Donald Trump, His Presidency: A Retrospect and Tribute

I have written several articles on our President Trump. A list of the links have been provided at the bottom of this article for your convenience. This article will, however address different aspects on President Trump’s Presidency.

President Trump had close to 75,000,000 votes during the November 2020 presidential election. Most of those voters believe that the election was fixed, and that many more 75 million registered voters voted for him and that it was a landslide win for him. However the left was simply too strong and powerful for President Trump. So now we have Biden as our President. But this article is not about Biden or the election, it is a celebration of President Trumps election. While many people in Hollywood were pro Biden there were many who supported President Trump. John Voight was and is one such personage. I feel that a good way to start this post is with his tribute to President Trump.

“My fellow Americans, we shall not weep, but let us give thanks to President Trump for his four years of hard work and love for America. Let us not put our heads down. Let us rise and look to a better future,” he began.

“Let us praise God, and let us understand His plan is far greater. I know all are disappointed, but this violence is not who we are. We’re love, respect, honor.
The ones who destroyed will be accountable, but the ones who truly wanted to share love and respect will be heard.”

“Let us put aside our differences and let America grow. Let us stand again with pride, and we as a nation will hold on to the love that President Trump shared with us all. It’s not over. The truths of justice will prevail, and God’s glory shall, as well.”

John Voight

Fox News host Laura Ingraham delivered a moving tribute to President Donald Trump as she expressed how “emotional” it was to watch him head to Marine One on the way to Walter Reed Hospital.

Ingraham told viewers that “angels are watching over him tonight” as she put into words what many of the president’s supporters were feeling Friday after the day’s emotional events. Following the unexpected news that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19, the president headed for treatment to Walter Reed where many gathered outside to show their support.

Ingraham noted the “outpouring of support” for Trump during her monologue on “The Angle” on Friday, recalling her own first experience of a Trump rally in Leesburg, Virginia back in 2016.

“I knew that night that he would win. And I knew it was something very special,” she said, recounting how thousands waited for hours in the cold November weather to be able to see him.

“Now the president, he’s never gotten much credit for how much love and how much admiration he’s inspired among his millions of supporters,” Ingraham said.

“But for millions of us, for millions of you, he’s been a champion for the middle class. He’s been a champion for working families like the family I came from,” she continued. “You see for about 30 years conservatives were promised so much from politicians and too many of them failed to deliver. But on issue after issue he has delivered…He’s already achieved so much for us and he says that he’s just getting started. ”

“Trump’s America First agenda really did change policy. And it’s a real threat. It’s a threat to the globalists who amassed enormous power and fortunes on the backs of American workers,” the Fox News host went on.

“You think about how much he’s endured those five years since he’s come down that golden escalator announcing his presidential run. He’s come under investigation, he’s been unlawfully surveilled. They impeached him. They tried to convict him. He’s been accused of about everything from treason, to racism, to fascism to xenophobia,” she said, adding that she has known Trump for 20 years and “none of it is true.

“Despite all of this, despite all that he’s gone through, he’s never stopped working day and night to achieve a stronger, more prosperous, more secure America,” Ingraham said, sharing that “watching Donald Trump walk to Marine One tonight on the way to Walter Reed it was very emotional for so many of us who see him as this indispensable man in the fight to secure our freedoms and our way of life.”

“I know President Trump isn’t Catholic but in our faith, today is the Feast of Guardian Angels. It’s an important feast day,” Ingraham concluded her monologue.

“And I know the faithful all across America are praying fervently for a speedy recovery. And those angels are watching over him tonight,” she said. “So while you’re recovering, Mr. President, don’t worry. We’ll take up the slack. Because you fought for us. Do not fear for a moment. Because now we’re going to fight for you.”

Later in the show, Ingraham shared a message from White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows who said that the president had seen the supporters outside the hospital from the Fox News report and sent him out to hand them chocolates. “How’s the president doing?” one of the crowd of Trump supporters asked Meadows as he handed out the treats. “He’s doing well. He’s in good spirits. He loves America,” Meadows replied.

Eric Trump, 37, President Trump’s second eldest son, paid tribute to his father’s presidency in photos and a statement. Eric shared four significant photos of powerful moments during his father’s presidency, and said in a Twitter post, “It has certainly been a beautiful journey.”

