President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
So comes now the hour of choosing. Polls say that Joe Biden is going to become the 46th president. That’s an amazing statement when you consider that his campaign was declared by the media to be dead and over on February 11 following the New Hampshire Primary.
Since clinching the Democratic nomination, Biden has consistently led in almost all of the national polls as well as in the battleground state polls. The Real Clear Politics averages have him running well ahead of where Hillary Clinton stood at this same point in the cycle four years ago.
If you believe the polls and believe nearly everyone in the media, Joe Biden is going to win the 2020 election.
I’m not so sure. What I am sure of is that I voted as much against Hillary Clinton four years ago as I voted for Donald Trump. This coming Tuesday, I’m absolutely voting for Donald Trump. I suspect that several million others will as well.
Yes, I know. The tweets, the bragging, the exaggeration, the name-calling, the yada, yada, yada. I know about all of it. And I don’t care about any of it.
I care about policy and Trump’s first term has been a policy triumph on multiple fronts.
A key Trump policy position in 2016 was his promise to secure the border. Do you remember the chaos that once dominated the southern border? Do you remember the “caravans” from Central America and border detention facilities overflowing with unaccompanied minors? When is the last time any of that has been in the news? In 2016 Trump promised to build a border wall. The wall stands now at close to 400 miles and counting.
Take the aberration of COVID out of the picture for a moment and consider the economy. Do you remember Barack Obama telling us that anemic one percent annual economic growth was something that we needed to learn to live with? Donald Trump put the lie to that. Pre-COVID, the American economy was roaring. Wages were rising. Unemployment was at record lows – most particularly for blacks and Hispanics. And we learned Thursday that the economy is rebounding from the COVID shock to the tune of a staggering 33 percent growth in GDP for the third quarter.
A key driver of that economic growth was a reduction in burdensome regulations on business. Trump promised to reduce the regulatory burden. Better than his word, he has actually slashed it.
In 2016 Donald Trump promised an end to interminable wars. Today the number of U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan – and soon to return home – wouldn’t fill a high school football stadium. And when’s the last time you saw ISIS in the news?
Closer to home, I saw a sign on the way to work for $1.77 a gallon gas. Adjusted for inflation, that’s cheaper than it was when I was a kid in second grade. In 2008 would you have ever considered that the U.S. would become energy independent?
That domestic policy victory provided the necessary leverage for a foreign policy triumph. While the media has done its best to ignore it, the Trump foreign policy shop has made enormous strides toward peace in the Middle East. Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and just this past week, Sudan have all normalized relations with Israel. Word has it that other Arab nations that have for decades been hostile to Israel are about to follow suit.
On the subject of foreign policy, in 2016 Trump promised to stand up to China. It will take a long time to clean up the mistakes concerning China made by previous administrations. But four years after Trump made his promises concerning China, I can promise you this. If Xi Jinping is a praying man, he’s praying that the polls are right about Biden.
There’s much more but space doesn’t permit.
Bottom line, if you bother to actually consider the record rather than lazily consume the crap being spooned down your throat by the legacy media, you discover that policy successes and promises kept far overshadow any Trumpian personality defects – real or perceived. By those objective measures, he deserves a second term.
I’m going to vote to give him one.
Once again you have nailed it Paul. From talking with a lot of East Texans (in my line of work), and folks down in the Hill Country, it seems that the vast majority are sick of the Democrat’s party line of thought as well as the constant hints of scandals. Most of those who shared their thoughts were very pleased with what President Trump had promised and then fulfilled those things. He has the “swamp dwellers” running for the hills for the most part. There are still those who are more deeply embedded in the Washington swamp who are continuing to plot various schemes in hopes of destroying our President.
If somehow Biden wins–it will be interesting to see how they eliminate him
Excellent column Mr. Gleiser. I concur.
Biden = doom & gloom & lockdowns.
Trump = It’s morning in America and FREEDOM & economic opportunities abound!
I voted for TRUMP and continued to vote Republican all the rest of the way down ballot.
