We’re still weeks away from the day in January last year when Donald J. Trump ascended to the presidency and took his oath of office as the 45th President of the United States of America.
Yet, in less than twelve months, he has already had an extraordinary presidency – more bold, courageous, and revolutionary in many ways than any American president since the Founding Fathers almost two-and-a-half centuries ago.
I use the adjectives “spectacular” and “extraordinary” not only to describe the sheer ebullience and optimism the president exhibits every day at his impossibly daunting job – and in spite of nonstop vilification by an angry, bitter, jealous left – but mostly because his accomplishments in both domestic and foreign affairs have been so stupendous for the American people.
“Haven’t you been reading the papers and watching TV?”, the pathetic Never Trumpers grouse. “If you had,” they insist, “you would have seen clearly that the president has had just about no accomplishments!”
Of course, if I depended on the media whores at CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times, National Public Radio (NPR) – the list is long – I would be forced to believe the avalanche of fake news which consistently fails to give even passing mention to the president’s laudable achievements.
But one of the genius things candidate Trump accomplished before he was elected and entered the Oval Office was identifying the colossal phoniness of the so-called mainstream media.
Jim Hoft, proprietor of Gateway Pundit, reports that according to Wikileaks, at least 65 mainstream-media reporters met and coordinated with top Hillary Clinton advisors during the 2016 presidential campaign. Below is only a tiny sampling of what a friend of mine calls partisan prostitutes:
All of these shills worked closely with the Clinton campaign, were invited to top elitist dinners with Hillary Campaign Chairman John Podesta and Chief Campaign strategist Joel Benenson, and in every case were given an “off-the-record” agenda which was blatantly and fawningly pro-Hillary. NOTE: Significantly, no fair-and-balanced Fox News reporters made the list.
It wasn’t only fake news that militated against candidate Trump. It was also the leftist polling companies that consistently reported “fake” numbers right up until 8 p.m. on election night.
But whaddaya know – in spite of a massive coordinated blitz of negative reporting, candidate Trump’s message resonated with the entire country, which awarded him the presidency!
FORGING AHEAD
Last May, I wrote about “The Juggernaut and the Jerks,” in which I described the formidable inroads the juggernaut president had made on behalf of America, as opposed to the drumbeat of negative “press” he received from the jerks in the media.
Three months later, covering President Trump’s second quarter in office, I wrote about “The Unstoppable Trump Train,” again cataloging how the chief executive was slashing the mountain of wasteful government spending, getting rid of strangulating regulations, establishing strong ties with foreign leaders, and initiating measures designed to improve American lives.
Now that the November 8th anniversary has passed since Donald J. Trump’s historic upset election and President Trump is approaching the one-year date of his inauguration on January 20, 2018, it is fitting that I close out my assessment of his first year in office.
THE SUPER-HUMAN FACTOR
There is a very good reason why President Trump, long before he ever contemplated a run for the presidency, became a multi-billionaire in the real-estate industry and one of the most successful TV stars of the 20th century. It is simply because he’s smarter than most people – definitely than most politicians – and he has that X factor of charisma that is missing in most of the nearly eight- billion people on earth.
Brains and charisma, in his case, equal the ability to get Big Things accomplished – combined with the charm to convince even his rivals that what they originally thought was a bad idea is, in fact, a good idea. And this is not to omit his ability to play the kind of hard ball that is reminiscent of the NY Yankees’ 27 World Series championships!
Case in point. The President just proclaimed that Jerusalem was the official capital of Israel, after just about every president since 1948 campaigned on a promise to do so and never delivered. Most people know instinctively that Jerusalem has long been the capital of Israel, since Jews have lived in the Holy Land for over 3,000 years and Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible over 600 times, in dramatic contrast to the Muslim’s holy book, the Koran, which mentions Jerusalem NOT ONCE!
Following the president’s pronouncement, 128 of the corrupt leaders and tin-pot-dictators in the United Nations condemned the declaration. But unlike past U.S. presidents, especially the poseur “president” Barack Obama, who had a peculiar fetish for anti-Semitic dictators, President Trump said, really? You don’t want to vote with the country that supports you to the tune of billions of dollars every year? Okay…it’ll cost you. Hard ball!
And sure enough, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley immediately negotiated a $285-million cut in the amount of money the United States would contribute to the UN budget – yes, only a 3.5% cut, but just watch the next vote – and if it’s again against America’s wishes, watch the next cut!
Meanwhile, within days, the president of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, announced that he would move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem. And shortly after that, Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, Tzipi Hotovely, announced that at least 10 more countries joined the growing list of those who intend to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
UNPRECEDENTED
Numerous pundits and websites have been keeping close track of Pres. Trump’s first-year accomplishments, including: the White House itself, WorldNetDaily.com, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, David P. Goldman of PajamaMedia.com,Brietbart.com writer Katherine Rodriguez, David Prentice of American Thinker, blogger Don Surber, Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner, Breitbart.com, Bruce Thornton of frontpagemag.com, Professor Ray Schneider, blogger Jeff Dunetz…on and on.
