Submitted by Nathan Boccarossa, class of 2020, finance
If you spent ample amounts of time the past three years reading from mainstream news outlets and academic journals about the impact a Trump presidency has had on the United States, you would have found overwhelmingly negative reporting.
In 2017, a study from Pew Research found that mainstream coverage of the Trump presidency was roughly 62% negative, contrasting with 33% neutral and 5% positive. Based on a reasonable interpretation of the news, it is undeniable that such negative coverage continued throughout 2018 and 2019. It is undeniable that traditional outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, CBS, The Washington Post and the New York Times have shown little to no mercy in painting this president in a negative light. Even non-traditional news sources such as HuffPo, Vox, Salon and NowThis have continued the gravy train of manifesting resentment, acridity and bitterness among half of the American population.
So, if President Trump is causing so much strife, why should Americans vote for him again in 2020? The answer to this question involves stepping outside of the intellectual bubble that many in academia face. The truth of the matter is, if you look at the economic, legislative, judicial and foreign relational impact of the Trump presidency, you would find a strong case to re-elect Trump in 2020.
The economic impact of Trump’s presidency has been immensely positive and record breaking. Unemployment has fallen to its lowest rate since 1969, landing roughly at 3.6%. Even the New York Times couldn’t help but report on the fact that wage earnings have seen a much needed rise the past year. In fact, wages have remained at or above 3% growth during the course of 15 months, which was unheard of in prior presidencies. Small business optimism is the highest its been since the ’80s, due impart to the $415 billion dollar tax relief given to small businesses under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Under the same law, families sought much needed relief through the doubling of the Child Tax Credit, which provided a $1,000 bonus per child. What looks like pretty pennies to the elites, has made a huge difference with families who have a household income of $45,000 or less. Gross domestic product rose to numbers not seen since the early 2000s, as a result of the pro-business initiatives taken in laws passed under Trump. Overall, when it comes to the economy, the positivity is endless without even delving into details regarding the performance of the stock market and of 401ks.
The legislative and judicial impact of Trump’s presidency has proven consistent with the promises he made in his 2016 campaign. On the legislative side of things, Trump has passed laws that reform education, including implementing a year-round Pell Grant distribution for low-income students through summer and winter semesters. The Trump administration has passed laws reforming Healthcare, including an extension on trial drugs for research purposes as well as a repealing of the wasteful individual mandate. On the judicial side of things, Trump has had an unprecedented 158 judges confirmed to the federal bench, solidifying an originalist constitutional federal court base. His appointment of two Supreme Court justices, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, also fell in line with his originalist commissioning.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Trump presidency, that veered well off predictions from political pundits, was his foreign policy. Prior to 2016, the world was faced with threats from an expanding Islamic caliphate in the middle east, intense rocket testing from North Korea, island grabbing from China, and a refugee crisis in Europe. In early 2019, ISIS was declared “defeated” as they lost their last portion of territorial holdings in Syria. In addition, ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi, in charge of thousands of executions of Christians and Muslims, was killed. Rocket Testing from North Korea was subdued after the historic meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un. China’s 15 year land grabbing sprees in the South China Sea saw obstacles with the open attention the U.S. had given the situation. The refugee crisis witnessed a drastic decrease through the lowered intensity of the Syrian conflict and ISIS nation building.
Overall, Trump’s presidency has had a lot of positives going for it that seem to exist outside of the mainstream media’s immediate purview. Thus, in 2020, I am encouraging my fellow students to vote for Trump not only for his record, but also to make the point a second time.