Similarly, Trump commercial, just now in CBS News, comes-right-out-and-SAYS: “Say what you want” about him BUT…
Paul, as you correctly state, space doesn’t permit his many other accomplishments; but you have described some very significant ones. Put me also in the camp of the disinterested regarding his Queens,NY brashness and pugnacious personality; if this affects your vote, go back into your safe place. Our country needs a leader who comes from the bare knuckles competition of private enterprise, and not the corrupt political opportunist parasite who has lived in the swamp his entire adult life. Along with his many policies that have helped the citizens of this country, President Trump has revealed the stark difference between career politicians and private citizens, who have actually had to compete and meet a payroll. Term limits for these swamp creatures would be a start, but the ones who could actually make that happen are the same ones who will fiercely oppose the derailment of their gravy train.
Lobby Cornyn, Cruz, and Luigi for Term Limits.
UPDATE: Texas Early Vote has now surpassed total 2016 vote.
Watch Tarrant Co.
This is a serious inquiry of the honest history buffs on this site. Could someone please educate me on how many thriving civilizations since the dawn of history have COLLAPSED from within [not by being conquered by an external enemy] but due to unbridled corruption and torment of the society at large (regulations and unlawful persecutions) by way of its leadership (drunk with power), resulting in tyrannical rule of the masses?
Of course, I must stipulate that a COLLAPSED society (my definition) is NOT a stable unholy dictatorship for which the individual citizen began as a slave of the State. I have to make this stipulation because some who support the Marxist Democrat Party are voting to establish the Communist States of America for which elites would rule us like a herd of cattle using every piece of Junk Science (medical and otherwise) to declare eradication of our Unalienable Rights and the Constitution as well, for our own protection, of course. Furthermore, any would-be dictatorship MUST have hordes of ignorant and poor converts (from open borders) that can overwhelm the number of educated middle-class and productive citizens whose influence must be demonized and punished for their opposition to the “Crown”. This is the formula of COLLAPSE that history has often recorded. I would like to know how many times it has been repeated over the centuries.
I seem to recall a politician in the mid-thirties who promised to rebuild his nation’s economy, rebuild his military, provide “lebensraum” for the populace and eliminate Jewish influence in both politics and economics. The amazing thing is he delivered on all these promises. By your logic, he was worthy of an additional term too. Keeping political promises is not always a good thing.
So while you conveniently gloss over the promises not kept (Repealing the ACA, Mexico paying for a border wall, denuclearizing North Korea etc.), let me cite the one promise that Trump has delivered on. He said he would “Make America Great Again”. Logic dictates that to make anything great “again” you must first eliminate the greatness that already exists. Trump has made incredible strides to this goal.
My vote will be to prevent him from delivering on this most nefarious promise.
Sorry Brian, but your logic is not logical. To eliminate the contamination that exists does not require the elimination of the greatness that already exists. The constitutional framework still exists; we just need to eliminate the continual assault by those who want to “fundamentally transform our country”. If you vote for those who “do NOT want to make America great again”, I sincerely hope that your retirement plan includes a mattress, as this might be the safest place for you to put your money. By the way, how many heads have you seen being severed by ISIS since your Hitler analogy was elected? Please study history before making such ignorant comparisons!
President Trump has worked tirelessly to repeal the ACA having knocked out the individual mandate with more to come. As well, he has implemented numerous reforms concerning pharmaceutical drug pricing and creating “the right to try.”
Mexico IS paying for the wall through hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars being saved by scrapping NAFTA with the new USMCA. That plus more reciprocal and fair import duties, and fees.
And to address North Korea, the president has brought down the war rhetoric while working to move the DPRK away from saber-rattling to engaging with them about the possibility that what S. Korea is doing economically, could be them also.
The one and only thing President Trump wants to rid The United States of America of is graft, corruption, and political pay-for-play such as what former Democrat Vice President Joe Biden is eye ball deep in* (*i.e. Communist China monetary influence of a setting U.S. politician.) “If” elected, Biden is owned on day one by the CCP and thus he would destroy the American Dream.. that’s WRONG.
