Why Trump Is Smiling

Until about midway through 2016 – when seemingly out of nowhere the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump burst onto the American political scene – my interest in and familiarity with US politics was cursory at best. The ensuing 18 months have changed that drastically. Now I must confess to something approaching an obsession with the tumultuous drama playing out in the Home of the Brave. I spend hours at a time time scouring American news portals, political blogs, journals and other publications for the latest developments in what is a life-and-death struggle between formidable foes. I do this not because I suddenly became an Americophile but because the significance of what is playing out there extends far beyond the shores of the US.

It is not just a matter of Democrats vs. Republicans, the left vs. the right, socialism vs. capitalism, the poor vs. the rich, or the “deplorables” vs. those enlightened progressives. Underlying it all-encompassing is the nub of the conflict and that is simplicity itself. It is, in fact, of vital concern for all of humanity, especially Western civilisation.

Begin with the fact that Trump’s election came as a seismic shock to the globalists and their supporters, in large part because he is one of those extremely rich and powerful individuals who is not one of them. Indeed, all his stump utterances during the primaries and election campaign directly opposed the globalist agenda. He wasn’t expected to win and, when he did, the knives came out sharp and quick. A bogus dossier claiming urine-soaked romps with Russian hookers was but one of the more spectacular items. As Republicans listed them last week, there were plenty more confected and falsely reported “scandals”, the mainstream media being very much an accomplice in every slur and accusation.We saw more of that on our own shores when the ABC’s Sarah Ferguson sat at Hillary Clinton‘s feet and endorsed with sympathetic nods and grimaces every lie and meme of misdirection about Russian collusion and “the real factors” that saw an inept candidate get what inept candidates deserve. Soon after, the Crikey-trained activists at Media Watch delivered an entire show devoted to more of the same.

What was not immediately obvious back then and is only now being brought to light is that the outgoing administration was also engaged in activities designed to prevent Trump from winning the White House and, when that effort failed, to hobble his presidency with a view to impeachment and, ultimately, bringing it and him down. It would require much more than this single article to list and examine the chicanery afoot, but as one indication let me refer readers to the ongoing wrangle about the release of a congressional briefing paper that chronicles how the allegations in the “Russian hookers” dossier were used to obtain warrants to eavesdrop  on Trump insiders. Early on in his presidency, when Trump tweeted that he had been bugged, the laughter was deafening. ‘ Funny that, as those he accused aren’t chuckling now.

The globalists’ trepidation was warranted. In what was his first step toward fulfilling his promise to repudiate the Paris Climate Accord, Trump swiftly appointed Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. A man with a long history of battling that same agency while attorney-general of Oklahoma, he speedily re-organised the agency, dumping or altering many restrictions on industrial and agricultural practices, balancing the needs of the environment with those of the economy. Meanwhile Trump set to repealing the various executive orders mandating onerous environmental and other regulations. On other fronts he moved to pinch off illegal immigration and reform the legal variety, most recently  wondering aloud why arrivals from, er, basketcase nations, with all their predictable problems assimilating and cultural antipathies to Western ways, have been favoured over migrants with backgrounds more likely to see them become productive, self-reliant and successful. Close those open borders? The globalists couldn’t have that happen on their watch.

Beyond that, Trump cancelled or set out to renegotiate trade agreements detrimental to the US economy. Again, the globalists fumed, which seems to have encouraged him all the more. He recently threatened to drastically cut America’s contribution to the United Nations, which represents 22% of its total funding and 28% of the peacekeeping budget. There are even rumours he would eventually withdraw the country from the UN altogether. Unlikely as that seems, the mere thought of it would be of serious concern to the Globalists, as are his various endeavours aimed at putting a stop to the world taking advantage of America’s largesse. Without America’s financial backing those Paris Accords aren’t going anywhere except down for the count. Trump specifically called on member countries of NATO to contribute more fairly to the budget of the alliance, which could not exist without the disproportionate contribution by the US.

Not surprisingly, all economic and social indicators vouch for the spectacular success of Trump’s first year in office. You won’t read that in the jaundiced press, but the numbers, unlike left-leaning reporters and pundits, don’t lie. Manufacturing is returning to the US, Apple’s announced plan to spend $350 billion over the next five years to re-establish a domestic manufacturing base being the latest example. Economic activity is once more robust and rising, lately bolstered by an historic tax-reform package benefiting both employers and individuals. The stock market is at an all-time high while unemployment is nudging an all-time low. The media stenographers dutiful regurgitate the Democrats’ globalist talking points and insist Trump is the most unpopular president since Nixon. That may well be true, but his support base — the voters who counted most in the states that counted most — is holding firm and may actually be growing.

“Deep State” is the term often used for globalists and their supporters in government and the bureaucracy, and that entity is in panic mode right now and for good reason. Various congressional committees, driven by feisty conservatives, are digging ever deeper into appallingly inappropriate conduct by individuals and government instrumentalities, especially over the most recent 18 months. Many of the suspected wrongdoers have already been questioned, revealing a great deal of questionable conduct. Many more will face grillings over coming weeks and months. More and more document are made available, prised out of the FBI and other agencies and laying bare an audacious and seemingly endemic lawlessness. Indictments of prominent people, previously thought to be untouchable? Yes, it’s a distinct possibility. Sooner or later, even the ABC will have to report on these and future revelations. This will make a useful change from Washington correspondent Zoe Daniels attempting to explain America to Australians by interviewing her own small children. Hey, when your budget is only $1.2 billion a year it’s good to find on-screen talent that works cheap.

Finally, a few words about Donald Trump, whom mainstream media lickspittles would have us believe is an idiot. Well they would say that, just as they have done so often with other presidents not to their liking. George W. Bush was, by their reckoning, a chimp and simpleton. And Ronald Reagan? He was so dim all he could manage was the defeat the Soviet Union, bringing down ‘that wall’ and reviving a moribund, inflation-beset US economy. Yes, conservative leaders must be painted as stupid — unlike, say, a media elite which has seen its news organs rejected by former readers, its newsrooms stripped by layoffs and its practioners’ esteem in the public eye ranked somewhere lower than that of the proverbial used-car salesmen. You would need to be pretty darn smart to wreck an industry as thoroughly as that.

Trump may well be — probably is — a difficult and abrasive individual, but in honouring his election promises he is putting runs on the board against formidable odds. The media won’t tell you that, nor will the globalists. But come the next US election the voters very likely will.