MAGAGA — Make America Great and Glorious Again — Gag me with a spoon!
In case inflation has you thinking you will vote for Trump in 2024, maybe it’s time to RETHINK!
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.”
That was Trump’s declaration at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 15, 2022.
MAGAGA — sounds like someone choking on a chicken bone.
In his typical long, boorish, and self-serving ‘I’m running for President’ announcement, Trump claimed the country had slipped into anarchy under President Biden and argued he could repeat the policy successes of his first term.
The man-child pointed to a strong economy before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, reworked trade deals, and a bold approach to international relations that kept the U.S. out of foreign conflicts as a case for another term.
Donald Trump is a legend in his own mind. But in reality — on his best days — Trump is a babbling buffoon who does not know geopolitics, history, economics, business, ethics, or any other subject that someone in any position of authority should possess.
In short, Trump was the worst possible person that could have ever ascended to the presidency of the United States.
And because of the danger of his becoming POTUS #47, we must not forget just how pitiful Trump was at doing his job during his 4-year stint in the White House as POTUS #45 from 2017 through 2020.
I realize this stuff may put you to sleep as you read it. But these are bedrock issues that America must remain mindful of when selecting our next POTUS in 2024.
This is the third article in a series of articles intended to remind you of just how horrible Trump was at his job. Click here to read part 2.
Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to “drain the swamp”
I will assume you’re familiar with the phrase “drain the swamp.” It was Trump’s call to clean up corruption in Washington. Trump unveiled the term in a speech in October 2016.
He applied the phrase as a weapon against Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was benefiting from a network of wealthy donors that she and former president Bill Clinton had cultivated over four decades.
The phrase was quickly a hit with Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters — and it entered the lexicon of chants at his rallies for the dumb and impaired.
In another speech in October 2016, Trump framed the argument that would close his campaign and win him the election. “Public corruption is a grave and profound threat to a democracy,” he said. “Government corruption spreads outward, like a cancer, and infects the operations of government itself. If the corruption is not removed, then the people are not able to have faith in their government.”
Trump unveiled a package of proposals for ethics reforms that day. They included a ban on senior government officials lobbying on behalf of foreign countries, a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress, and a five-year ban on lobbying for members of the federal government.
Trump’s disingenuous proposals were hardly the point. The point was that Washington was (and continues to be) a cesspool of corruption — and Trump promised to clean it up.
You did not have to like Trump, trust him, or even think him qualified. You just had to believe it was time to take a wrecking ball to the Beltway.
But, as expected, “drain the swamp” under Trump did not happen. His administration presented no anti-corruption legislation — and Trump himself did not divest from his businesses.
In fact, the swamp got swampier as Trump’s own family slid into key government positions, Trump properties profited from government business, and many of Trump’s advisors were indicted and sent to jail.
Trump touted companies that were run by his supporters and allies who, in turn, received government contracts. His administration allowed former lobbyists to serve in jobs where they had oversight of policies that affected their former employers.
During his four years in office, Trump took few steps to clean up Washington. Instead, he presided over a norm-shattering expansion of private interests and criminality in government. Trump was a self-dealing, self-enriching, ‘help his friends and families’ kind of president.
“Mr. Trump told us that he was going to “drain the swamp” of Washington. Well, Mr. Trump, when you nominate billionaire cabinet members who spent their lives exploiting workers, destroying the environment, privatizing public education, and defending polluters, that is not “draining the swamp.” That is bringing the stench of corporate greed and crony capitalism right through the front door of the White House.” — Senator Bernie Sanders
Trump’s best and most serious people — NOT!
As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump famously boasted that if elected, he would “surround myself only with the best and most serious people” — adding: “We want top-of-the-line professionals.”
Four years of Trump’s presidency repeatedly showed us the fallacy of that pledge as numerous members of Trump’s Cabinet and senior staff departed — often under suspicious circumstances.
This was occurring even as Trump himself railed against the ineptitude of people who still worked for him. Like so much of Trump’s wildly unpredictable management style, the result was disorder, disarray, and disorganization.
During his presidency, Trump surrounded himself not with the best and most serious but with the worst and most dangerous — thugs, liars, and white supremacists.
Trump drained the swamp only by firing the very people he appointed. And still, his ignorant, gullible base adored him. It was how they wanted their children to select and manage people when they grew up.
Trump’s true agenda
During his presidency, Trump’s self-proclaimed “accomplishments” delivered big-time for big business and the wealthy. His promises to voters — protect clean air, provide better health care, rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, crackdown on banks, and tax the rich — fell entirely by the wayside.
Meanwhile, his deceptive “populist” positioning worked magic with his low and middle-class base. His naïve gullible followers loved him all the same.
Trump’s smoke and mirror “successes” during his presidency partly explain why the conservative movement stayed solidly behind him. As amplified by what Trump tweeted or said or did during election year 2020, it is worth remembering in 2024 that there is little more to him than the ‘Trump Show.’
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