Photo: Alamy
In 2022, Americans are longing for a return to the strong policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump was a president who put Americans’ needs before the rest of the world’s.
On the other hand, Joe Biden said Thursday that Americans could expect to pay high gas prices “for as long as it takes,” to keep Russia from defeating Ukraine, according to the Washington Examiner. “This is a critical, critical position for the world,” he insisted.
Biden additionally announced this week that the U.S. would send another $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, following a $40 billion aid package sent in May.
However, Americans are overwhelmingly uninterested in sending money and aid overseas when people here at home are being crushed under rising energy prices, record-setting gas prices, and soaring food costs.
A June poll from YouGov for Concerned Veterans for America found that 38 percent of Americans would rather see Biden focus on assuaging domestic inflationary pressure versus a slim 8 percent who thought it was important to secure Russia’s defeat in their conflict with Ukraine.
Amid rising prices, supply chain problems, an unstable stock market, a nationwide labor shortage, and the decimation of the American energy industry, many people are reflecting on better days when President Trump was in office.
Energy Independence
In a recent interview with Newsmax, President Trump pointed out that America was energy independent during his time in office. “We had more energy than anybody,” he said. “And now we’re asking Saudi Arabia to, ‘Send us oil, please.’ We’re asking Venezuela. Unthinkable…we have, I call it, liquid gold. We have it under our feet. We were energy independent.”
President Trump’s policies fostered energy production that had never been seen before in the U.S. The White House archives noted that under Trump, the U.S. became a net energy exporter for the first time in 70 years. Trump approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska for oil and gas leasing. These policies secured America’s independence when it came to energy production, subsequently lowering energy and oil costs for the entire country.
Unlike Trump, Biden squashed American energy independence in his first 11 months in office, killing the Keystone XL pipeline, for example, on his first day on the job with an executive order. The Daily Signal reported that Keystone XL alone would have boosted the U.S. GDP by more than $3 billion and carried a daily oil production of 830,000 barrels of oil between Canada and the U.S.
Under Trump, Americans were paying an average of $2.39 per gallon of gas. In May 2022, the AAA National Average report revealed that Americans were paying an average of $4.81 per gallon under Biden.
Where Trump put America first, Biden has put America last, and taxpaying citizens are literally paying the price.
Military Might
President Trump built up the strength of the American military when he was in office, expanding military spending and even creating a new branch of the armed forces, the Space Force.
In 2020, National Interest reported that President Trump requested a whopping $740 billion for national defense as a part of his ongoing bipartisan defense buildup. Military aircraft readiness was projected to increase under Trump and the Naval fleet was slightly expanded. Their report additionally pointed out that Trump’s administration worked to fortify nuclear defenses, developed a new line of ballistic-missile submarines, and hypersonic missiles and AI defense systems were improved.
Trump was additionally known as the “President of Peace.” He achieved stunning success in his diplomatic endeavors ranging from the historic Abraham Accords (between the State of Israel, the U.S. and the UAE) to his ability to maintain peace with the volatile North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
Biden, by contrast, has weakened the U.S. military. Under his leadership, the military has displaced service members due to astringent Covid-related vaccine requirements, which has resulted in the discharge of countless men and women in uniform.
Even worse, the U.S. military is now struggling to meet its 2022 recruiting goal, according to NBC. Only a reported 9 percent of Americans 17-24 are interested in serving.
In less than two years, war in Eastern Europe has erupted between Russia and Ukraine – all on Biden’s watch.
Trump’s bold, unflinching America First diplomatic approach to dealing with foreign nations kept the U.S. safe and secure when he was in office.
“This is something that should have never happened; this would not have happened during my administration,” Trump reminded Americans during an interview on Fox News in February. “…It’s a very sad thing for the world, for the country, and it’s certainly sad for a lot of people that are going to be needlessly killed.”
Border security
Under Biden, the security of the U.S. border has been decimated. According to a recent review of information of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), the foreign-born population has ballooned to a total of 47 million. The Center for Immigration Studies found that the foreign-born population in America (both legal and illegal) had skyrocketed by two million between January 2021 and April 2022, which was twice as fast as the U.S.-born population.
When Trump was in office, illegal border crossings declined by 90 percent, largely due to his “Remain in Mexico” policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
MPP swiftly expelled illegal immigrants back to their country of origin. Further, the southern border wall was quickly being built when Trump was in office (there were 650 miles of wall built by the time he left office, according to Trump’s “Year in Review” from 2021). However, the Supreme Court this week sided with the Biden administration on MPP, ruling that it has the authority to strike the policy down.
Additionally, Trump’s administration deported almost 20,000 gang members, including thousands of members of MS-13.
By contrast, Biden has allowed millions of unvetted illegal migrants to enter the country and released them into American cities and communities.
Trump protected the security and interests of Americans by buttoning up the border and empowering law enforcement to protect U.S. sovereignty.
A return to America First
Under President Trump, the needs of American citizens were valued, respected, and met with both compassion and understanding. Production boomed, the military was stronger, the border was secure, and the world was a safer place.
President Trump simply and powerfully put America First.
