Everything Trump says seems possible
Published on February 27th, 2017
Joe Guzzardi
February 27, 2017
As seen in:
Tulsa World
Arizona Republic
President Donald Trump is the world’s most famous man. That’s the conclusion that astronomer and science humorist Eric Schulman made according to a metric he developed using AltaVista to find webpage mentions for high-visibility individuals.
I don’t know about Internet hits, but having just attended the Conservative Political Action Conference 2017 in suburban Washington, D.C., I can report unhesitatingly that Trump fascinates reporters from around the globe. In addition to talking with mainstream journalists, I spoke with broadcasters and television crews from Europe and Asia. All wanted to know, more than three months after his election, how Trump pulled it off and what the nation could expect during his administration’s coming months.
Not much research needs be done to learn what awaits. Trump laid it all out in his campaign speeches. Critics who hope for anything less than Trump following through on immigration issues, tax cuts and repealing and replacing "Obamacare" should brace themselves or prepare to be gravely disappointed. At CPAC, White House advisor Steve Bannon promised that Trump would grind out his campaign pledges, and that despite rumors of widespread White House chaos, the president’s team is working smoothly to meet its goals.
On immigration, Trump has completely flummoxed Mexico and his media enemies. After Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly signed new Trump-approved guidelines which could result in deporting tens of thousands of Mexican nationals, Mexico went berserk. Nonsensically, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said there was no way his country would accept the new rules, and that he’s prepared to take his objections to the toothless United Nations to intervene.
For long-time students of Mexico’s incessant meddling in U.S. sovereignty and facilitating the migration of its nationals north, Videgaray’s statement is a knee-slapper. Mexico doesn’t write U.S. immigration laws, and is powerless to block congressional legislation. Good luck to Mexico if it appeals to the UN which Trump called “just a club” for “people to have a good time.”
Instead of ranting against the U.S., Mexican leaders should be embarrassed that they can’t provide for their own citizens, and that their indifference forces them to flee north. Canada has figured out how to keep its people employed and happy. Mexico’s wealthy elites should learn from what Canada has successfully done.
Trump’s war against the media is a fascinating sideshow with the president beating journalists at their own game. Objectivity vanished long ago from the mainstream press, and Trump has properly identified them as liberal partisans. The press reported dishonestly on Trump during his campaign and has mercilessly maligned him during the first weeks of his administration. The president takes pleasure in questioning the press as aggressively as it queries him, wonderful to watch.
Having labeled Trump a despot or worse, the media turned sanctimonious when he called it “the enemy of the people.” Forget the media polls that allegedly show that Trump is more unpopular than other presidents early in their administrations. A Washington Post headline: “Trump’s poll numbers keep dropping, how low can he go?” If the election were held tomorrow, it’s likely Trump would win by a wider margin than he did in November, regardless of which candidate befuddled Democrats might nominate.
In his speech to an energized CPAC crowd, Trump repeated his often-made promise to put Americans first, and to keep fighting for them. His “historic” November victory, Trump said, represented a win for freedom and the rule of law. Trump’s administration is just entering its second month, or as Bannon expressed it, “the top of the first inning,” and there will be resistance every inch of the way. Months of tough fights lay ahead, but during the three-day CPAC conference, everything Trump says seems possible.
Joe Guzzardi is a senior writing fellow with Californians for Population Stabilization. Contact him at [email protected] and on Twitter @joeguzzardi19.
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