Making America Great Again to President Trump, and to me, and millions of other Americans is clear…
bringing back U.S. manufacturers from abroad and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing prowess which is the heart of the economic engine of our nation. This creates millions of jobs, new opportunities, and innovation for families all across our land putting more money in their pockets to provide for their loved ones. And he’s LOWERED taxes to boot. I for one, don’t see anything nefarious about that whatsoever.
I do believe you forgot wages for minorities highest ever? Stock market and 401K’s making money for those who are retired and those who wish to retire? Proving Obama and Biden wrong on the return of American manufacturing to the Rust Belt in particular (remember Uncle Obama saying, “Your jobs are gone and will never return,” to those in the Rust Belt). Why do you think Hillary lost Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio?
Comparing Trump to Adolf is just ignorant and offensive. Are you an America hater? Sure seems like it.
Trump’s Nationalism is to bring manufacturing; aka jobs, back to the USA, bring our troops home from the Middle East and Asia Minor, stop fighting endless wars, build up the military as a deterrent not for offense (but if we do need to be on the attack we will be superior in every way!), STOP paying for NATO (do you have any idea how much we pay for Europe to defend themselves? Obviously not or you would not make such statements as above), STOP paying for Pacific and Trans-Pacific defense and trade (who the hell pays someone to make a product just so we can buy it again? DAH!), stop paying for climate change and carbon taxes (what a joke and scam), scaping and rewriting of NAFTA (remember Ross Perot’s comment? What is that giant sucking sound? That is jobs going north and south of our border! ), etc, etc, etc, So WHAT IS WRONG WITH PUTTING AMERICAN JOBS AND LIVES FIRST? The American taxpayer has been paying for the world’s troubles long enough. Does that make us, who support President Trump Nazis? That is certainly how I read your interpretation of my views.
Lets spend a little time on the ACA. My insurance went up 500% and I lost my carrier; as did all my employee’s and 12,000 others who work and worked for my company. How many others could NOT keep their doctors and had their insurance sky rocket? Many! You can blame the Republican Senators for not having the spin to rework the ACA plus Chief Justice John Roberts (Thank You President Bush). Plus IT IS NOT the business of the Government to dictate or own private enterprises. THAT is NOT in the Constitution period!!!!
Let me see, did Obama or Bush bother to try and have any talks with North Korea? NO. I do believe the very fact President Trump met with and can talk to the Dear Leader is a huge victory over what the past Presidents have accomplished? How about China? Doesn’t it concern you most of our antibiotics and many medicines are made in China? Trump is returning that National Security debacle to our shores; Thank God! How about China stealing intellectual property, information technologies, military technologies from us! That does not concern you? You want China ruling over us? Remember the effort of the Chinese to build a community of 4,000 on the west side of Tyler? That was only a couple years ago. Do you really believe if 4K Chinese were moved to Tyler, TX, every one of them would have been sweet college students and workers? Only the completely ignorant and naïve would believe such a farce. The Chinese Communist Party right here in our backyards; that should frighten the pants off anyone that is sane. But, fortunately the Tyler City Council nixed it. That Sir, is nefarious.
Since you brought up Israel; remind me who named Jerusalem Israel’s capital and moved our Embassy there? Who brokered a Peace Accord between two Arab nations and Israel? Who has put the Jewish Nation first and foremost for our support?
I will stop here. Please, by all means, what exactly is Presidents Trump’s “nefarious promise?” To keep America a Republic, where all citizens can have free speech, freedom of religion, and everything else in the Bill of Rights and Constitution? Give us a detailed explanation of that statement herr Eggerman.
Brian,it is your logic that is loopy. Did you study under Holland? President Donald Trump isn’t Adolf Hitler and Trump’s accomplishments are both manifold and each betters our nation.
Note that we’re still referring to this election as something-yet-to-happen?
UPDATE: 82+ million Americans have early-voted; including more Texans – total – than voted in 2016.
However thin, there’s a mathematical POSSIBILITY that the election is already decided:
https://youtu.be/OQDHwfvAjtg
Nothing has been decided! This election is ongoing now and the biggest single day is yet to come.. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
So if you’ve already voted for TRUMP.. well done!
If you haven’t yet voted please VOTE FOR TRUMP on Election Day, Tuesday the 3rd. That’s just a little over 1 day and 10 hours from when I made this post. Remember, your vote DOES matter.