I credit each and every one of them with helping me compile the following list of President Trump’s mind-boggling first-year accomplishments. But because of space constraints, it is only possible for me to mention a portion of the smashing successes the president has brought about since his inauguration. Believe me, this is only the proverbial drop in the bucket!
ECONOMY
In contrast to Breitbart writer John Nolte’s description of Mr. Obama’s “anti-growth policies and anti-free market rhetoric,” President Trump, he says, has taken “complete ownership of the American economy” – including:
- The enactment of the massive tax cuts and jobs-creation law which eliminates the Obamacare mandate and provides “incentives for corporations to repatriate trillions stashed overseas to avoid America’s unnecessarily high tax rates” and gives consumers greater choice in healthcare options.
- A Latino unemployment rate that has hit a record low in the 45-year history of government tracking,
- A black unemployment rate hitting a 17-year low – after nearly two decades of double-digit unemployment,
- An unexpectedly high economic growth rate of 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017…with projections for the fourth quarter edging into the magic number of 4 percent,
- The unemployment rate hitting a 17-year low, the lowest since 2000,
- Mortgage applications for new homes rising to a seven-year high,
- The lowest gas prices in more than 12 years,
- A boom in manufacturing jobs – with 171,000 having been created under President Trump, in stark contrast to the 16,000 manufacturing jobs lost in the poseur “president’s final year, and the manufacturing unemployment rate just 2.6 percent, the lowest in history.
- In addition, a booming stock market – with a gain of more than $4 trillion in wealth, the DOW over 24,000, and for the first time ever, rising 5,000 points in one year, and the S&P and NASDAQ setting all-time highs,
- A decrease in the U.S. debt by $101-billion dollars! (In his first five months, the poseur “president” Barack Obama increased the U.S. debt by $771 billion dollars).
- Convincing companies such as Ford, Chrysler, and Carrier Air Conditioners to manufacture and build plants in the United States and Corning to invest $500 million in new U.S. production, creating thousands of new jobs. Meanwhile, Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, which makes the iPhone, announced in July it was investing $10 billion in Wisconsin to build a factory that will employ 3,000 workers directly and up to 22,000 workers indirectly.
- In view of the fact that “American companies have stashed trillions of dollars overseas in what amounts to the greatest cash reserve in the world,” bringing that money back to the U.S. as part of his tax reform.
- Reversing the Dodd-Frank Act – financial-regulation legislation in which regulators were given too much power and big banks were given special treatment.
- Refusing his $400,000 a year salary as president (taking just one dollar) and donating his salary to the Park Service and Veterans Affairs.
- Signing an executive order for an apprentice program to train skilled works to fill six million open positions.
- Reducing the White House payroll by $22 million.
DOMESTIC POLICY
In domestic policy, David Prentice of the American Thinker says, “We’ve experienced a miracle in our day that a lot of us thought we might never see again.”
For starters, President Trump has:
- Exposed the national media for the leftist activism base it is.
- Exposed the Democratic Party as corrupt, issueless, and powerless.
- Exposed the fecklessness and fraud of the GOP.
- Exposed the deep state to public view.
- Exposed the corruption of federal bureaucracies at the hands of the Obama administration.
In addition, the president has:
- Rolled back Obama’s roadblocks to coal mining, which have cost the industry $81 million a year,
- Ended the ban on oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), opening up more than a million acres to oil exploration, which will create an unprecedented job boom and total energy independence for the U.S.
- Approved the Dakota Access Pipeline project and the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, which are expected to create more than 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in earnings.
- Rejected the Paris Climate Accords, which perpetuated the hoax of global warming, saving the U.S. billions in money-extorting regulations,
- On immigration, submitted to Congress a 70-point proposal that calls for increased border security, enforcement of immigration laws, funding of “the wall” on our southern border, removing illegal aliens in “sanctuary cities,” and ending extended-family chain migration, et al.
- Deported thousands of illegal aliens and weakened illegal immigrant gangs, including MS-13.
- Appointed Constitution-abiding Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, appointed like-minded judges to 12 appellate courts, and had 73 conservative judges confirmed,
- Added some 100 new immigration judges.
- Canceled or delayed over 1,500 planned oppressive regulatory actions, eliminating 22 old regulations for every one new regulation – 22-1!
- Withdrawn from participation in the United Nations Global Compact on Migration, another significant departure from the global governance policies of the poseur president’s administration.
- Withdrawn from the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because of the agency’s “anti-Israel bias.” According to A.J. Caschetta, “UNESCO has become the tip of the spear in the UN’s assault on Israel and earned a more appropriate backronym: the UN Erasure, Slander, and Cover-up Organization.”
- Created a commission on child trafficking and voter fraud.
- Declared a nationwide Public Health Emergency on opioids and laid out a new five-point strategy to fight the crisis.
- Negotiated the release of six U.S. humanitarian workers held captive in Egypt.
