As a friend wisely observed, it is very hard to get at the truth these days.  Each of us has his sources, and different sources differ widely as to the facts and their interpretation. Some people describe Trump as an evil, Hitler-like figure.  Others support him.

In 2015 Trump had already achieved fame and fortune.  He had a beautiful wife and a loving, successful family. A life of ease and comfort was open to him.  Instead, he chose to throw his hat into the political ring.  Why did he do this?  He says he believed it his patriotic duty to reverse America’s rush toward economic and fiscal chaos.  His enemies attribute his action to Trump’s thirst for greater wealth and power. But who of us can know the heart of the man?   Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and judge him by his actions and achievements.

As a result of his decision to enter politics, Trump lost many of his former friends, most of whom were politically liberal. As he was an outsider to Washington, the inside government establishment was alarmed.   He was immediately attacked as being a Russian collaborator and a toady to Vladamir Putin (some people continue to make this unproven charge).  There were many other charges, most of them false.

Following his unexpected election victory (even Trump was surprised), the Democrats embarked on an unrelenting and sometimes extra-legal campaign to destroy him.  When that effort faltered, they resorted to improperly founded impeachments. Despite these heavy political headwinds, Trumps first three years in office were generally successful.  Employment was up, inflation was under control, and there were no serious foreign entanglements.  Then Covid hit, and Trump struggled with that problem along with a bloody summer of social turmoil following the unfortunate death of George Floyd.

The 2020 election followed, and because of Covid it was marked by the first use of mass mail-in voting by many states.  The number of votes was unprecedented, and many election norms were violated. Biden was elected.  Trump and his most rabid supporters believed that they had been cheated out of victory.  Rightly or wrongly, Trump believed this so strongly that he tried to delay certification of the election results while he attempted a legal appeal.  This led to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, a dark stain on Trump’s first term in office.

In November 2022, after the mid-term elections, Trump announced that he was going to run for President again.  His political enemies immediately set out to destroy him.  Both federal and state prosecutors went after him with a variety of charges, including improper retention of classified documents, election interference, business malpractice, and sexual harassment.  Most experienced lawyers who examined these charges thought them spurious, nevertheless they tied Trump up in almost continuous litigation and cost him millions of dollars in legal fees and penalties.  Eventually the legal assault on him collapsed or was made moot by his reelection.

Now Trump is again our President.  Forty percent of the population appears to love him, and forty-five percent hate him.  The other fifteen percent swing back and forth.

I approve of Trump’s stated goals.  He wants to:

• Shrink the swollen federal bureaucracy and make it more efficient.
• Reduce the annual federal deficit and balance the budget.
• Eliminate our foreign trade imbalances and end our dependence on China for critical products.
• Rebuild American factories, grow the economy and control inflation.
• Improve our health by an assault on chronic diseases
• Promote world peace while maintaining a strong military.  

Who can oppose these goals?  I believe their achievement is vital to our nation.  They are almost impossible to accomplish in a short time span, and the process of achieving the stated objectives may cause considerable chaos and disruption.   No one is sure that Trump will succeed, and many critics predict his failure.  His tactics sometimes seem improvised and inconsistent.  Also. it’s not certain that Americans have the patience to wait for the outcome.  Nevertheless, I believe he offers us our best and perhaps only hope. 

Unfortunately, the Democrats do all in they can to thwart Trump’s every move.  They offer no viable approach to confronting America’s critical problems.  They only criticize and propagate lies about Trump and his objectives.  The leftwing media joins in the chorus. I fear that we will soon face a severe economic crisis should the Democrats return to power.

Finally, let me say that I think Trump is a true patriot.  He left a life of luxury to pursue the path of public service.  As a result, he has been vilified, sued, faces the continual threat of assassination, and lost part of his considerable fortune (perhaps to be retrieved).  He is not a perfect man.  He can be petty and vindictive, is a serial truth-stretcher, and has other flaws, but he is no Hitler.  I believe that he wants what is the very best for America.

As for Musk, he also could have avoided much trouble if he had kept his nose out of politics.  He lost money, lost the adulation of many, and, like Trump, faces the threat of assassination from a leftwing lunatic.  We owe him a debt of gratitude for his service.

In closing, I point out Trump’s success in closing our borders to illegal immigrants, another Trump goal when he came to office. The flow of   undocumented, unvetted immigrants has been brought to an almost complete halt. For that alone, we owe the President our profound gratitude..