Donald Trump was a political neophyte in June 2015. Those of us who backed him that summer – and who remain his core base to this day – did so due to his genuine love for America, his bare-knuckles style, and his insistence on uttering politically-incorrect truths. We believed in him, loved his independent mind, and adored his total disdain for political pieties and the supercilious elite.
Nothing has changed. We still love him, but watching him hire so many people who reject his core beliefs has been enormously frustrating. Surrounding oneself with ideological clones is not always wise. Hiring a few individuals, therefore, to offer a contrasting viewpoint on various issues would be understandable – even welcome. But Trump has gone way beyond that. He hasn’t just hired a few outliers. Aside from an exceptional few, virtually everyone in his inner circle disagrees with him.
To refresh readers’ memories, here’s a list of unorthodox ideas Trump proposed during the campaign, which electrified his base and horrified the establishment. All potential appointees to Trump’s administration in the future should be forced to read this list. If they don’t agree with at least 80 percent of the items, they shouldn’t be hired:
1) Stop wasting billions of dollars fighting useless wars overseas.
2) Keep the oil.
3) Impose a temporary ban on all Muslims entering this country.
4) Torture terrorists.
5) Consider killing members of terrorists’ families.
6) Build a very tall wall between the United States and Mexico.
7) Force Mexico to pay for it.
8) Stop giving citizenship to anchor babies.
9) Deport many of the illegal immigrants currently in the United States.
10) Draw closer to Russia.
11) Consider leaving NATO.
12) Make South Korea pay for the cost of American troops stationed there.
We didn’t vote for Trump because he was a regular Republican. We voted for him because he was a decidedly unorthodox one. We voted for him because his heroes were the brilliant and ruthless Generals Douglas MacArthur and George Patton. We voted for him because he repeated with relish the tale of General “Black Jack” Pershing killing 49 terrorists with bullets dipped in pigs’ blood.
How many people working for Trump today cheered when he told that story? How many applauded when he announced his Muslim ban? How many enjoyed watching his rallies? How many reflexively took Trump’s side – not the media’s – during all the contrived scandals of the 2016 campaign?
Not everyone working for Trump has to agree with him. But most do. And if he cannot find anyone among the elite who agrees with him – thanks to a half-century of liberal control of public schools, universities, the media, and Hollywood – let him look elsewhere. Perhaps take a page from William Buckley’s book and hire the first 2,000 people in Boston’s telephone book. Let him hire truck drivers if he has to. But he must stop swimming in the swamp he promised to drain.
President Trump, your core voters still adore you and bless Almighty God that you’re president. Every day, you battle liberals who detest you and will do anything to destroy you. We love how you fight back. Many of us would literally take a bullet for you. But we voted – not just for your style – but for your ideas too. And as talented as you are, you cannot properly implement your vision for America if most people around you think you’re crazy.
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