now promised for the first time in half a century that he will “talk to both sides, try to negotiate something, and ultimately come to peace on that issue,” adding, “I think both sides will like me.” said.
Regarding Russia’s attack on Ukraine: President Trump declared he could end the war in “24 hours a day.” Given his “very good relations” with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, “a deal would be easy.” He will tell Zelenskiy, “No more, we have to make a deal.” He would say to Putin, “If we don’t make a deal, we’re going to give them a lot of money.” President Trump has declined to provide additional details “because we don’t have access to that negotiation.” One critic quipped: Why didn’t anyone think of this? ”
About the war between Israel and Hamas: Trump claims that if he were president, “there would never have been an attack on Israel.” After President Trump initially criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and deemed Hamas terrorists “very smart,” he jokingly said of what he would do next: Many people are dying. ”
About border security: Republicans got major concessions from Senate Democrats and the Biden administration on the most impactful immigration reform bill in decades as part of a package of aid for Ukraine and Israel, but President Trump intervened. canceled the agreement. While continuing to falsely claim that other countries are sending insane asylum prisoners to the United States, President Trump has told Republicans, “Unless we have everything, we shouldn’t have a border deal at all.” Ta.
A number of Republican senators were upset. “I hope no one tries to take this away for campaign purposes,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). “If it weren’t for Donald Trump,” another senator lamented (on condition of anonymity), the proposal would have received “almost unanimous” support from his Republican colleagues. Nevertheless, before the agreement was released, Speaker Mike Johnson announced in the House of Commons that it would be “dead on arrival.” Last Sunday, as negotiators released their 370-page draft, President Trump posted that Johnson had “no doubt that we will get nothing but a perfect deal on the border.”
The bipartisan compromise was praised by the U.S. Border Security Coalition (which supported President Trump in 2020) and, according to the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, shows that President Trump is moving away from “long-standing Republican priorities.” It was something that “we never got close to getting,” but no agreement was even reached. Go to the floor for a vote in the Senate or House of Representatives.
If you listen closely, you may hear the sounds of a selfish, ambitious dictator and the Republicans who support him chipping away at the foundations of American democracy.
Glenn C. Altshuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Cornell University.
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