As I expressed in a previous column, President Donald Trump was not my first choice.
I first supported Gov. Scott Walker, then U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and finally U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, before backing the eventual Republican nominee. I was surprised at how successful Trump was in the election. He has thrown out the political rule book and put together a winning coalition of voters.
I had the wonderful privilege of attending his inauguration on Friday with numerous enthusiastic supporters.
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Trump’s first month as president-elect proves just how uncertain the GOP’s future will be
While many applauded Trump on his inauguration day, his foes were also lurking about. Riots occurred at the nation’s capital, leading to the destruction of property and more than 200 arrests. A day after, Women’s Marches were held across the U.S. in response to Trump’s rise to power.
It seems to me many liberals are hoping Trump’s presidency will plunge into failure as quickly as possible, but that probably won’t be the case. He has no reason to acknowledge monstrous rioters or civil protesters. Elections are held to decide leadership, demonstrations are not. He was elected with an agenda and should follow through with it.
I think most voters don’t care about social issues and Trump’s rhetoric. They care about real results that will benefit them, particularly when it comes to economics.
UW students walk out of class in opposition to Trump’s inauguration
Time and time again during his candidacy, the media threw all sorts of scandals in Trump’s way, but none of them worked. He managed to successfully leap over these hurdles that would permanently damage any traditional politician and created new press coverage by simply using social media.
The election has handed the Republicans majorities in both houses of Congress for the next two years. Trump’s win has given him a mountain of political capital. He has the opportunity to repeal the Affordable Care Act, expand economic growth, protect workers who’ve been threatened through global competition and put the country toward the path of a balanced budget.
As of now, I’m going to take polling data with a grain of salt as a result of tremendous errors during the presidential election. Pollsters might make necessary changes to their samples, but the only way to see if that is true will be in the midterm elections two years from now and, naturally, 2020.
Even so, Trump has never cared about poll numbers. He’s a man who focuses on exciting his own base, which led him to electoral success. Policies matter more than popularity now because they will change the voters’ perceptions of the president. If Trump manages to execute his policies and they are triumphant for the country, then the Democrats will have an extremely laborious time attempting to convince the American people to vote for them.
Another problem for the Democrats and many in the liberal media is the outright fear they have attempted to generate of Trump’s presidency. They painted his inauguration speech as dark and setting the bar low. If his presidency does not lead to worsened race relations, a reduction in women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ movement’s destruction, then the left will be looked at as laughingstocks.
A war will be waged the next four years against Trump and the Republicans. I wouldn’t be surprised if the president created more controversy in speeches and more scandals were revealed, but I don’t think his words will produce any necessary outcries.
The people know who Trump is. What you see is what you get. They’ll focus on policies rather than rhetoric. The question is whether the Democrats and the media will realize it.
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