In a Twitter post later Wednesday morning, Eric Trump released the following statement, reflecting on the last four years and his father’s presidency:

It has truly been the greatest honor of my life to have had a front row seat to one of the most remarkable and consequential Presidencies in American History.

My father ran as the ultimate outsider. A man who didn’t need the job, didn’t play by the rules and disrupted the very existence of the political elite in Washington, D.C. He fought for our country, gave the American people a voice an reinstalled pride in our nation. He made it cool to be an American. He didn’t put up with BS and he didn’t mince words. He pointed out where our politicians failed us and cast a glaring light into the swamp and the many external forces undermining our country. America came first and a movement of love and patriotism unlike anything our country has ever seen was started.

In four short years, Donald Trump enacted the largest tax cut our nation has ever seen, rebuilt the American military and fortified our borders. He protected our religious liberties, created peace in the Middle East, fixed our VA, passed criminal justice reform, and decimated ISIS. He stood up for our 2nd Amendment, fought for free speech and exposed the media and big tech censorship.

The stock market soared, 401k’s went through the roof, consumer confidence reached record highs and small business flourished. Our country became energy independent. Gas prices dropped to all time lows, manufacturing returned to our nation and unemployment went to record lows. Donald Trump did more in four short years, than did decades of the political elite who had become accustomed to accepting the norm.

I will never forget the journey, the thousands of campaign events and the countless late night TV hits. I will never forget Buckingham Palace and the beaches of Normandy. Our great farmers in the Midwest who welcomed me into their homes and arms wide open and the hundreds of hand shakes and challenge coins from our incredible men and women in blue. The boat parades which went on for miles… It is truly a journey I will never forget.

My hope for Americans is that we never tolerate the old norm. We take what we have learned in the past four years and we continue to fight for the liberties and the pride that allows us to bleed red, white and blue.

As a family, we have carried tremendous weight through unprecedented resistance and persecution. No President has sacrificed more. But he (and we) did it for the good and betterment of our nation.

The Trump family loves America and we love all of you. Thank you for always having our back. Thank you for always supporting us.

We always feel a tremendous pride for the United States of America and we’ll always be grateful to live in the greatest nation on earth.

Let’s always Keep America Great. Without a doubt, the best is yet to come!

Eric also posted a photo of himself speaking at a campaign event, and wrote, “A special thank you to the incredible men and women of the United States @SecretService. You know who you are — you are truly incredible people and Lara and I are so fortunate to call so many of you friends.”

One more Video tribute to President Trump

As Thomas Jefferson eloquently put it: “In every country where man is free to think and to speak, differences of opinion will arise from difference of perception, and the imperfection of reason; but these differences when permitted, as in this happy country, to purify themselves by free discussion, are but as passing clouds overspreading our land transiently and leaving our horizon more bright and serene. … Difference of opinion leads to enquiry, and enquiry to truth; and that, I am sure, is the ultimate and sincere object of us both. We both value too much the freedom of opinion sanctioned by our Constitution, not to cherish its exercise even where in opposition to ourselves.”

Chuck Norris and his wife, Gena sat down and worked a list of Trump’s top accomplishments. They were able to choose the top 15 accomplishments, they felt that all Americans could be proud of.

Over the past four years, President Trump and his administration:

Enacted the largest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, cutting $1.1 trillion in taxes over the next decade if reelected.
Set and broke record highs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ, resulting in the U.S. economy growing a record 33.1% in the last quarter even in the pandemic.
Withdrew from the job-and-trade-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and NAFTA, replacing it with the new U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement. Brought back manufacturing industry to the U.S. and increased “Made in the U.S.A” production while securing access to new markets for America’s farmers. Also withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.
Stopped the insane vassal-lord dysfunctional and lopsided China-U.S. relationship, confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way, including forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices and intellectual property theft.
Reached record low unemployment rates for African-American, Hispanic and Asian-Americans prior to the pandemic and returning now to the policies to resurrect them.
Signed an executive order to expand school choice for Hispanic students and others. Secured record and permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have been strong proponents of school choice, pushing policies that would favor charter schools and vouchers.
Improved U.S. health care: Eliminated health insurance tax, medical devices tax, Cadillac tax, largest decrease of prescription drug costs in a half century, signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments. Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.
Signed groundbreaking Criminal Justice Reform. Bolstered and supported law enforcement agencies across the country, including creating an interagency task force working around the clock to quell riots and prevent human trafficking, prosecute traffickers and prevent human trafficking, which resulted in rescuing hundreds of children and arresting hundreds of human traffickers.
Secured and protected the U.S. Constitution: Utilized executive privilege and legislative assistance to further secure religious freedoms as well as rights of the unborn with unprecedented presidential passion. Rated by Heritage Foundation as one of the greatest presidential advocates of our Second Amendment rights.
Built and bolstered roughly 400 miles of new border wall at the U.S. southern border, fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs, contraband and criminal crossings (like MS-13 – illegal crossings have been reduced by a staggering 78%).
Appointed three amazing and scholarly justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who will serve and aid our country for decades to come: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Confirmed more than 220 federal judges who interpret the Constitution as written.
Chaired meeting of the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders, and signed the Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities, including $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic in our communities and at our borders. (Drug overdose deaths were down in 2018 for the first time in 30 years.)
Built up and bolstering all U.S. military branches around the world and defeating ISIS and other extremists, killing ISIS leader al Baghdadi, Qassem Soleimani, Hamza bin Laden, Qassim al-Rimi, and freeing from captivity more than a dozen American hostages from all over the world. Launched U.S. Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
Built up and bolstered America’s standing and strength in the International Community: Withdrew from shady Iran nuclear deal, moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, initiated Israel-UAE (and other surrounding nations) accord, providing more stability and commerce in the Middle East. Conducted historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula. Held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
Signed the VA Accountability Act, VA Choice and expanded VA telehealth services, improving walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care, and strengthening protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA. Provided $86.5 billion in funding for the VA, which is the agency’s largest dollar amount in history.

30 Good Things President Trump Has Done for America

1. Judges: Trump has appointed two Supreme Court justices, 53 federal appellate judges, and 146 District Court judges (as well as two judges for the Court of International Trade) who have been confirmed by the Senate so far. In addition, 64 more have been appointed and are awaiting Senate confirmation. All of them are committed to interpreting the Constitution and laws according to the original meaning of the words, rather than according to what a modern liberal judge thinks the law should have said.

As an evangelical Christian, I am glad to see that Trump’s two Supreme Court appointments have already been responsible for highly significant cases that increase religious freedom, such as the decisions (1) to allow state aid that is given to non-religious schools to be given also to religious schools (Montana decision); (2) to protect the right of religious schools to hire and fire employees based on the school’s religious convictions; and (3) to allow religious groups to be exempt from government regulations that would otherwise cause them to violate their consciences in matters of birth control (and, by implication, probably in matters of abortion and same-sex marriage, but that has not yet been tested).

2. Historic tax cuts and deregulation: After eight years of high unemployment and meager growth under President Obama’s administration, the Trump tax cuts of 2017 and Trump’s extensive canceling of excessive government regulations on businesses have given a tremendous boost to the American economy. An estimated 25,000 pages of regulations have been canceled, resulting in a savings of $3,100 per household per year. Another result of tax cuts combined with deregulation has been the addition of thousands of new jobs, so that unemployment (before the coronavirus crisis) fell to the lowest point in 50 years, and unemployment among African-American and Hispanic workers was the lowest it has ever been in history.

On election day, 2016 (11-8-16), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,332.74.

This afternoon (8-21-20 at 2:29 p.m.) it stands at 27, 898.82, which is an increase of 52% in 3.5 years, even including several months of the coronavirus epidemic. This is remarkable.

These economic changes affect ordinary people’s everyday lives, not just wealthy people. Tens of thousands of people who were unemployed have recovered the dignity of steady employment (including getting paid during the coronavirus crisis). Millions of ordinary Americans whose retirement savings are partially invested in the stock market (including my wife and me) are finally receiving some protection and even growth in their savings.

3. Building a stronger U.S. military: Reversing the massive budget cuts that had seriously weakened our military under the Obama administration, President Trump has increased military spending by nearly $150 billion per year from $605 billion in 2016 to $750 billion, steadily rebuilding U.S. military readiness.

