Why Trump Has Always Been The Clear Choice – OpEd

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Trump did not steal the 2024 elections; he won them with the resounding and thumping voice of the American people’s victory in a powerful message of truth and will. 

He performed better than in 2016 and 2020 and completed a swing-state sweep, winning all the swing states of Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

Democrats warned that Trump and MAGA are hijacking democracy. Now, they must acknowledge the truth: the Trump movement, no matter how much it has been panned by many, is a powerful expression of democracy.

The red wave and Donald J. Trump’s victory marked the greatest political comeback in history, symbolizing the advent of the prospects of a new world peace and an end to global conflicts.

It shows that despite billions of dollars of ads by the Democrats and top celebrity endorsements for Kamala, and the character assassination of Trump, the endless political witch hunt stretching back nine years, the two assassination attempts, two impeachments, and the 91 contested charges brought against him, Trump stands tall in staying true to his natural conviction and unyielding spirit to create a new wave of change for the American people and the world. Ordinary Americans are wise enough to see through these systemic barriers put in place to hold Trump and Trumpism back.

He won more votes with key demographic groups compared to last time, including Hispanic Americans and younger voters, compared to Harris, who did poorer than Biden with women, urban voters, younger voters, and Hispanics.

Kamala’s overtures to the young and Gen Z voters never produced the intended outpouring of support she has hoped, despite the student loans move. 

The presidential result was brutal for Harris, also because she failed to bury Biden’s ghost, and never had the ability to sell voters on the idea that she was the turn-the-page candidate, refusing to make a clean break from the last four years whereas the voters have long indicated that is what they wanted. 

She also failed to draw any distinction between herself and Biden, in identifying any specific ways her presidency would be different from him.

By focusing on non-relating issues, including the state of the democracy and predominantly on abortion, she failed to connect with the resentments of the people and the real plight and sentiments dominating now even among the Democratic-leaning voters, which are on safety and economy.

Considering that this election can be the platform to voice dissatisfaction against the Roe v Wade overturning by siding with Harris, women voters prefer the core issues of economic and personal safety, and they resonate with Trump’s call for border security and fixing the economy.

As Bernie Sanders put it, the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class. First, it was the working class, and now, the Hispanics and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, further worsened by the soaring inflation. Trump is now seen as the champion of the working class. 

The victory in retaking the Senate and Trump claiming the popular votes, the first Republican in two decades to do so, also point to the fact that pollsters and all the polls claiming this race to be a dead heat, and one where Des Moines Register/Mediacom put Harris as ahead in Iowa, a traditional Republican base: as yet again fast losing their credibility and relevance, just like in 2016.

Exit polls show that the “threats to democracy” were a top issue, and the mainstream media (MSM), which is traditionally left-leaning and Democrat-friendly, thought that meant votes for Kamala. It turns out that the opposite happened: voters are rejecting censorship, dishonesty, and bias in America.

America fought and won two world wars, defeated fascism and communism, and established the rules-based order that preserved global stability.

The US has maintained world peace for over 70 years since WWII and has paid the highest amount to secure world trade, maritime routes, and deterrence. This long peace comes at a cost, with the portrayal of the great American obligation for the spirit of freedom and democracy for the world.

All Trump wants is for others to pay their equal burden and fair share for world peace. 

Harris argued for Trump to stop with the tired old playbook of hyping up the immigrant issue and running a dark and divisive campaign, but the rising migrant crime and millions of undocumented people let in by the Biden administration remain a sad reality.

A nation is built on two common-sense factors: a clear border wall and direct control of people and dangerous goods coming in, and a common-sense election and voting norms of having voter ID.

These are the principles of sovereignty and control at their most basic for any nation, and America paid the price for its inability to uphold the simplest facets of national security and territorial integrity due to the Democrats’ misplaced belief that an open border is what made America great.

A fractured voting system where illegal votes have been rampant threaten the fabric of a country and American democracy. More than 20 million illegal immigrants poured in from more than 180 countries,with more than 13,000 convicted criminals estimated to be already in America, with deaths and destruction from fentanyl, crime, and lost economic opportunities for the local everyday struggling Americans already suffering from the worst inflation in decades.

The Democrats cast Trump’s alleged assault on America’s democracy as the greatest threat to America but disregard for voter ID and the ousting of Biden in an internal move are instead seen as the threats to America’s democratic foundation.

Why Trump Has Always Been the Clear Choice

Let’s remember his legacies and track record during his first term, when these facts and feats were often drowned in the anti-Trump rhetoric that had been played out for years.

