Your Turn

Is our center-column analysis of the Trump transition team’s quickly moving plans for January 20 and beyond, unfair? Unbalanced? This is your chance to make your case for why the second term of Donald J. Trump would be good for our democracy.

Of course, this column is for left/liberal/progressive opinion. If you are conservative – whether pro-MAGA or never-Trumper, we will post your comments in the right column.

Simply email your civil, fact-based Comments to editors@thehustings.news and please be sure to indicate your political leanings in the subject line [we do not dismiss the possibility that some readers who lean left might take exception with the center column.]

Also, be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s take on President-elect Trump’s choice of ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for attorney general, “Matt Gaetz: A Very Clever Man.”

Subscribe to our free Substack newsletter here.

_____
MONDAY 11/18/24

Is Our Democracy Done?

HHS chief nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (far right) shows loyalty to President-elect Trump by eating a McDonald’s Big Mac. Also in this “viral” picture on Trump's jet (L-R): Elon Musk, Trump, Donald Trump Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

By Todd Lassa

Was Donald J. Trump joking when he said earlier this year he would be a dictator only on Day One of his second administration? There are pretty clear signs that the president-elect’s plans to transform our democratic republic into something different already is underway. Consider his four most controversial proposed appointments, announced rapid-fire only in the week after Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive defeat.

The president-elect wants (Ex-) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of the most loyal Trumpists in Congress these last four years to be his attorney general, knowing he will investigate politicians and government officials Trump feels have aggrieved him.

Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a key reason he lost his first re-election campaign. Anti-vaxxer/conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is his choice for secretary of Health & Human Services.

Pete Hesgeth is a Fox News weekend host and an Army National Guard officer who is not a general who would resist any attempt to politicize the military. He is Trump’s choice for Defense secretary.

After a private meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki six years ago, Trump told a press conference he trusted the dictator more than US intelligence about whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s choice for national intelligence director is former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who has been supportive of Russia and has visited Syria’s strongman-president, Bashar Assad.

‘Warrior Board’

Whether or not he will, officially, implement key planks in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, Trump has made it clear he plans to dismantle pillars of the federal government, beginning with firing four-star generals and admirals he wants to purge from the military. Trump’s transition team is considering a draft executive order, which The Wall Street Journal has reviewed, that would establish a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel with power to review three- and four-star officers and recommend removing those deemed unfit – i.e., those devoted to diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump has in the past made a vow to fire “woke generals.”

As commander-in-chief, Trump already will have the ability to “fire at will,” but such an outside board as outlined in the draft EO would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotional system, and hints at a wide-scale purge, according to the WSJ.

Two purges Trump might have wanted to make years ago are his former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his first term, Gen. Mark Milley. Both publicly warned prior to the November 5 election they believe Trump is a fascist.

A progressive military group, VoteVets, warns that the “warrior board” in the proposed executive order would “politicize” the military, according to Newsweek, which dubs the potential plan in its headline, “MAGA Military.”

Musk and Ramaswamy

Then there’s the proposal for a Department of Government Efficiency to be led by Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink CEO Elon Musk (who apparently has become a perennial guest at Mar-a-Lago) and his fellow billionaire, pharmaceutical exec and former candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy. The department would not be a government entity so to avoid Musk and Ramaswamy having to divest themselves of any corporate holdings or interest, and has been compared with President Reagan’s Grace Commission, which got nothing substantial accomplished. Musk says he wants to use the Efficiency Department to cut $2 trillion out from the $6.75 trillion federal budget.

That sort of cut is widely considered impossible, but even managing a small fraction would have a profound effect on the federal government, not to mention on the unemployment rate and overall economy.

The Fourth Senator

Three Republican senators likely to push back against at least some of Trump’s nominees are Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, Susan Collins, of Maine, and Todd Young, of Indiana, each of whom did not vote for their party’s leader November 5. If these three plus 47 Democratic senators vote against any Trump nominees, the incoming vice president, JD Vance, will cast the tiebreaker on a 50-50 vote.

The Trump team also has floated the possibility of recess appointments, which the former and future president used extensively in his first term in order to fill key positions.

Meanwhile … One of the 53 Republicans making up the Senate majority is freshman Sen.-elect David McCormick. The Associated Press called the Pennsylvania senate race for McCormick over three-time incumbent Democrat Bob Casey after it concluded there weren’t enough remaining ballots left to be counted in precincts where Casey was leading. McCormick’s 29,000-vote lead is well within the 0.5% margin that triggers an automatic recount, which Casey has refused to waive.