4. Protecting unborn babies: Numerous executive orders have increasingly restricted government funding for abortions (such as the reinstatement of the Mexico City policy). On February 22, 2019, the Trump administration announced that it would not allow organizations that provide referrals for abortions to receive federal family-planning money, which implies a cut in funding for Planned Parenthood (the nation’s largest abortion provider) unless they perform abortions in a separate facility and not refer patients to it. And on May 2, 2019, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a new rule protecting healthcare workers who decline on the basis of conscience or religious conviction to participate in procedures such as abortion or assisted suicide. Trump was the first president ever to personally attend the pro-life March for Life in Washington, D.C. on January 24, 2020.

5. Expanding educational freedom: President Trump appointed Betsy DeVos, one of America’s leading advocates for greater school choice, to be Secretary of Education, resulting in rising support for charter schools, taxpayer-funded vouchers, and tax credits for private-school vouchers, programs aimed at expanding options for parents looking beyond traditional public schools as she brings attention to them.

6. Standing with Israel: Reversing President Obama’s repeated marginalization and shunning of Israel, President Trump has reaffirmed our commitment to support and defend Israel. He decisively moved the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel. He has welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House several times and has repeatedly reaffirmed our support for Israel. I recently read in the Jerusalem Post a statement that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than Donald Trump.

7. Negotiating a historic agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates: On August 13, 2020, President Trump announced that Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had come to a historic agreement to establish full diplomatic relations between the two countries, including the establishment of permanent embassies and the beginning of direct airline flights between the two countries. This is important because Dubai, the largest city in the UAE, is the leading financial center in the Middle East and plays a paramount role in world air travel and tourism. The agreement will “strengthen regional checks on Iranian power.” It also has the potential to set a pattern for future agreements establishing peaceful relations between Israel and other Arab countries in the Middle East.

8. Actually building a border wall: President Trump has relentlessly battled against Democratic stonewalling and liberal federal judges to build an effective, secure border wall along more than 200 miles of our southern border, and it could possibly reach as much as 450 miles by the end of 2020. Critics object that most of this construction is simply replacing old barriers that were already in place, but they fail to recognize that the government’s first priority has been to secure the highest traffic areas, and in many of those areas the old fence was not up to the job. An effective border wall is absolutely necessary to keep our nation secure and to gain some control over an immigration crisis that has spiraled out of control. It won’t put an end to all illegal immigration, but eventually it will likely stop over 95 percent of people who try to enter on foot.

This is important because once the American people feel that the border is secure, it will be much easier to gain the political consensus necessary for a humane and just solution regarding the undocumented immigrants who are already here, and for widespread support for the legal entry of large numbers of immigrants who will contribute much value to this great nation.

9. Comprehensive immigration reform proposals : President Trump has proposed and worked for sensible, comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system that would change our policy on legal immigration from a system based on extended family connections and randomness to a system based on merit, so that we prioritize admitting people who will be most likely to contribute positively to American society (as well as those who are escaping from genuine threats to their lives in their homelands).

10. Religious freedom and freedom of conscience: President Trump’s administration has repeatedly and continually worked to defend religious freedom, and his Justice Department has defended religious freedom in numerous court cases, such as supporting the case of Colorado cake designer Jack Phillips at the Supreme Court (Phillips faced massive fines for politely declining to design a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding), and the right of faith-based organizations not to be required to provide access to abortifacients through their health care plans, overturning the Obamacare HHS regulation that had forced them to do so.

In addition, in the first year of Trump’s presidency, the Department of Justice issued a strongly-worded, 25-page memorandum detailing exceptionally strong protections for religious liberty.

11. Withdrawing from the Paris climate accord: President Trump wisely and decisively removed the United States from the Paris climate accord, a radical environmentalist program which, according to a Heritage Foundation study, would have brought massive increases to U.S. energy prices with no statistically significant benefit to the environment. Doubling or tripling of U.S. energy costs (as under the Paris climate accord, according to the Heritage Foundation) would have harmed the poor most of all as they spend the highest portion of their budgets on energy. In addition, it would have cost America more than 206,000 jobs by 2040.