Trump’s economic record remains the strongest justification for him, resonating with the plight suffered by the people under Biden. When he handed over power to Biden in 2021, he predicted that inflation and high energy prices would hurt the people and weaken America, and he was right.

The economy was booming under the first Trump administration with his low tax and low regulations mantra, and a second Trump administration will see bigger tax cuts that will boost domestic production and create more high paying jobs. 

In his first four years, stock markets and 401(k) were high. Businesses were easier to form, and jobs were returning.

Inflation was almost at its lowest, and the sense of economic optimism and unity from both sides of the aisle was at its highest.

Trump saved tens of millions of lives worldwide with Operation Warp Speed, in getting the vaccines ready in record time.

Trump helped America build its strongest economy in history. Median household incomes rose to their highest level ever in 2019, while the poverty rate hit an all-time low. Under the Trump Administration, more Americans were employed than ever before, numbered at 160 million, and the unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low.

The unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Americans without a high-school diploma all hit record lows, while the Trump “Blue-Collar Boom” saw wages grow faster for workers than for managers or supervisors.

Trump signed the largest relief package in American history to protect workers and families from economic devastation during Covid. The American economy surged back to life within months, seeing record growth and job gains.

Trump returned law and order to the American people, and would be tough on crime in the new term.

He brought the abortion decision back to the states and overturned Roe v Wade, the first in more than five decades. The pro-life stance started a new opening to save the lives of the unborn.

Energy independence was achieved, where reliance is no longer on oil-rich countries in the Middle East, and America is now the biggest energy producer in the world, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Russia. Under the new term, America will soon be an energy dominant country, with common sense utilisation of the vast black gold under the feet of Americans and with the “drill, baby drill” mantra.

In Trump 2.0, the fundamental economic problem plaguing the country will be addressed, starting by cutting energy prices in half within his first year.

The appointment of three Supreme Court justices, and hundreds of federal judges, that have been confirmed during his tenure further sealed his legacy.

He also oversaw the greatest transformation in the criminal justice reform, a feat where even Obama failed to pass.

Border security was among the best in a very long time, and the greatest tax cut since Reagan has enabled manufacturing jobs to return.

The military has been rebuilt, and veterans’ welfare and support capacity have been prioritized. The Space Force has been created, providing the US with new space dominance for decades to come. 

When Biden-Harris took over the leadership, the economy got worse. Trump was right when he predicted, way before the 2020 Elections, that if Biden-Harris were to get elected, energy prices and inflation would be through the roof. 65% of Americans cannot afford to own a home, and 800,000 Americans lost their jobs last year. Instead, 1.2 million non-citizens took those jobs. Energy prices and crime were also through the roof.

More than ten thousand manufacturing jobs were lost last month alone.

Businesses are leaving because of high tax and high regulations, and with the tariff in place under Trump 2.0, they will be coming back to America and new manufacturing bases will sprout in America.

Americans are struggling in their daily life with spiking inflation and cost of living and houses, and thousands are dying monthly from fentanyl, but yet the Biden-Harris administration has failed to address these effectively.

Trump is being seen as a resonating and honest personality in doing what is right for the country. Under Trump, the stock market and the economy were better off than before Covid era when he left office. Instead, Biden took credit for bounced back jobs.

Harris focused on short-term political returns with her left-leaning economic policies, which were enticing, but Trump focused on the larger picture of long-term economic returns based on low taxes and regulations.

More money is given to Ukraine to defend democracy, but America’s own border crisis is ignored.

Ukraine received 250billion dollars, but Europe paid 150billion less. Trump forced NATO to pay more, saving billions of dollars of American taxpayers’ money. 

He also reviewed and withdrew from global memberships including Paris Climate Accords that are weakening America and putting it at a disadvantage, mostly in constraining America’s economic potential through green and carbon obligations. In contrast, other countries are allowed to have bigger leeway.

For years,America was ripped off by foreign powers. While their cars dominate the American market, other countries are not accepting American cars.

Trump’s tariff is the saviour of the American economy long held hostage by other countries. This tariff will protect American businesses, get other countries to stop their dumping and market distortion that have obliterated American workers’ interests, encourage more companies to shift and start their operations in America, and give new tax cuts to American enterprises. All these will create new jobs and confidence, fix the American coffer bleed, and negate the dependence on China. This will stop overexposure to globalist movements and greater vulnerabilities to Beijing and Europe’s new trade maneuvers in choking America.

The left focused on the low-hanging fruits in the causes of abortion, student loans, and other free entitlements and pointed out MAGA as the threat to these issues.

Trump could have chosen the easier populist route by altering the positions on these causes, but instead remained steadfast in real issues that affect everyday Americans: crime, economy, safety, border security, family and religion, and individual freedom from fear.

