Dear KAG: 20201029 Open Thread

1600 Daily
The White House • October 28, 2020
Donald Trump fought the establishment—and won
Donald J. Trump won the presidency by challenging both the Republican and Democrat Party establishments. For too long, the political class—including party leaders, paid consultants, lobbyists, donor-funded think tanks, partisan media, and more—ignored the concerns of millions of working- and middle-class American families.
These families didn’t see themselves as Democrat or Republican. They saw themselves as Americans. And they wanted change.
Career politicians didn’t get the message. Rather than listen to the American people, the establishment chose to lecture them instead. Democrats in Congress could’ve joined with President Trump and Republicans to work on infrastructure, immigration, healthcare, the economy, our military, and more.
Instead, Democrats spent four years obstructing that agenda, wasting time—and tens of millions in taxpayer dollars—on political and media stunts.
While the left resisted the American people’s will, President Trump went to work.
He replaced NAFTA, something both Republican and Democrat politicians promised to do for years. His United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement rebalances trade, protects American labor, and levels the playing field for U.S. manufacturers and automakers.
He cut taxes for over 80 percent of Americans by lowering rates for middle-income families, doubling the child tax credit, and nearly doubling the standard deduction.
He ended the Obama-era War on Energy. Rather than relying on foreign oil, today America is the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world. Last year, for the first time in 67 years, America exported more energy than it imported.
He stood up to Big Pharma, including taking executive action to permit the safe, legal importation of prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere. In 2018, Americans saw the biggest drop in prescription drug prices in more than half a century.
He slashed income inequality as wages grew faster for workers than for managers and fastest for Americans without a college degree.
He paused immigration to ensure that Americans are first in line for jobs as the country safely reopens from the pandemic. He also closed visa loopholes that allowed companies to replace American workers with low-cost foreign labor.
He fixed our justice system, reforming the Clinton-era crime bill that sent too many young Black men to jail. Today, America has its lowest Black prison rate in 31 years.
He rebuilt our military, secured the largest raise for our troops in a decade, and became the first American President since Ronald Reagan not to start a war.
He held the VA accountable for failing our veterans, signing the VA Accountability Act and removing more than 2,500 employees for misconduct and other issues.
He used bold diplomacy to secure peace deals across the Middle East, supporting our allies instead of starting wars or giving cash to terrorists in Iran.
He protected Medicare and Social Security—including from socialist “Medicare-for-All” schemes, which would kick 180 million Americans off their health plans.
He made the single-largest investment in our national parks and public lands in history, signing the Great American Outdoors Act to protect our natural heritage.
He defended American patriotism from those who want to tear it down, literally, by increasing penalties on those who vandalize or destroy monuments and memorials.
He grew the strongest economy in history, with record-high incomes and record-low unemployment and poverty rates for Americans once left behind—including Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and others.
And today, as America reopens from the global Coronavirus pandemic, our country is witnessing its fastest economic recovery in history.
Americans outside of our nation’s political class see these results. A majority of our citizens now say they are better off today than they were 4 years ago. In fact, more Americans say they are better off after President Trump’s first term than said so after the first terms of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, or even Ronald Reagan.
The American people wanted change. The establishment didn’t listen. Fortunately for families all across our country, President Trump did—and he’s just getting started.
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