12. Energy production and energy independence: President Trump gave approval to the Keystone pipeline, the Dakota access pipeline, and oil production from the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a vast uninhabited region that could produce up to 20 percent of our petroleum needs. His administration has also granted more permits for mining of oil, gas, and coal from federal lands.The result has been lower energy prices (which benefits everyone) and also U.S. energy independence so that we are now becoming the leading exporter rather than a net importer of energy.

13. Waterways of the U.S.: The Trump administration’s decision to abandon the “waterways of the U.S.” policy rightfully returned control of water on private lands to the owners of those lands, rather than the federal government seizing control over nearly all waterways in the United States. These rules have hindered farmers, ranchers, and developers. American Farm Bureau Chairman Zippy Duvall praised the action, saying: “Farmers and ranchers care about clean water and preserving the land, which are essential to producing healthy food and fiber and ensuring future generations can do the same. That’s why we support the new clean water rule. It provides clarity and certainty, allowing farmers to understand water regulations without having to hire teams of consultants and lawyers. We appreciate the commitment of the agencies involved and this administration to crafting a new regulation that achieves important regulatory oversight while allowing farmers to farm. Clean water, clear rules.”

14. Halting the increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards: The Trump administration decision halted the Obama-imposed harsh annual increases in projected average miles per gallon required in new cars every year. This decision will lead to more consumer choice and less expensive and safer cars, which is much better than the Democratic policy of ever-higher mileage goals, requiring ever-lighter and smaller cars, which means more dangerous cars and less consumer choice.

15. Defeating ISIS: President Trump gave our military forces the freedom to defeat ISIS and drive them out of large sections of Iraq and Syria, which they did. This is far superior to the Democratic policy of inaction and appeasement, which had allowed ISIS to take over large areas of the Middle East. Under President Trump’s leadership, U.S. military forces located and killed ISIS founder and terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 26-27, 2019. President Trump also directed the killing of Iranian terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 2, 2020.

16. Persuading European nations to pay more for NATO: President Trump has insisted that NATO countries start to pay their fair share of defense costs, and some NATO countries have responded by increasing their defense budgets. In 2017, five countries met the goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense and that has now increased to nine, according to the alliance’s latest budgetary data. The U.S. is set to spend over $750 billion (3.7 percent of GDP) on its military this year and leads the “above 2%” group, which now includes Bulgaria (3.25 percent), Greece (2.28 percent), the United Kingdom (2.14 percent), Estonia (2.14 percent), Romania (2.04 percent), Lithuania (2.03 percent), Latvia (2.01 percent) and Poland (2 percent).

17. Protections against false accusation on college campuses: President Trump’s administration has restored many due process guidelines that universities must follow in processing title IX accusations of sexual assault on university campuses.

18. Protecting freedom of speech on college campuses: President Trump issued an executive order giving more specific protections to freedom of speech on college campuses by threatening the loss of federal research dollars if they do not allow for free speech for all students and faculty members. On many campuses, conservative and religious students and faculty members have had their views censored or have faced retribution for expressing conservative or faith-based views.

19. Protecting boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams: On February 22, 2017, President Trump directed the Department of Education to revoke the Obama administration’s guidance letter that had directed schools to allow children who claim to be “transgender” to use the bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers of their choice, and to join sports teams of their choice, even when their choices differed from their biological sex.

In a related decision, President Trump issued an executive order banning transgender persons from entering our military forces, which would have allowed biological males free access to women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and showers, and similarly allowed biological females to enter men’s facilities. Present Trump’s order was upheld by the Supreme Court, which lifted the block on the order by a 5-4 vote. While litigation will continue, the order stands for now.

20. Negotiating new trade agreements that are more favorable to the United States: President Trump has negotiated new trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, and China, and all of them give more favorable treatment to the United States than the previous treaties did.

21. Streamlining environmental reviews for major construction projects: In order to build a new section of highway, a new subway line, or a new gas pipeline, the necessary environmental impact statements have recently taken an average of 4.5 years, and many ran for six years or longer. These delays massively increased construction costs and delayed relief for over-congested highways for many years. But on July 15, 2020, President Trump’s White House released new guidelines limiting environmental impact studies to two years and limiting less-extensive environmental assessments to one year. The Wall Street Journal says these new rules “could literally cut thousands of years of cumulative delay” for construction projects. This will be a huge help in renewing America’s aging infrastructure.