Trump will fix the ballooning federal government size and bureaucracy, trim it down, and save billions of dollars through common-sense restructuring and tackling wastages, incompetencies, and corruption. He would also dismiss bureaucrats and politicians whose woke influence has stifled the country’s true growth, and he would return education and school choice policies to the states.

Trump takes a tough stance on crime for the safety of Americans and to empower the police to carry out their responsibilities, while the Biden administration has caused crime to skyrocket and left the police weakened by defunding the police movement and sanctuary cities.

Incompetent, typical politicians who have been in the system and establishment for years would be replaced by merit-based experts who know the ground best. Elon Musk remains a case in point, with a potential new role in trimming the federal government and reducing expenses.

Trump took the beating for pointing out the truth affecting America and its people.

He took a bullet and faced persistent years-long attacks on his credibility and character, from a fake Russia investigation to the endless political witch hunt and character degradation.

Peace Through Strength and New Advent of Global Peace

Trump’s America First agenda has been panned by the Democrats and the world over, but it brought unconventional approaches and returns to both America and the world through relative peace and stability.

The world is safe because of Trump. His peace through strength mantra has kept the world peaceful and deterred aggression from even the harshest enemies. Under his watch, no major conflicts or wars happened, and he stopped war-mongering neocons. Biden-Harris’ weak administration saw the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal with the loss of 13 American soldiers and 85 billion dollars of military equipment left behind. 

This weakness led to the mushrooming of new alliances and actions that threatened and violated international law and the rules-based order.

The Afghanistan withdrawal weakened America’s standing and resolve and led to renewed power flexing, as shown by Putin, Kim, and Xi. The Ukraine war and the various instabilities across the world that are now happening would have been prevented.

Despite the casting of Trump as weakening America’s global standing via his treatment of allies and withdrawal from multilateralism and globalism, Trump fixed the cancerous plague that has held America back with smart and common sense foreign policy that has benefitted everyday Americans through fixing the manipulations by other powers and rebuilding the military with Space Force, taking care of the veterans and regaining America’s military strength. Clear deterrence was established, and aggression by other powers was deterred. For 18 months, no American was killed by the Taliban under Trump.

Trump never left a vacuum in global dominance, he strengthened the US position through military and economic rebuilding at home.

During the initial period of his presidency, when he took over from Obama, the predominant threat at that time was the growing belligerence and nuclear danger from Pyongyang, which Trump inherited. He managed to settle the mess with his unconventional approach.

In other words, Trump has indeed Made America Great Again and the world safe again, and will do it again with this greatest political comeback in the history of the world.

Hopes are highest that he will end the Ukraine war and the conflicts in Gaza and West Asia once and for all and bring peace to the regions, as he has proclaimed to do.

Trump has always focused on the core issues that matter to the American people at large: a sense of economic and personal safety and security and the sense of appreciation and role in taking America back and securing its future while also safeguarding America’s role in keeping the world safe and preventing World War III. 

The choice for the 47th President of the United States has always been clear, and he has proven it on a historic day for the country and the world.

Collins Chong Yew Keat

Collins Chong Yew Keat has been serving in University of Malaya, the top university in Malaysia for more than 9 years. His areas of interests include strategic and security studies, American foreign policy and power analysis and has published various publications on numerous platforms including books and chapter articles. He is also a regular contributor in providing op-eds for both the local and international media on various contemporary global issues and regional affairs since 2007.

2 thoughts on “Why Trump Has Always Been The Clear Choice – OpEd

  • November 12, 2024 at 4:52 am
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    Yes, Trump elect has not started any wars in his previous tenure the taste of the article would be if he stops the Ukraine war as promised and finds a solution to the Gaza war. Will the Pentagon and the Arms industry let him have his way?
    US history and tradition: US aims at “Full Global Hegemony through Military dominance.” Militarism Is the US National Religion; “We believe in wars. We may no longer believe in formal declarations of any war…” from Korea to Vietnam, Afghanistan to Iraq, the Cold War to the War on Terror. Ongoing proxy war in Ukraine and the Gaza War.
    According to SIPRI ; US arms exports share grew from 34 per cent to 42 per cent. The US delivered major arms to 107 states in 2019–23.
    “The world is safe because of Trump.” Only history will endorse after this his second tenure.

    Reply
  • November 12, 2024 at 8:51 am
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    America is yo be governed by a common criminal who demonstrates we are now a government of men and not laws. We are where we are because our justice system has protected one man and not us. It will take decades to recover from this self-inflicted wound.

    Reply

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