Trump
did not launch two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Trump
did not overthrow Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who had abandoned his
nuclear weapons, and thrust Libya into civil war.
Trump
did not displace over a million civilians from their homes in Syria and the
Middle East
Trump
did not cause hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Syria, Libya, and other countries.
Trump
did not involve the U.S. in the Saudi War in Yemen.
Trump
did not sign a deal with Iran, putting it on the road to acquiring nuclear
weapons.
Trump
did not kick the North Korean, nuclear-armed ICBM threat down the road for the
16 years of Presidents Bush and Obama, and President Clinton before that.
As John
R. MacArthur so aptly put it in his Article, “Living With Trump” (reproduced in
Harper’s Magazine, August 19, 2017):
“Loathing
for Trump makes people forget that, among other horrors, a coalition of
Republicans and Democrats has already wasted around $3.7 trillion in Iraq and
Afghanistan, sacrificed the lives of nearly 7,000 American soldiers, and
wounded more than 52,000. Today, Bush is considered a practically serious
portrait painter and Hillary a feminist martyr. Obama, the architect of the
famous 2009 so-called surge in Afghanistan—a military intensification that
accomplished nothing other than polishing up his image as commander-in-chief—is
admired and missed like no other political figure.”
The
Middle East is in much worst shape in 2017 than it was in 2001.
On the
domestic front, Trump did not preside over the worst financial and economic
crisis since the Great Depression.
Trump
did not preside over the slowest economic recovery in modern American history.
Trump
did not make a mess of the U.S. health care system and insurance market.
So, what did Trump Do
Wrong?
Trump
won the election. He kept Hillary Clinton
from assuming her “rightful place” in the White House.
Trump
does not speak nicely like other politicians.
Trump
is rolling back excessive regulations.
Trump
wants to downsize the federal government.
Trump
appointed a conservative, Neil Gorsuch, to the Supreme Court and continues to
appoint conservative jurists to federal district and appeals courts.
Trump
wants to cut tax rates.
Trump
is presiding over large gains in the stock market.
Trump
is presiding over job gains and stronger economic growth.
Trump
is presiding over a rise in consumer confidence.
There
it is. Maybe if Trump invades a
Middle-East country or two, presides over a financial crash and appoints
liberal jurists, he will become acceptable.
But he will also have to speak nicely, stop tweeting, and act presidential. Will those measures and gestures turn the
tide?