22. Sending weapons to Ukraine: Whereas President Obama sent only humanitarian aid, President Trump authorized the selling of actual military equipment to Ukraine, including Javelin missiles that were necessary to defend against Russian aggression.

23. Standing up to China and Russia: Trump has been the first president to decisively denounce China’s blatant practice of industrial espionage and bullying, stealing of intellectual property, and violating international copyright protections. He has followed up with strong trade sanctions against China, an increased U.S. naval presence in the South China Sea, and the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston, which was a center of Chinese espionage. The Trump administration has closed several Russian consulates in the U.S. and expelled over 60 Russian “diplomats” (espionage agents), issued sanctions against several Russian officials, and persuaded several European nations to increase their defenses against potential Russian invasion.

24. Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal: President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, which would have allowed Iran to build a nuclear bomb within the next few years.

25. A wise COVID-19 response: President Trump imposed strict restrictions on travel from China on January 31, 2020, long before other leaders recognized the danger of this coronavirus. Then, when the COVID-19 virus began to spread rapidly within the United States, the dominant media narrative was a fear that we would run out of hospital beds to care for the sick. President Trump immediately mobilized the military to construct huge new hospital facilities in New York City and elsewhere, and soon there were enough beds. The next fear was that we would run out of ventilators. President Trump persuaded leaders of American industry to fast-track the manufacture of ventilators, and soon there were enough ventilators. Then the question was how soon to reopen buildings and meeting places, and President Trump wisely left the decision to local governors and other local officials who best know the different situations in their individual locations.

Finally, the FDA has fast-tracked the trial and approval process for a vaccine, and the federal government has made commitments to purchase millions of vaccines from various companies as soon as they are approved for widespread use. Several promising vaccines are now in the advanced stages of testing on human subjects. The previous record for rapid FDA approval of a new vaccine was four years from initial research to final approval, but under President Trump’s leadership experts are now optimistically predicting that an FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine will be available as early as October 2020, which would be nine months from the time the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China became known.

In addition, President Trump, working with Congress, quickly passed three coronavirus relief packages, with the result that millions of Americans continued to receive pay in spite of their workplaces being temporarily closed.

Unfortunately, many Democrats have decided to make the coronavirus tragedy a political issue, repeatedly criticizing President Trump’s response. With the benefit of hindsight, Monday morning quarterbacks can always claim they would have made better decisions in Sunday afternoon’s game, but they didn’t have to make instant decisions in the midst of the contest.

We need to recognize that President Trump, in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, has repeatedly had to make hard decisions in a situation where he had incomplete information and conflicting advice from different scientific, medical, economic, and educational experts. Others may disagree, but it seems to me that in a very difficult situation he has done a commendable job of balancing the need to protect Americans’ health, the need to avoid destroying our economy, the need to protect businesses from bankruptcy, and the need to get children back to school so that they will not be deprived of many crucial months in their education.

26. Reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs: On June 23, 2017, President Trump signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which gave the Secretary of Veterans Affairs streamlined authority to fire unproductive employees and to appoint new medical directors at VA hospitals. But even before that law, the Trump administration had begun to clean house, and over 500 employees were fired from the Veterans Administration in the first six months of Trump’s presidency.

27. Criminal justice reform: President Trump signed the First Step Act on December 21, 2018. This law gives judges more flexibility in reducing mandatory sentencing guidelines in individual cases, eliminates the “three strikes” requirement of life imprisonment for some offenses, improves opportunities for academic and vocational education within prisons, provides more support for the successful reentry of released prisoners into society, and requires prisoners to be placed in prisons near their place of primary residence where possible.

28. Reducing prescription drug prices: On July 24, 2020, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at reducing prescription drug prices. These included requiring federal health centers to make insulin and epinephrine available at massive discounts to low-income persons; prohibiting secret deals between drug manufacturers and pharmacy “benefit manager” middlemen; ensuring patients directly benefit from available discounts at the pharmacy counter; allowing more importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries where prices are lower; and reducing prices for Medicare Part B drugs if they are available for lower prices in other economically advanced countries.

