Opinion: The Case for Donald Trump

As someone who has up until recently been considered a liberal, many of my family and friends have been surprised or even shocked to hear that I support Donald Trump. People seem to think that he is the antithesis to liberalism. Apparently a radical conservative, he is the newest liberal boogeyman. In reality, Trump represents the fulfillment of a lot of ideas that Bernie Sanders has championed. Trump in fact is a populist, not a conservative. Rather than being rigid and dogmatic, the unifying theme in Donald Trump’s platform is putting America first.

Donald Trump’s economic nationalism is what liberals and trade unions have been wanting for some time. He’s one of the first Republicans to stand up and acknowledge that our current trade policies have decimated our manufacturing and destroyed millions of semi-skilled and unskilled jobs. The Democratic Party and GOP are both responsible for the current mess. In fact, NAFTA, one of the most egregious of the trade agreements that have weakened our industry, was passed primarily by Republicans in Congress and signed by a Democratic president. This is not a traditional Democrat vs. Republican battle, but one between the public interest and the interests of multinationals who have a vice-grip on both parties.

Some alarmists are afraid that Trump’s proposed tariffs could start a trade war, but the reality is that we’ve been participating in one for decades and are losing badly. We have a massive trade deficit with China, reaching $365 billion last year. We are prevented from selling beef to Japan, while their industries have been allowed access to the massive market in the United States with relatively low tariffs. Other countries have been active in pursuing their own interests while we have been complacent and allowed ourselves to be taken advantage of. It’s baffling that anyone can think that having a trade deficit with nine of our ten largest trade partners is the result of “free trade” or that it would be acceptable even if it was.

American foreign policy represents both a major drain on our pocketbooks and a major factor in the state of the entire world. It is arguably the most important issue in this election because the potential harm that could be done on this front is immense. Hillary Clinton has demonstrated an unsettling willingness to subvert and overthrow legitimate governments to push an agenda. Libya, Egypt, and Syria have all fallen victim to opposition groups encouraged and sometimes funded by the United States during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. Regime change has been a favorite tool of hers, foregoing diplomacy and creating a series of failed states. Even now Hillary Clinton wants to do in Syria what was done in Libya – create a no-fly zone. This time it would mean shooting down Russian aircraft, something that would be certain to escalate the situation and cost more American lives. Conversely, Donald Trump has decried the no-fly zone, rightly saying that it could very well cause a direct confrontation with the Russians. Even if it didn’t mean war, helping the so-called “moderate rebels” would be a mistake. Even our own military officials have acknowledged that we can no longer distinguish the “moderates” from the jihadists. By working against the legitimate Syrian government and the Russians, we would be helping ISIS and creating yet another power vacuum. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that cooperating with Russia is the most effective way to defeat ISIS. This wouldn’t even be a point of disagreement if the agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wasn’t simply to overthrow a government friendly to Russia by arming terrorists.

While some might agree with this aggressive and destructive foreign policy, it’s impossible to deny the strain on our budget that endless ham-fisted interventions have caused. We have accumulated $19 trillion in debt, in large part due to the war started during Bush’s time in office and supported by Hillary Clinton. We currently spend roughly $700 billion each year on our military, much of it funneled to ongoing operations. One would think that Trump’s doctrine of limited intervention would be popular among liberals, but a startling number of those who once bashed George Bush for being a warmonger are now supporting a foreign policy that is arguably more aggressive in Hillary Clinton. Sadly, we have reached a point in American politics where both parties are filled with neocons – wishy-washy warhawks who feel no compulsion to finish what they start. This explains why establishment Republicans like Bill Kristol have thrown such a fit that Trump is the nominee to the point of supporting the nominee of the other party and why Donald Trump is the only viable option for the American people.

While Donald Trump’s trade and foreign policy should be appealing to most Americans, some aspects of his platform do appeal to conservatives in particular. Trump’s plan to reform our enforcement of existing immigration laws has been criticized as inhumane but in reality it’s best not only for the integrity of our laws but also the well-being of potential undocumented immigrants. Illegal immigration fuels a criminal human trafficking network that is closely related to the drug trade. Immigrants are preyed on by ‘coyotes’ and wrenched away from their money in return for help in crossing the border. In addition to fueling the less savory activities of cartels and criminal networks, illegal immigration puts the immigrants themselves at risk. Every year, dozens of migrants die in the desert from dehydration or exposure in their attempt to make it to the United States. The journey is especially risky for children and young girls, but for entirely different reasons. According to a report by Fusion, 80% of Central American women are raped prior to crossing the border. This staggering number shows what a mess the status quo is. The broken immigration system that both parties have refused to fix has put immigrants into this vulnerable position. If people can’t immigrate legally, they should not be making the attempt anyway. Refusing to control our border is destroying immigrants’ lives, depressing American wages, and flying in the face of the law. Donald Trump recognizes our moral and legal duty to fix this problem, and contrary to popular belief, he actually has a detailed plan to do so. ‘The wall’ is one aspect of a plan that includes e-verify, fees on remittances, increased border patrols, and a variety of other measures.

Donald Trump, for all the controversy surrounding him, is the best representative of the actual feelings of the American people we’ve had in some time. The last few decades have been a choice between Democratic neocons and Republican neocons. Both sides are warhawks, both favor their next payday over the American people, and both are a blight on our great country. Trump’s candidacy is a radical departure from the attitudes and policies that have done such a poor job of furthering America’s interests. Focusing on the substance of this campaign rather than the mud-slinging that’s been egged on by the media makes Donald Trump the clear choice.