Pennsylvania counties have until Wednesday, November 20, to begin the recount and must finish by noon on Tuesday, November 26.

_____
MONDAY 11/18/24

Matt Gaetz: A Very Clever Man

By Stephen Macaulay

On January 3, 2025, the 118^th Congress comes to an end and the 119^th session begins.

Matt Gaetz resigned from the 118^th Congress. Max Gaetz was reelected to Florida’s 1^st District with an impressive 66% of the vote.

Does Matt Gaetz enter the 119^th session?

The man, who has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general, may actually be more clever than his critics give him credit for.

Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

The investigation looked into an array of bad behavior, including:

Sexual misconduct
Illegal drug use
Acceptance of improper gifts

The bipartisan Ethics Committee also had the question of whether the congressman was obstructing the investigation into his conduct.

Now there are those who look at Gaetz’s educational background and experience and think they are both lacking for the role that Trump wants him to play in the forthcoming administration.

Gaetz received his undergraduate degree from Florida State in Interdisciplinary Social Science, which certainly sounds like something that the Libs would have come up with. He earned his J.D. from the William & Mary Law School* (is alum former Chief Justice John Marshall rolling around in his grave at the Shockoe Hill Cemetery?).

As for his work experience, with the exception of a couple years of private practice in Florida, he has been a creature of the government, both the Florida House and the US House. Isn’t a career politician the sort of thing that is characteristic of The Swamp?

But back to Gaetz’s cleverness.

The Ethics Committee of the 118^th Congress no longer has any authority over Gaetz because he is no longer in Congress. Even the work that they’ve accomplished could simply disappear (as Trump’s legal issues will, no matter who becomes his A.G.).

So if Gaetz returns to Washington for the 119^th session, it is possible that the Ethics Committee’s clock is set back to zero.

This means that he will have a job as the Senate considers whether to confirm him as the 87^th Attorney General and by the time that process is complete, the Ethics Committee will probably still be looking for its office supplies.

And you may have thought that Matt Gaetz was ingenious only when it comes to combing his hair.

*The William & Mary Law School is actually the oldest law school in the U.S.; it was established by and large because of Thomas Jefferson. Without being an educationalist about this, it is interesting to compare Gaetz’s education with those of the last 10 U.S. attorneys general (William Barr is both number 2 and number 10):

Merrick Garland. Undergrad: Harvard; Law school: Harvard
William Barr: Columbia; George Washington University
Jeff Sessions: Huntingdon College; University of Alabama
Loretta Lynch: Harvard; Harvard
Eric Holder: Columbia; Columbia
Michael Mukasey: Columbia; Yale
Alberto Gonzales: Rice; Harvard
John Ashcroft: Yale; University of Chicago
Janet Reno: Cornell; Harvard

And in terms of experience, before they became Attorney General:

Garland: judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Barr: Deputy Attorney General before his firsts term; corporate legal (e.g., Verizon) before second
Sessions: US Senator; had been Alabama Attorney General and US Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
Lynch: US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
Holder: Deputy Attorney General
Mukasey: judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Gonzales: White House Counsel
Ashcroft: US Senator; had been governor of Missouri and Missouri Attorney General
Reno: State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, Florida

Gaetz’s former firm, which is now known as AnchorsGordon, lists its practice areas as: Complex Business and Commercial Litigation; Business and Corporate Law; Real Estate Litigation; Community Association Law; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Government Affairs and Public Records; Labor and Employment Law. And now one of its alum may head the Department of Justice.

_____
MONDAY 11/18/24

Point/Counterpoint

Email COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

Read and subscribe to our free Substack newsletter.

The Hustings is committed to providing a safe, civil, anti-X/Twitter political news/news aggregate outlet for readers of all political stripes. We do not hide behind Section 230. Rather, like a traditional daily newspaper, we publish “letters to the editor” that adhere to the facts of an issue and maintain standards of civility – no conspiracy theories or hate-filled attacks on public figures or other readers.

Scroll down with the far-right trackbar (no pun) to read our debate on whether or not President-elect Trump will use The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 to guide his policy.

_____
THURSDAY 11/14/24

…meanwhile…

CPI is 2.6% -- The Consumer Price Index was up 0.2% in October, for a 2.6% annual rate, up slightly from the September annual rate of 2.4%, which came before the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut by a quarter-point. The October CPI for all items except food and energy was +3.3%. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 11/15/24

Not an Onion Headline – “The Onion Buys Infowars, Alex Jones’ Site, Out of Bankruptcy.” That’s from The New York Times, so you know it must be accurate.