- Traveled to Poland for the annual G-20 meeting where he pushed again for funding of women entrepreneurs.
- Launched the United States-Canada Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in February.
- Prioritized women-owned businesses for some $500 million in SBA loans.
- Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy that blocks providing some $9 billion in aid to foreign countries for abortions.
- Worked with Congress on a bill overturning an Obama regulation that blocked states from defunding abortion providers.
- Published a draft, under the Department of Health and Human Services, of a new strategic plan that states in its introduction that life begins at conception.
- According to writer Katherine Rodriquez, reduced food stamps to their lowest levels in seven years, down in 46 of 50 states, with 1.5 million fewer subscribers.
- Reached a “very substantial” settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by more than 400 conservative groups illegally targeted by the poseur president’s Internal Revenue Service.
- Reset an agenda for space exploration by NASA.
FOREIGN POLICY
Bruce Thornton, of frontpagemag.com, notes that President Trump “has begun to repair the damage to our international prestige wrought by” the poseur president’s “one-world, naïve internationalism favored by progressives, who want to diminish America’s global clout.” In that regard, the president has:
- Increased the sanctions on Iran and refused to recertify Obama’s disastrous nuclear agreement with the deceitful mullahs.
- Bombed a Syrian airfield and destroyed a fifth of Assad’s jet fighters.
- Took the gloves off our military and ended ISIS’s “caliphate.”
- Rolled back Obama’s cringing concessions to Cuba.
- Put Russia on notice by recommitting to the Magnitsky Act and increasing sanctions on regime oligarchs.
- Unleashed UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on “the anti-American pygmy states infesting that ‘cockpit in the Tower of Babel’ (the United Nations).”
- Under Trump, Thornton says, “America seems to be getting its international mojo back.”
- In addition, according to journalist and author Matthew Vadum, the president’s 11-day Asian trip – to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Beijing, the People’s Republic of China; Danang, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and in Manila, the Philippines – succeeded in bolstering “resolve to combat North Korean nuclear adventurism and Islamic terrorism, and to promote his signature ‘America First’ trade policies…after eight years of pathetic servility, weakness, and apology tours” by the poseur president.
- During the Asian trip, President Trump scuttled the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying: “We will no longer enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty, make meaningful enforcement practically impossible,” or produce “unfair trade practices and enormous trade deficits for the United States.”
- VP Mike Pence announced that the U.S. will quit funding refugee programs carried out by the United Nations, given its failure to protect Christian [and other] minorities “in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups.”
MILITARY
President Trump removed the poseur president’s crushing Rules of Engagement in combat, which tied the hands of our military and resulted in both greater combat and civilian casualties. And he empowered military leaders to “seize the initiative and win,” reducing the need for a White House sign off on every mission.
According to James Lewis of The American Thinker, when President Trump dropped the Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) in Afghanistan, “a hundred or more of the worst human beings since Hitler died in one big explosion,” and both our allies and our enemies knew there was a powerful new sheriff in the United States. “Obama would never even name the enemy,” Lewis says, and he “never, ever seemed to get that basic point of morality, nor did Hillary, nor did any other Democrat. Trump and Mattis obviously understand it….”
Journalist Rick Moran reminds us that today, ISIS has lost 98 percent of its territory and that now fewer than 1,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria. And Fox News reports that number is down “from a peak of nearly 45,000 just two years ago. U.S. officials credit nearly 30,000 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and regional partners on the ground for killing more than 70,000 jihadists.
In addition, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018, which approves one of the largest defense spending increases in the past 30 years. The NDAA does the following:
- Increases the size of our forces for the first time in 7 years.
- Authorizes funds for the continued defeat of ISIS and to cover critical missile defense capabilities to confront the threat posed by North Korea.
- Takes concrete steps to rebuild U.S. military readiness.
- Approves a 2.4 percent pay raise for our troops – the largest in 8 years!
VETERANS
President Trump has:
- Signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to allow senior officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire failing employees and establish safeguards to protect whistleblowers.
- Authorized $2.1 billion in additional funds for the Veterans Choice Program in healthcare; allowed private healthcare choices for veterans.
- Launched an online “Access and Quality Tool” providing veterans with a way to access wait time and quality of care data.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
Conservatives like me knew one thing after observing the poseur president Obama after his very first month in office – i.e., that the worst was yet to come.
Sure enough, for eight long years, we witnessed a remarkable avalanche of apologies for America, non-stop race baiting, the evisceration of our military, and a virtual devolution of everything positive America stood for.
After the big-hearted people of America gave a socialist community organizer with not one microsecond of executive or foreign affairs experience a chance to lead the greatest, strongest, most generous country on earth, those same big-hearted people regained their sanity and voted for an American patriot with vast executive experience to seize the reins of power and – literally – save both America and Western civilization!
For those of us who value safety, a strong military, a booming economy, high employment, the sanctity of life, and a reverence for the U.S. Constitution, the election of Donald J. Trump was a godsend.
And we fervently believe that under his leadership, the best, indeed, is yet to come!