I personally doubt the wisdom of using price controls instead of fostering greater competition to reduce drug prices, but I’m still listing this as a good action because it may be a useful first step in providing a signal that Republicans are serious about solving the real problem of expensive drugs that many people cannot afford.

29. Protecting federal property from rioters: The movement that began as peaceful and well-justified protests against the murder of George Floyd was soon co-opted by the presence of lawless rioters whose goal was destruction of property by looting and arson that began in Minneapolis and soon spread to Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York, and other cities. In contrast to the weak Democratic mayors and governors who adopted a policy of appeasement that only encouraged more violence and even resulted in the burning of a police station in Minneapolis, President Trump announced in Washington, D.C. that any destruction of federal statues and monuments would result in fines up to $10,000, and suddenly the attacks on these statues came to an abrupt halt. When rioters threatened to destroy the U.S. courthouse in Portland, and the governor and the mayor were not protecting this federal property, President Trump sent in federal officers to protect it, which they did. The courthouse was not destroyed and the slightly over 100 U.S. marshals and DHS officers inside the building were protected until eventually the mayor of Portland sent local and state police to protect the building.

According to the 1807 Insurrection Act, the president has the legal authority to take any measures (including deploying federal troops or other law enforcement officials) necessary to suppress any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy, even without an invitation or permission from the governor of the state in which that federal property is located. An example of this happened in 1957 when President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops into Arkansas over the objections of Governor Orval Faubus to enforce federal school desegregation orders and protect African-American schoolchildren from a mob that had gathered to stop them outside Central High School in Little Rock.

In a further response to the violence threatening many of our cities, President Trump’s Department of Justice has now launched Operation Legend, in which over 1,000 additional federal agents have been dispatched to work alongside local law enforcement officers in nine cities to apprehend the most violent instigators of these riots. They have now located and arrested 1485 suspects for violent crimes, including 90 homicides.

30. Welcoming evangelical Christians into positions of influence: This may not be important to others, but, speaking as an evangelical Christian, I see it as a positive factor that, rather than marginalizing evangelical Christians (as was the practice of the Obama administration), President Trump has appointed a remarkably large number of evangelicals to high government offices. These include Vice President Mike Pence, Ben Carson (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development), Betsy DeVos (Secretary of Education), Rick Perry (former Secretary of Energy), Scott Pruitt (former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), Dan Coats (former Director of National Intelligence), Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State), Russ Vought (Director of Office of Management and Budget), and Kayleigh McEnany (White House Press Secretary), and others.

One More List of Accomplishments:

By Greg Stinchfield on Newsmax:

+Energy Independence

+prison reform

+American embassy in Jerusalem

+record low unemployment

+rescued over 55 hostages

Trump’s accomplishments with the VA:

+Approval rating went from 37% in 2015 to 91% in 2020

+VA became one of the top 10 best places to work in the government

+Fielded the most expensive IT program in government

+Gave Veterans private sector choice for health care

+Instituted Accountability and removed 9,000 underperforming employees

Conclusion

I believe that I have shown that President Trump has many loyal followers, even in the public arena. I have also shown that he has accomplished many amazing things to help our country. He has a wonderful family that is devoted to him. President Trump did not need to run for president, he had a good and full life, filled with accomplishments and love. But because of his love for this country, he chose a harder path, one filled with little support from the powerful and elite. But he received love from the working class people. I am surprised at even my own support of the President. I have become quite devoted to him. That is the sign of truly great man, one who attains devotion from disparate individuals without even trying. I hope we will still have a country for him and his family to rescue.

Resources

dennismichaellynch.com, “WATCH: Conservative actor’s moving tribute to President Trump;” bizpacreview.com, “Laura Ingraham’s touching tribute to President Trump,” By Frieda Powers; dennismichaellynch.com, “PHOTOS: Eric Trump releases moving statement, tribute to father’s presidency;” wnd.com, “Top 15 accomplishments of Trump’s presidency, Exclusive: Chuck Norris meets his match trying to narrow down scores of achievements,” By Chuck Norris; townhall.com, “30 Good Things President Trump Has Done for America,” By Wayne A. Grudem;

Common Sense and Ramblings In America

Donald Trump, His Presidency: A Retrospect and Tribute

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