By Mark Mansius and Bill Sargent
At a dinner conversation before his death in 2018, well known commentator Dr. Charles Krauthammer made a remark that Donald Trump is not a conservative. He contended in Trump’s was neither a conservative nor a liberal but rather a pragmatist. He said he saw a problem and understood it needed to be fixed. Krauthammer contended Trump only sees there is a problem that needs to be fixed. His comment was based on observations during the beginning of Trump’s first term in office.
Krauthammer said that viewing problems from a liberal perspective often results in the creation of more problems, more entitlements, more victims, more government, and more political correctness. Likewise, he thought viewing problems from a conservative perspective results in continued — not reduced – spending, globalism, and the denial that there really is a problem in the first place.
Krauthammer saw immigration as neither Democrat nor Republican but rather as an American problem that threatened the very fabric and infrastructure of our nation; consequently requiring a pragmatic solution. Fast forward to today. What do we see? Trump shutdown an invasion of illegal immigration into our country within weeks of taking office. Then he tried to deport any criminal illegals – something the average American supports. What happened? The Democrat party, being taken over by leftist extremists, jumped in — using Obama and Biden appointed justices – and started using the judicial branch to slow, if not stop, Trump’s efforts. Krauthammer was right. These shouldn’t be a Republican or Democrat issues. They should be American issues, ones that need to be addressed and solved.
According to Krauthammer there are a number of reasons why some people don’t like Donald Trump even if he is doing something they might otherwise agree with. Some call it Trump Derangement Syndrome, but regardless of what you call it, here as some of the reasons for it:
1. Trump refuses to go along with backroom political deals that fatten the coffers of politicians and lobbyists;
2. He speaks what he thinks, often in ways that seem ego-centric, but because he doesn’t need financial backing, he’s unincumbered by powerful donors. He uses everyday language which is offensive to some people. When he speaks jokingly the humor often goes right over the heads of the media and those who don’t like him in the first place;
3. He does what he says he will do. He understands it takes more than hollow promises and political correctness to get things done; and
4. By-and-large and to the chagrin of the leftists among us he has been successful. Examples: With Trump’s encouragement, nations in Latin America (seven out of eight) are turning away from socialist leadership. Under his leadership, investigations and prosecution of healthcare fraud are underway. Additionally, roadblocks put in the way of his pragmatic solutions are being removed, albeit slower than many of us would like.
At the outset Krauthammer didn’t like Trump but he observed that people were often too quick to confuse confidence with arrogance. He noticed Trump put his entire financial empire at risk by running for President and contended Trump didn’t need, or possibly even want, the job. But Krauthammer also concluded that what Trump wanted was simply success for the United States and its citizens because he loves our country. We concur with this insightful view of the man who currently leads our nation. We hope you do as well!