Also accurate: Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s owner Global Tetrahedron says the purchase has the backing of Everytown for Gun Safety, the group founded in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting. A bankruptcy judge forced Infowars parent Free Speech Systems to the auction when Jones failed to pay a judgment totaling nearly $1.5 billion to Sandy Hook shooting victims’ families for their successful defamation suit.

The sale to Global Tetrahedron is subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge. Global Tetrahedron did not reveal the amount of its winning bid, but families reportedly support a lesser purchase price in favor of turning Infowars over to The Onion’s owners.

We’re expecting an online makeover that turns Infowars into something like Stephen Colbert’s old satire of Fox News hosts on his Comedy Central spinoff of The Daily Show, called The Colbert Report.

Sandy Hook families sued Jones in Connecticut and Texas after he repeatedly spread a vile conspiracy theory on Infowars that the shooting, in which 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed six teaching staff and 20 six- and seven-year-old children on December 14, 2012, was a “staged” TV production.

Everytown backs Global Tetrahedron’s purchase of Free Speech Systems out of bankruptcy and in fact will sponsor the new Infowars under The Onion parent’s ownership. Along with Infowars, Global Tetrahedron also obtains Free Speech Systems’ production studio and Jones’ diet supplement business.

Sandy Hook families’ suit, filed in Connecticut and Texas, was never about the money but rather about putting an end to Jones’ Infowars lies, Chris Mattei, attorney for the plaintiffs, told NPR.

When asked on NPR’s All Things Considered when Global Tetrahedron’s new Infowars would launch, CEO Collins said; “We can’t really give it away, but it’s in January.”

•••

Drill, Baby, Drill – President-elect Trump has named North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) his nominee to head the Interior Department, which manages nearly 500 million acres of public land and vast coastal waters. Prime oil drilling locations, in other words.

Think of Burgum as the yin to Elon Musk’s yang.

Burgum made his fortune from software, real estate and venture capital before he ran for North Dakota governor in 2016 and is “particularly close” to Harold G. Hamm, the CEO and founder of one of the largest independent oil companies, Continental Resources, according to The New York Times, which notes that Hamm has given nearly $5 million to the Trump campaign since 2023.

--TL

_______________________________________________

THURSDAY 11/14/24

Bye-Bye Flouride? – President-elect Trump is expected to nominate vaccine-averse Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Politico reports, citing a “person with direct knowledge” of the plan. When RFK Jr. was running for president this year on his own, he promised to “go wild” with health and food policy. His impending nomination to HHS is yet another sign of the added confidence to the incoming administration of Trump’s big win November 5 and the Republican Party’s Senate majority.

•••

Storming the Gaetz – It has only been nine or 10 days, and already President-elect Trump is testing the limits of his “mandate” with his nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be his attorney general. That is, ex-Rep. Gaetz, as he promptly resigned from the House of Representatives after Trump’s announcement.

Gaetz was (still is?) days away from a likely release of a “damning” House Ethics Committee report about allegations he had sex with a minor, Politico Playbook reports. His resignation effectively ended the Ethics Committee investigation, but it also “scuttled” Republican plans for a show of unity after Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was re-elected to his House leadership role – he will remain speaker.

In the end, a majority of House Republicans might get what they want: a mostly unliked Gaetz out of the House and a Republican-controlled Senate that could use the investigation to vote against him to become Trump’s AG.

Who else? … That leaves open the question of whom Trump’s next choice for AG might be. According to the Playbook report, Gaetz was not on the president-elect’s shortlist as late as Monday, but Trump was not happy with his other choices.

Intel for Gabbard… Equally or perhaps more troubling for what’s left of mainline Republicans, and pretty much everybody else, is Trump’s choice of former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Her pick was first revealed by Trump confidant Roger Stone on his X/Twitter account, according to The New York Times.

Senate Democrats are sure in her confirmation hearing to raise questions about her decision to meet with Syrian president/strongman Bashar al-Assad and her pro-Russian talking points. It will also be a test of whether someone like lame-duck and pro-Ukraine Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) might put up some resistance to Gabbard’s nomination.

Others ... Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME) and Todd Young (IN) said prior to the November 5 election they would not vote for Donald J. Trump. Along with someone like McConnell, or if a recount for the Pennsylvania Senate race flips for incumbent Democrat Bob Casey (see below), they could provide resistance against some of Trump's more controversial nominees.

•••

Another Red House – The Associated Press has called House of Representatives’ majority at 218 seats to Democrats’ 208 seats. Nine seats are yet to be determined after last week Tuesday’s elections.

