launchkits Debate

Trump: So Many Questions, So Few Answers

By Stephen Macaulay

Should you go to Trump’s 2024 website, you’ll immediately be greeted by a photo of the former president walking away from the Marine One helicopter (presumably a more serious setting than the patio at Mar-a-Lago) and the quote:

“They’re not after me, they’re after you . . . I’m just standing in the way.”

That sounds a bit on the paranoid side.

Who are “They”?

Why are “They” “after you”?

Who is “you”?

What will “They” do to “you” should they catch “you”?

If “They” are “after you,” is Trump “standing in the way” sufficient to stop their pursuit?

So many questions. So few answers.

Then the page segues to a definition of “The MAGA Movement.”

It opens “The American Way of Life is under attack while career politicians destroy our economy and sabotage our nation’s incredible potential. We will take our country back from the corrupt Washington establishment and return power to the American people, where it belongs.”

Is “The American Way of Life” “under attack” by “They”?

What will “They” do to “The American Way of Life”?

Is there any possibility that Trump can be “standing in the way”?

If someone has been involved full time in politics since at least 2015, doesn’t that make that person a “career politician”?

Arguably the most “establishment” position in all of Washington is president. If someone (1) was president and (2) has been found liable in a civil case for sexual abuse and defamation of the abused, isn’t that a definition of “corrupt Washington establishment”?

Of course, as this is the website that is meant to present what his plan is for another stint as president you would imagine that he’d get to laying out elements of his program.

But first there is the opportunity to buy a MAGA hat, a MAGA flag or a T-shirt with his mug shot on it. (Bonus question: When did presidential mug shots become a good look?)

Almost to those policies.

But first, in all caps, there is this:

I AM YOUR VOICE.

AMERICA FIRST!

Who, exactly, is “YOUR VOICE” talking to? Could “They” be involved?

Then the policies:

  • Economic Prosperity for All
  • Secure America’s Borders
  • Restore Public Safety
  • Peace Through Strength
  • Reclaim Free Speech
  • Dismantle the Deep State

As for the first it goes on to explain, “President Donald J. Trump ended the war on American Workers.” Who was fighting the “war”? Did “They” play any part? Did anyone tell the AFL-CIO, UAW, NABTU or other trade unions that have endorsed Biden? Did anyone tell the Trump team that according to FactCheck.org the number of coal mining jobs was reduced by 8,500 and manufacturing by 154,000 during his ending the war? And that jobs were down a total 2,876,000? Is that how the “war” ended?

As for the borders, if “We created the most secure border in U.S. history,” then shouldn’t it have been built sufficiently strong so that it would last?

“We will quickly restore law and order to our country.” Does that square with this from the report released in October in which it says:

“The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates:

  • Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year.
  • In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease.
  • Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022.
  • Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3% nationally.”?

As for the military, it says “As Commander in Chief, President Trump rebuilt the military and kept America out of unnecessary foreign wars.” Was he preoccupied with ending “the war on American workers”?

Apparently the censorship that the MAGA folks have been performing in libraries and classrooms is not the issue. “President Trump is absolutely committed to ending the systematic censorship of the American people.” Who is performing the “systematic censorship”? “They”?

And, of course, the “Deep State.” Clearly a place that “They” inhabit. “President Trump will Drain the Swamp once and for all, and restore government by the People.” Does this square with, say, his telling oil industry execs that a $1-billion contribution to his campaign will put them in good stead?

Finally, there’s something titled “Agenda47.” Did someone forget to hit the space bar? 

Did anyone notice there are only 15 items?

It includes a series of short videos on the topics:

  • “President Donald J. Trump Declares War on Cartels” It says “when he is president again, it will be the official policy of the United States to take down the drug cartels.” Did anyone tell him that according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, “DEA’s top priority is reducing the supply of deadly drugs in our country and defeating the two cartels responsible for the vast majority of drug trafficking in the United States” right now?
  • “Ending the Nightmare of the Homeless, Drug Addicts, and Dangerously Deranged,” which has the descriptor: “For a small fraction of what we spend upon Ukraine, we could take care of every homeless veteran in America. Our veterans are being treated horribly.” While the observation is accurate, doesn’t making it sound like vets are “Homeless, Drug Addicts, and Dangerously Deranged” an absolute insult to the brave women and men who have served?
  • “Liberating America from Biden’s Regulatory Onslaught” “Onslaught”? Really?
  • “Firing the Radical Marxist Prosecutors Destroying America” Seriously: are there still “Radical Marxists” and how would you know if there was one?
  • “President Trump Announces Plan to Stop the America Last Warmongers and Globalists” Apparently these people are “in the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex.” Do they know any “Radical Marxist Prosecutors”?
  • “President Trump Announces Plan to End Crime and Restore Law and Order” The aforementioned FBI report notwithstanding, isn’t a “Plan to End Crime” a bit grandiose?
  • “President Trump on Making America Energy Independent Again” The statement is “Biden’s War on Energy is The Key Driver of the Worst Inflation in 58 Years! When I’m back in Office, We Will Eliminate Every Democrat Regulation That Hampers Domestic Energy Production.” Does he know that the U.S. is the top oil-producing country in the world — greater than Saudi Arabia, even? Does he know that oil is sold on the global market so that even if there’s an oil well in Key Biscayne the petroleum could be sold in. . .China?
  • “President Trump Will Build a New Missile Defense Shield” Doesn’t this sound like it might involve “the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex,” or does he know some guys who can do it?
  • “President Trump Calls for Immediate De-escalation and Peace” How does one perform “Immediate De-escalation”?
  • “President Trump’s Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity” Merely “Left-Wing”? Not “Marxist”?
  • “President Trump’s Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents” Apparently “Our public schools have been taken over by the Radical Left Maniacs!” Is this a subset of the other people he’s identified?
  • “We Must Protect Medicare and Social Security” Is it deliberate that it doesn’t say “President Trump’s Plan to Protect Medicare and Social Security”? Does this mean he doesn’t have a plan?
  • “President Trump Will Stop China From Owning America” Does China want to?
  • “President Donald J. Trump Calls for Probe into Intelligence Community’s Role in Online Censorship” Did you know that there is an “illegal censorship regime—a regime like nobody’s ever seen in the history of our country or most other countries for that matter,” says Trump? 
  • “President Donald J. Trump—Free Speech Policy Initiative” Will it “dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech”? Does the “censorship cartel” know that he’s declared “War on Cartels”?