TRUMP 2020.
God Bless America.
Yes!
NO MATTER WHO you vote for, vote, still.
And note how many seniors have already voted…and WHY.
https://youtu.be/B9JuZoT8X_Y
Trump may turn out to be the best President in our lifetimes. Having had the responsibility for his billion dollar businesses for decades, for which he must be ultimately responsible for its success through thick and thin, he was exquisitely prepared to be the ACTION President to start the repair of innumerable problems this country has been in the habit of tolerating at the expense of prosperity that could have been attained by ALL Americans. I thank the contributors to this blog for reminding us of many of his accomplishments – – – “Promises Made, Promises Kept.”
President Trump is NOT one who claims praise for his ability to talk a good game due to his rhetorical skills like the typical (empty suit) “politician,” as we would describe here in “deplorable” and “ugly” Texas country: “ALL HAT BUT NO CATTLE”. The Urban Dictionary provides an exquisite definition for this phrase as follows: “Description of a person that is all talk and no substance; full of big talk but lacking action; a person who cannot back up his/her words; a fake; a pretender.”
This is exactly why President Trump is so HATED by the Left and their sympathizers. He has successfully pulled the habitually recalcitrant Republicans to accomplish America First issues that should never have been overlooked both domestically and internationally. This uncontrollable HATRED by the Left is born out of jealously and shame that his opposition has been forced to endure as he has overcome them by his incredible tenacity that has revealed their Hate America First ideology. He is the jungle fighter that the Marxist Democrats and Never Trump Elites must defame in order to stay relevant as he takes the arrows and appeals to patriotic and loyal Americans to save their country from collapse.
The result of these last four years of the political insanity from the LEFT is that their masks of LIES has been ripped off by President Trump so that everyone can see through their deceptive camouflage to have been “Communism in sheep’s clothing.” Now, we as a Nation must choose whether to believe the Lies from the Left and their followers in academia, media, deep state government, and the Marxist Democrat Party (that together support censorship, restriction and punishment against ALL of our fundamental Rights) or to choose to INSIST on the Unalienable Rights guaranteed by our Creator. In other words, we either fight with all our might to save our Constitution in this election or it will turn out to be a “paper tiger” to be subsequently burned by the Left who will never give us a “second chance” because they will never accept DEFEAT in the future, no matter what!
C. M., so very, very well stated. While we smile, the rage on the left is a thing to behold.
Early Vote count is approaching 100K.
OOPS…100 MILLION
Don’t let any voice or pundit or someone “thought to be in the know” deter you from voting for Donald J. Trump. Election Day is tomorrow Tuesday the 3rd, and yes, your vote counts.
TRUMP — Making America Great Again! — for ALL Americans.
AND IF — as so many have — you’ve already voted, offer any-friends-who-need-one a ride to where they vote.
If they got a mail ballot, remind ’em NOT to mail it at this late date. BRING it to the polling place.
https://www.usa.gov/election-day
Were I a better, at this pint I’d go 10 to 1 odds Donald Trump will be elected to a second term.
There’s gotta be a line from an old Charlie Chan movie, maybe quoting Confucius…something about man-who-won’t-bet-gives-odds…
Yes Buddy, With all of the accomplishments that Paul described, as well as others, President Trump certainly deserves to be re-elected. When you consider all of the headwinds that he faced, these achievements are even more amazing. It is also amazing that his opponent has accomplished so little in the many years he has been in office. Just a few short years ago, we could expect a landslide for Trump of the magnitude of Reagan in 1984, but these Leftists will do anything to gain power. The Democrats need to understand that this party is not the same as their parents and grandparents proudly supported, and cross over to vote for a party that more closely aligns with their principles…. not Fidel Castro’s. I appeal to Democrats to consider the fact that President Trump was successful BEFORE politics, Vice-President Biden gained his wealth FROM politics. Which one do you think is less likely to be in the pocket of special interests, as well as China, Russia, and Ukraine?
I don’t think he will need Pennsylvania to win. That will be the proverbial stick in the eye to the media who keep harping on the Quaker State as the end all of the election.