Meanwhile… AP several days ago pegged the Senate’s final numbers at 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats. On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania secretary of state’s office said that a margin of less than 0.5% between Republican candidate for US Senate Dave McCormick and three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey has triggered a recount. McCormick has led Casey by as many as 40,000 votes since the elections, but Casey held off on conceding as about 100,000 mail-in ballots had yet to be counted. As of Wednesday, when the recount was automatically triggered McCormick was leading Casey by roughly 28,000 votes out of 6.9 million.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____
THURSDAY 11/14/24

Help Wanted. Experience Irrelevant

By Stephen Macaulay

Let’s imagine someone who was a tremendous car enthusiast from an early age. The kind of person who could identify cars by the shape of their taillights long before she was old enough to drive. Who had posters of cars on her bedroom walls rather than a poster of the contemporary heart-throb. Who drew picture of cars in her notebook rather than paying a whole lot of attention to the social studies class. Who couldn’t wait to get a license.

Given this love of cars and inattention to homework, when she graduated high school, college wasn’t in the cards and getting a job in a car plant seemed, well, not particularly appealing.

But her uncle happened to run a car dealership, so she got an entry-level job as a porter (doing things like moving cars around the lot, washing them), and with time, a desk and an in-store networked computer on it. A position as a sales person.

The love of cars was no less passionate. Doodles of cars on the margins of agendas during weekly staff meetings echoed those of years gone by.

So here’s the question: If you were in charge of design staff at General Motors or Ford, would you hire this person as a lead designer on the next car program that was absolutely key to the prospects of General Motors or Ford, a program that could almost literally make or break the company?

Which brings us to Donald Trump’s selection of individuals for his next administration.

Elise Stefanik, U.N. ambassador. You’d think that to be a diplomat you might need some diplomatic experience. Nope. What’s more, Stefanik has spoken out about defunding some U.N. agencies and even the U.N. itself. Wouldn’t that be like being vegan and getting a management position at McDonalds?
Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator. Zeldin has an impressive resume, if you were looking for someone who knows about law; when he was 23 he was sworn into the New York State Bar, making him the youngest ever at the time. Or if you were looking for someone who knows military issues; he was in the 82^nd Airborne and is a lieutenant colonel. He was a four-term congressman and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. Environmental experience?
Kristi Noem, Homeland Security secretary. Noem went to Northern State University from 1990 to 1994 but didn’t graduate because in 1994 she took over running the family farm and ranch after her father died. The most important industry in South Dakota, of which she is currently governor, is agriculture: corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, as well as livestock production. Noem, then 39, was elected to the South Dakota House in 2007, where she served until 2010. In 2011 she was elected to the U.S. House, where she served until 2019, having won the South Dakota governorship in 2018. No, she isn’t being selected for Secretary of Agriculture.

While it might be thought that based on this the woman who wants the job as car designer would be a shoo-in, that’s actually not the case.

She has too much experience.

_____
THURSDAY 11/14/24

Left on Project 2025

But Not In Name

Yes, Trump will embrace some of the parts of Project 2025, but not necessarily in name. What he embraces in the name of Project 2025 may infect him as a loser in a divided Republican electorate, which is also comprised of elites and commoners with vastly differing prospects under Trump 2.0.

Tax cuts are a cinch, but maybe some or many of them will be hidden in the complex tax code. Tariffs on consumer goods equals inflation for the members of his expanded base who are angry about so-called Biden inflation and voted for Trump.

Trump economic policy needs to avoid a renaming here to Trumped up Inflation or Trumpa-nomics. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act is also minefield for Republicans. Does he want to see the many millions of working-class Republicans lose their health care? The proletariat can't afford this. Well, maybe Mexico will pay for it...

Speaking of paying, remember the mid-term elections under Trump's first term. The Republicans got clobbered. Trump and the Republicans are speeding down that road again leading to the next Blue Wave mid-terms...

--Ken Zino

Prelude to Oligarchy

Whether P25 gets implemented immediately or not, it looks like P47 will be marked as the first phase of a technocratic oligarchy that may last for a long, long time regardless of who is POTUS. Musk, Bezos, Ellison, and Thiel together control enormous amounts of money and technology, and they are going to become the rulers of the United States through social media and other means, buying up candidates one by one until they own all of them and we don’t have any political power because we have no voice and no money.

--Jim McCraw

_____
MONDAY 11/11/24

Peaceful Transfer

WEDNESDAY 11/13/24

This One -- ... will be most controversial: Trump has named Rep. Matt Gaetz as his attorney general.

