I believe the American people are incredibly smart. I also believe that given the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as president, Trump would ultimately be the much better choice.
I know people are scared of Donald J. Trump, but they needn’t be. Hillary is the much more ambitious and secretive candidate, qualities that should make her unworthy of holding the office. In fact, one could argue she auditioned for the job and signally failed as Secretary of State. She mishandled her duties (the email scandal proves she can’t or won’t work in a team environment), and she was derelict in allowing countries to earn favor through her husband’s foundation while she supposedly represented America’s best interest. And like her predecessor, outside of politics and activism, Hillary has no real executive experience, unless you call barking orders to office staff and Secret Service agents executive experience.
According to a Pew research poll from May 2015, jobs and the economy remain the primary concern for Americans in order of importance. Wages are stagnant, corporate jobs are moving out of the country, automation and out-sourcing are killing jobs, and even Hillary’s husband Bill has admitted President Obama’s administration has done nothing to change a sluggish economy. Bill Clinton talks more about jobs than Hillary.
Hillary meanwhile continues to hit her key talking points, which are: Women’s rights, gay rights, union rights and income equality. Nowhere in her speech does she talk about job creation or increasing salaries for middle-income Americans. Hillary is not focused on, nor would she have the experience to deal with job creation. Her priorities are advocacy rights and redistribution of wealth. Oh, and there is climate change, another concern that ranks low on America’s priority list.
On the other hand, when you look at Donald Trump’s record, he is an expert at job creation. His company has employed tens of thousands of people. His whole career has been about business development, employing people, creating wealth. In fact, if you were to compare the resume of Hillary’s up against Donald’s, there could be no question who is more experienced in job creation. The Democrats know this and are terrified of Trump, which is why those who oppose him are resorting to racist smears and sexist condemnation. It’s all they have got to throw at the real estate mogul.
I did hear Trump says we need to build a wall and seal our borders, I did not hear him say he hates Mexicans. I did hear him say say that we should ban all Muslims coming from known states who sponsor terrorism until we can assure the American people we are not letting in people who want to do us harm. I did not hear him say he doesn’t like or doesn’t want Mulims living in America. In fact, of the two candidates, I would argue Trump probably has more experience dealing with leaders from the Muslim countries than Ms. Clinton. While Hillary certainly has more travel miles, she also served at the interest of the President, she was the messenger. Donald dealt in commerce, trade and leverage against leaders known for their business savvy. I would argue Trump is the far better negotiator when it comes to international dealings. He isn’t lying when he says our politicians make stupid deals. No wonder foreign leaders are worried. Under a Trump presidency, we won’t roll over and give in.
In fact, everything I hear Donald saying is about protecting the country from harm and making things better by putting people back to work and creating more wealth by being smart about how we spend our money and with whom we spend it with. The reason stadiums are packed across America to see this guy is because other people are hearing these things too and they like what they are hearing.
The media has done a terrific job of portraying Mr. Trump as an isolationist, and yet he has made a fortune doing business with China, Vietnam, Qatar, and Europe. The media has reminded us that women overwhelmingly don’t like Trump, and yet they keep showing up at the polls voting for him.
Meanwhile, Hillary’s approval rating among women is well below 30%, lower than any previous democratic candidate in recorded history. Younger people like a socialist over her, that says volumes about the state of the Democratic Party among youth.
The primary mission for Donald Trump between now and November is to warm the hearts of the undecided. Trump needs to galvanize the independent moderate democrat who aren’t necessarily politically engaged. It won’t be easy because the progressive-controlled mainstream media (i.e., CBS, NBC, ABC) will be sharpening their knives and hurling them every chance they get.
People who were once staunchly opposed to the Donald are warming up to him. There is a collective “maybe-it-won’t-be-so-bad” consciousness that is starting to seep into the homes of middle-America. It may very well be the in-between demographics that determine the outcome of this election, people who understand the status quo is failing them and want change and they want it now. It’s like watching your swimming pool turn green and the pool guy keeps telling you everything will be alright. It’s time for shock treatment, and Trump might just be the guy who can loosen the algae that has grown on the walls of congress.
California will be huge for Trump if he pulls it off. Integral to this will be the brave few like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Darrel Issa and Kelsey Grammer who could lend their support to Trump.
