Open Letter to President Trump Sydney Williams
Dear Mr. Trump, I wish you well, but I hope you do not choose to run for President in 2024.
I write this with all due respect for you and your Presidency. Democrats are in disarray, with a President who is more puppet than leader, and with far-left extremists having seized control of the Party. So, my caution may seem odd. Moderate Democrats recognize they are at risk in the 2022 mid-term elections, barring a miraculous or unforeseen event. But you are a unifying factor for Democrats and independent “Never Trumpers.” Your candidacy, I believe, would unite the opposition and hurt Republican prospects.
Taking a supporting role is against your nature. Nevertheless, my hope is that you will campaign for Republicans in the mid-terms and back their choice for President in 2024. Twice I voted for you. Your disruptive technique was welcome, as I wrote in an essay in January 2019. In my opinion, your Presidency was a great success in every way but one. Deregulation, along with personal tax cuts, unleashed an economy that had been mired in sub-three percent growth. Your corporate tax cuts repatriated an estimated $1.5 trillion, which was reinvested back in the U.S. Unemployment declined and employment increased, especially for minorities. According to the Institute for Energy Research, the U.S. achieved energy independence in 2019 for the first time since 1957. With help of the “Wall,” illegal immigration through our southern border was reduced. At your insistence, our NATO Partners increased their share of spending on defense. China was called out for its aggression in the South China Sea and for its Belt and Road initiative, which creates dependency on China on the part of participating nations. Moving our Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, along with the Abraham Accords, did more for Middle East peace prospects than any other proposals since Israel’s founding in 1948.
You appointed nearly as many appeals court judges in four years as your predecessor did in eight. You added three conservative Justices to the nation’s highest court. You took us out of the toothless Paris Agreement, a sop to climate self-interests, and you vacated the ill-conceived Iran nuclear deal. Despite all the media hype and disinformation to the contrary, you handled COVID-19 as well as could be expected. The dramatic economic slowdown in 2020s second quarter was nearly offset in 2020s third quarter rebound. Regarding the pandemic, you were forced to navigate between myriad (and often conflicting) medical recommendations, all claiming to be based on the latest scientific evidence. Your Operation Warp Speed delivered a vaccine far sooner than medical experts expected.
But, in one important way your Presidency failed the American people: Your narcissism helped widen the chasm that divides left from right. Extremists on both sides retreated to their respective corners. Political polarization preceded your time in office so is not your fault. But you made it worse. For many years, mainstream media has had a left-wing bias. Reagan was an “amiable dunce.” George W. Bush was “Dumbo.” This bias on the part of the media goes back a long time. William Greider, in a 1984 article in Rolling Stone on Roone Arledge of ABC, wrote: “If the politics of 1984 describes the future, then Americans are being reduced to a nation of befogged sheep, beguiled by false images and manipulated ruthlessly.” The Bush-Gore election in 2000 hardened the divide. Since, the press has become less factual and less honest. President Obama, as the first Black American President, had an opportunity to address the problem of race. He did not. In fact, racial tensions increased during his years in office. But you are, as you know, a polarizing figure.
While you did nothing to heal that divide, you should not be blamed. The cards were stacked against you. We are not, as the left would have us believe, a nation of innocent victims and racist oppressors. We are a diverse people divided by ideas – not by race, gender or religion. But we should be unified as Americans. Our schools and colleges have become conduits through which ill-educated, progressive conformists are funneled. They do not educate students to think independently or instill in them a sense of mutual respect and personal responsibility. Again, this is the world you inherited when you became President. But we needed reflection, sobriety and humor, while you provided bluster, exaggeration and drama.
And after the election, and after the courts had sided in Biden’s favor, you should have swallowed your pride and accepted the results. In 1960, it was widely believed that Kennedy’s victory was due to the deceased voting in Chicago, but Nixon accepted the results and focused on eight years out. Your behavior in Georgia cost Republicans control of the U.S. Senate. Your speech on January 6 was okay by my standards, but when a few in the audience marched on the capitol you should have urged them to go home. As for the media, because of your directness in calling them out, you were never going to be treated fairly by them, but it was your post-election behavior that damaged your image and affected your legacy.
2022 and 2024 are critical; they will determine the direction of the country. For conservatives, and for the good of the nation, it is important Republicans retake the Senate and the House. The Far-Left, with their socialist/authoritarian policies, wield power – in Washington; in wealthy, coastal enclaves, and in big cities. They no longer support America’s working middle classes. They have created a “them” versus “us” divide.
Republicans have a long and strong bench. In no particular order, here is a list of a few. Governors: Ron DeSantis (Florida), Kristi Noem (South Dakota), Nikki Haley (former Governor of South Carolina and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN), Greg Abbott (Texas), Doug Ducey (Arizona), Larry Hogan (Maryland). U.S. Senators: Josh Hawley (Missouri), Rick Scott (and former Governor – Florida), Tim Scott (South Carolina), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Mike Lee (Utah), Marco Rubio (Florida), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Joni Ernst (Iowa). U.S. Representatives: Mike Pompeo (and former Secretary of State – Kansas), Dan Crenshaw (Texas) and Elise Stefanik (New York). These are men and women who span the spectrum of conservative thought. This list is not complete; the Republican Party is a big-tent Party, so not every name will be everyone’s choice. There are also non-political, articulate spokespeople for conservative causes, like Candace Owens and J.D. Vance, along with my favorite economist and commentator, Thomas Sowell.
We expect elected representatives to find common ground. The idea of a representative government is that it provides a forum to debate ideas. When partisanship rules, we bounce between extremists on both sides, and the nation suffers. The President, the most powerful individual in the world, must have the wisdom to guide the nation, while exercising restraint to temper his or her power.
Holman Jenkins titled last week’s column in The Wall Street Journal, “Is Trump Finished?” His belief is that you will not again run for President but will help pick the next President. I, too, trust and hope you are not finished. The Republican Party and Americans need you, just not as a Presidential candidate.
Best regards,
Sydney M. Williams
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