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'I never liked Trump’s character or how he sees the job on the presidency — talk-radio-caller-in-chief, don’t-bother-him-with-policy-details, demagogue-when-convenient — but I like some of the policies. I like almost all of the judicial nominations. I like tax cuts. I like rolling back federal regulations. I’m glad ISIS has been beaten to a pulp, if not completely eliminated. I like Right to Try for those facing terminal illnesses. I like the majority of the criminal-justice-reform legislation, particularly the anti-recidivism programs in federal prisons. I like getting rid of the individual mandate to purchase health insurance. I like keeping foreign aid money from paying for abortions. I want a secure border and concur with the Customs and Border Patrol that additional miles of barriers, or “bollard fence,” or whatever you prefer to call it is part of the solution (but not the entire solution). I like that the United States is now the world’s largest oil producer and a net natural-gas exporter, while our carbon emissions are declining slightly. I like blowing up Syrian air bases when Assad uses chemical weapons. I like NATO allies spending more on defense.'
Jim Geraghty, in the latest issue of the American magazine National Review.
The tax cut was irresponsible -- the US will be groveling in a deep hole if a recession strikes. Even Republicans admit this.
ReplyDeleteAn American Democrat friend tells me it has done a lot of good. The US economy has done well.
DeleteTrump is not a harmless talk-show host. He is unwell. That's starting to sink in.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the insurance mandate either. I am very happy with a recent news report stating that the number of insured Americans has dropped since 2018 for the first time in years. I also endorse the health care method recommended by Republican Mitt Romney, where desperate uninsured patients hie to the emergency room, get patchy interim care, and either go bankrupt or run out on their bills, thereby raising costs for those of us who actually paid into the system. A great blow for freedom.
Obamacare was a flawed attempt at fixing the US's very messed-up health care infrastructure. Conservatives had years to fix it and promised to do so. All they did was weaken Obamacare and substitute it with nothing. Again, irresponsible.
I sure your friend likes the tax cuts. I did too, until they expire for people at the lower end of the scale. We'll be hearing about that soon.
Salvini is out in Italy, Boris has lost six out of six votes, and we'll see what happens to Donald. Populists promise a lot, but have a hard time delivering.
About health care you are probably right - I do not understand the issue in America. I am not sure what the definition of populist is but Boris is not one. He is just a liberal Tory.
ReplyDeleteI was indulgent to Obama because he was not Bush 2 but Obama was very mediocre and should have had only one term. He left his country deeply divided and Donald Trump is his legacy. The way the economy took off as soon as Obama left office is proof of how bad his policy of over-regulation was.
I agree that Donald Trump might be unwell or losing his faculties but I do think that in his case it is impossible to tell. Reagan was losing his wits in his second term but that term was the apogee of American power and statecraft - it has all been downhill from there. When George II was told General Wolfe was mad he replied that he hoped he bit his other generals.
Donald Trump has not delivered on many things especially the wall but remember that regime change in Syria was Hillary's top priority had she won. I see Anne Applebaum this week is still arguing that defending 'Western values' and 'international human rights' as personified by Al Qaeda requires young American and Englishmen’s lives to be shed.
Anne Applebaum, the Economist and Hillary Clinton are the culmination of the French Revolution?