Will Trump destroy the Party? It seems to me the party has done plenty of damage to itself. There can be no doubt it has fractured, but this is a good thing. The party is diverse and it is more inclusive than people give it credit for. Conservatism is really what is under fire, but we shall save that for another conversation.
The election of now is really about how disgusted the people feel in general are about politics.
The Wall Street bailout was a slap in the face to the American people, so was Benghazi, so was Obamacare, and so was the VA scandal. All of these are earmarks of an inefficient government that protected itself why ruining people’s lives. We were given promises, promises that Wall Street would pay for ripping people off, that we would get to truth behind the deaths of four American’s who died in Libya, that we would get to keep our doctor and that our Veterans would be treated with dignity. And the final straw (for Republicans) was when the voters gave the Republicans the House and the Senate and they still failed to oppose Obama on contentious trade and domestic policy issues – and we still have a debt that will surpass twenty trillion dollars by election day. We voted the bums in and now many of them will be voted out. You can’t blame Trump for the past four years of abject failure and bi-partisan bickering that has created complete gridlock.
Many who believe Trump is the devil incarnate fail to remember that a person of far less experience was able to be president for eight years and we still managed to survive, despite the humongous attempts to transform America.
Next time around, I just want to have someone who has some understanding of how economics work. I want someone who knows how to construct a deal that favors the American worker. Trump comes closer than all others. And if his presidency scares a few foreign leaders, I am okay with that. I am not a huge fan of some of those foreign leaders, especially the ones who want a weaker America.
I am not a huge globalist. Apparently, neither is Trump. If asked, I am sure most American’s feel the same way. When did America become the EU or the UN? When the world has a majority of countries not being run by despots, then come talk to me about the reality of forging a true global empire, but until that day comes, the best thing for the world is a stronger America, and I want the person who leads my country to believe we are the best country in the world, not an apologist for a country that is guilty of past sins. As an Anerican, I am fully aware of our past transgressions, but my president isn’t there to apologize on my behalf, he is there to lead and provide a vision for a better America, one that must has prosperity at the top of the list.
I am not afraid of a Trump presidency because we have checks and balances in place. We have Congress and we have the ballot box, and if Trump fails, it won’t be any worse than Obama has failed. And if you think Obama didn’t fail, then it is arguable that if Obama had been successful, a Donald Trump never would have appeared in the first place.
I understand why Trump decided to run. He simply got tired of waiting for someone else to fix the problems of bad government policy. Can you blame him?
We have failed to deliver on the promise of sending our best and our brightest to Washington.
We now only seem to send lawyers and activists. Instead we should be sending teachers, farmers, doctors and yes, businessmen with real-life experience.
I think Americans are sick of politicians, which by definition means “negotiations amongst thieves.” I am sick of the parties saying they represent my interests when my interests seem to be ignored as taxes continue to rise and the quality of my kid’s education and social ills like the war on drugs and poverty get worse. I’m annoyed when I hear that my congressmen is required to spend four hours a day raising money for their “party,” instead of voting on a true balanced budget to keep my government running efficiently.
Trump can’t fix all of these problems to be sure, no one person can, and our government wasn’t set up to be a monarchy. But Trump can reduce waste and improve efficiency. This is what he does and I believe this is what he will do if elected president.
The fact is Trump is a moderate conservative with democratic social views, like most of middle- America. He has never said he stands for conservative principles, much to the chagrin of the more conservative members of the Republican Party. This should be good news for Democrats. In fact, I would argue that Hillary is much more an extreme ideologue that Trump. The Donald just wants American to be great again; Hillary wants to continue the transformation towards a more socialist state with even bigger government overreach.
One final thought. I also think Trump would be the more enjoyable president. He has a great sense of humor, people genuinely like him (when they meet him) and he is entertaining. Ms Clinton is shifty, condescending and about as transparent as wall reinforced with steel. I would imagine a Clinton term would be a secretive journey as only a Clinton can make it. And not much on laughs either.
In the end it comes down to one question. Of the two candidates, who stands the greater chance of making it possible for me to keep more of the money I earn?
I think you know the answer.
Jim Watkins is the morning host on Your Wake Up Call on AM 820 News in Tampa Bay and on NewsTalkFlorida.com
