Every presidential election year, candidates ask the American people: Are you better off today than four years ago?
This president and his supporters tell us the answer is an obvious yes. They tell us the economy is better than ever, that we are more respected worldwide than ever and that we are safer than ever. Truth is, they are merely blowing smoke.
Candidate Trump harangued about the pathetic annual economic growth under President Obama and now praises the miracle of our current growth. Truth is, the growth is no better under Trump. The 3.9% growth under Obama was unacceptable, but that same 3.9% is now considered miraculous. Go figure.
We are told, correctly, that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at a record high, but that is not reflective of the betterment of the average American. They will tell you of the remarkable success of the Trump tax cuts. Truth is, they created a momentary bump in growth, certainly not the 5% to 6% growth promised by Trump. They also did not — and will never — pay for themselves. Instead, they created one of the greatest increases ever in the federal debt. The rich did get richer, but most middle-class folks will readily admit they are no better off today than when this administration took office.
How can anyone believe our prestige in the world has improved under Trump? As former Vice President Joe Biden recently pointed out, the U.S. prestige is ranked behind China and slightly ahead of Russia. That, my friends, is not an improvement. Nor is the damage done to our relationship with our allies. A president cannot continually denigrate our allies while promoting his great relationship with dictators and expect to maintain a strong and healthy relationship with other democracies.
Our position in the Middle East has weakened as that of Russia, Turkey and Iran has improved. In fact, Russian troops are now enjoying their occupation of American military bases in Syria, while propping up the dictator Assad. Our most recent actions endanger our military in Iraq while putting a new target on Israel. All knowledgeable sources predict a ramping up of terrorist acts from Iranian proxies.
Iran, after President Trump removed the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear deal, has renewed its efforts to enrich uranium to military-grade. Are we truly safer now?
How about the threat from North Korea? Trump went from calling Kim Jung Un "Little Rocket Man" to telling the world we are safer because he has a special relationship with the Korean dictator. All the while, Kim continues to increase missile tests and promises a new, more powerful arsenal.
While this is happening, we have ended our military preparedness exercises with our South Korean ally. Are we safer now?
China promised the Obama administration that it would not militarize its newly created islands in disputed waters. Under the Trump administration, China has militarized those islands. Are we safer now?
I have no doubt many Trump supporters are convinced they are better off even if they lack the evidence to support that belief. Why is that? One reason is because they invested heavily in believing in Trump. Another is because so many of them feed solely from the trough of Fox News. In most cases, however, if those same supporters took an unbiased review of their lives today; checked their financial situation carefully; asked our allies what the global impact Trump has had; and asked the veterans who have returned from the Middle East if we are safer, those supporters would think twice about accepting the President’s rosy picture.
Michael Adkins formerly was chairman of the Hancock County Democratic Party.
