In a few short days, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Yes, Donald Trump… the bombastic, politically incorrect, pompous underdog of the 2016 election. You know… the guy who didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning according to the mainstream media. So, how did the snowball become a blizzard of epic proportion? How in the world was Donald Trump elected? Let me tell you how.
The election of Donald Trump highlighted the divisiveness in America. And as much as some people would like to blame Trump, it began long ago when the days of the “blue dog democrat” died. Somewhere along the line, the democrat party was hijacked by hardcore socialists determined to “fundamentally transform” this great nation into a mirror image of the train wreck that Europe has become. Emphasizing unlimited immigration, class warfare, secularism, victimization, entitlement, and multiculturalism is not something that most Americans buy into.
Most of us still believe in the constitution and the principles upon which this country was founded. We still believe that everyone should have equal opportunities, but not necessarily equal outcomes. We don’t believe government should control every facet of our lives. We welcome those who respect our values and customs, and are willing to defend the Constitution of the United States. But, America was never in need of a transformation.
Yet, somehow we ended up in an America where conservatism and Christianity are considered “radical extremism”. Those of us on the right were labeled racists, sexists, and homophobes. God was being taken out of our schools and English was rapidly becoming a second language. The futures of our children and grand-children were no longer something we could envision as being better than our own. Neither political party seemed willing to represent the average working class individual. The American voters grew tired of career politicians who simply occupied space. We wanted a candidate who was there for the right reasons… a candidate who was not part of the Washington establishment. That’s how Trump got elected.
The economy also played an important role in getting Donald Trump elected. Burdensome regulations (over 97,000 pages in 2016 alone) and excessive corporate tax rates were forcing companies to move out of the country along with millions of high-paying jobs. For every person that found employment under the Obama administration, two people left the workforce entirely, unable to find work after months of searching. The average duration of unemployment has increased by 31 percent during the last 8 years. The jobs that were created were mostly part-time or minimum wage positions. Openings for jobs that paid well have been scarce.
Barack Obama became the first president in history to complete his term without a single year of 3% GDP growth. Home ownership dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years. The Labor Force Participation rate was the worst since the late seventies. Average household income dropped by $3700, and the number of U.S. households on food stamps skyrocketed by more than 30 percent. Seven million more people are living in poverty. America’s debt under Obama grew by more than that of all forty-three previous presidents combined, and we have nothing to show for it. The mainstream media neglected to mention those facts, but it didn’t take Einstein to conclude that something was wrong. That’s how Trump got elected.
The Immigration issue also helped get Trump elected. The Trump constituency understands that unmitigated immigration is unaffordable and dangerous. The high net cost of immigrant care has led to the closure of more than 80 hospitals in California alone. A welfare state is not compatible with mass immigration. The costs are unsustainable. Many of our “sanctuary cities” are going bankrupt.
Also, a non-existent medical screening process for most illegal immigrants has led to a resurgence of third world diseases that were once eliminated in the U.S. (Malaria, Leprosy, West Nile, Dengue Fever, Chagas, and a drug-resistant form of Tuberculosis).
There are also more than 300,000 illegal alien criminals currently incarcerated in the U.S. In 2016 alone, more than 100,000 criminal aliens were arrested, only to be released back onto the streets. These include violent criminals and potential terrorists. Unfortunately, border agents are being instructed not to enforce many of our immigration laws.
Our southern border is a sieve. We need a wall. The Democrats promised to build a wall decades ago. The Republicans have talked a good game and made promises, but have also been feckless when it comes to following through on border security. That’s how Trump got elected.
Our foreign relations have been a disaster over the last 8 years. While countries like Iran, Cuba, China, North Korea, and Russia all got stronger, the United States got weaker. The Russian Reset was an embarrassment. Our actions in the Middle East, including the failed Arab Spring, laid the groundwork for ISIS. We gave Iran tens of billions of dollars (including an illegal ransom payment) and a clear path toward nuclear proliferation. Meanwhile, we gave the middle finger to our most important ally in the Middle East. And, thanks to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russia ended up with more than 20 percent of our Uranium reserves.
There is now a worldwide refugee crisis, the Middle East is in shambles, and terrorism is virtually a daily occurrence. We played a significant role in facilitating that. And, at a time when the U.S. should be at our strongest, we’ve depleted our troops and reduced our military capabilities. We have become an “also ran” on the world stage. That’s how Trump got elected.
Then there’s Obamacare. Government-run, socialized medicine is a bad thing to begin with. But when you lie about the costs, the benefits, and the performance to get it enacted and keep it enacted, you make lots of people (voters) mad. Sure, our old system needed tweaking, but it was still the best healthcare system in the world. Few people were prepared for the long-term impact of Obamacare. That’s how Trump got elected.
Finally, there’s Hillary Clinton. She is easily the most corrupt candidate to ever seek the office of president. The amount of corruption uncovered within the Clinton Foundation is staggering. Keep in mind that, even before the foundation scandal broke, 56% of voters had an unfavorable opinion of her. Her primary win sealed the fate of the Democrat party. It was a win that was manufactured by the DNC and the mainstream media, at the expense of Bernie Sanders. Regardless of how you feel about Sanders, at least he ran an honest campaign. It was becoming quite obvious to voters that Mrs. Clinton’s pay-to-play schemes would seriously compromise her presidency, if elected. And, of course, her platform consisted of nothing more than doubling down on the failed policies of her predecessor. That’s how Trump got elected.
Most people will come to appreciate President Trump. He has done more to stimulate future job growth in the last 60 days than his predecessor did in his last term. His cabinet nominees are all successful in their respective fields, and have accepted their nominations out of their love for this country. They don’t need the money or the power. They are not sycophants. They will do what is right for the country. We will finally get a Supreme Court that performs its job as it was intended. Our military will once again regain its full capabilities. There will be no apology tours. No one in this administration will be playing 300 rounds of golf. Nor will anyone in this administration be taking 29 vacations at a cost of $100 million to the taxpayers. You will probably not see them on any late night comedy shows. They understand they have a job to do.
So, sit back and enjoy the ride.