UPDATE -- Senate Republicans have chosen John Thune of South Dakota as majority leader. Thune replaces Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who steps down as minority leader this year.

Majority Leader Day – Republican senators are set to choose the next majority leader Wednesday, with GOP whip John Thune of South Dakota, and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas the lead candidates. Dark horse is President-elect Trump’s preference, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida (U.S. News & World Report).

•••

DOGE Style – The tech bro couple of MAGA dreams, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, are tipped to lead President-elect Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency – yes, DOGE, for The Elon’s favored bitcoin product – according to The Wall Street Journal. DOGE’s mandate is to streamline government bureaucracy, Trump said. Good news for the world’s richest man and leader of SpaceX, X, Tesla and Starlink is that DOGE will operate outside of government – so no need for Elon to divest, even regarding NASA contracts with SpaceX.

More picks for All the Best People 2.0 … Peter Hegseth, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and host of Fox & Friends Weekend will be Trump’s defense secretary, The New York Times reports, adding that he’s “outside the norm of the traditional defense secretary.” Which, if you haven’t been paying attention, is the point. … Mike Huckabee, talk show host on the religious network TBN, former governor of Arkansas and father of the current governor of Arkansas is Trump’s choice to be ambassador to Isreal. Huckabee has “long called himself a Zionist,” the AP notes. So, no two-state solution. Nah.

--TL

TUESDAY 11/12/24

Noem to Homeland Security – President-elect Trump has chosen South Dakota Gov. and Uber-Trumper™ Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, The Wall Street Journal reports. The department is key to Trump’s mass deportation plans. Noem was on the short-list to become Trump’s running mate last summer.

Gallego Beats Lake – Arizona was the seventh and final swing state to swing for Donald J. Trump in Sunday’s final count, but the president-elect’s coattails were not long enough to drag along uber-Trumper Kari Lake, who has lost her US Senate bid to Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego. With 95% of the vote counted, challenger Lake had 47.8% of the vote to Gallego’s 50%, The Wall Street Journal reports. Final count for the next Senate is 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats.

•••

Trump Appointments – President-elect Donald J. Trump has revealed a number of appointments the past few days, beginning last Thursday with his campaign chair, Susan Wiles, for chief of staff. Meanwhile …

Secretary of State: Marco Rubio, as first reported on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins. Yes, that’s right, ‘Little Marco,’ though since that ca. 2016 Trump insult, the neocon senator from Florida, a hardliner on China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, according to The New York Times, has come around to the Trumpian belief the Ukraine “conflict” has reached a stalemate, and “needs to be brought to a conclusion.”

UN ambassador: Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. Stefanik was a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan trad-conservative Republican when she first ran for her House seat in 2014, at age 30, (per NPR’s All Things Considered), but pivoted to support Trump during his first administration. By 2021, she replaced Rep. Liz Cheney (WY) as House Republican Conference Chair after Cheney’s colleagues ousted her over her repudiation of Trump’s involvement in the January 6^th attack on the US Capitol.

EPA administrator: Lee Zeldin, another New York Republican, will be in charge of dismantling President Biden’s climate change regulations (Politico). Zeldin was a loyal supporter of the president-elect when he served as a congress member during the first Trump administration.

Border czar: Thomas Homan was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for part of the first Trump administration (ibid). He will not need Senate confirmation to become border czar, an unofficial title the Trump/Vance campaign misleadingly attached to Kamala Harris to attack her record as vice president. Homan says Trump 2.0 will crank up workplace raids, telling Fox & Friends’ Steve Doocy; “Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking? At worksites.”

Deputy chief of staff: Stephen Miller, the 39-year-old senior advisor to Trump during his first administration (ibid) is considered perhaps the most extreme of hardliners on immigration reform.

Speaking of … Susan Wiles, Trump’s pick as his chief of staff and the first woman to be so-named, told a private crowd that Trump will “move quickly” to reinstate orders from his first administration that President Biden then revoked, The New York Timesreports. Wiles did not specify which orders will be reinstated.

Uninvited … Niki Haley and Mike Pompeo. Haley, who once had Stefanik’s future job reportedly patched things up with Trump after her attempt to beat him to the GOP nomination this year, but he did not take her up on her offer to campaign for him. Trump ruled out Haley and his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, for any future in his next White House. Pompeo, a pro-Ukraine hawk, reassured Fortune’s Global Forum in New York City Monday that Trump “is not going to let Vladimir Putin run through Ukraine.”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

Is Project 2025 On?

MONDAY 11/11/24

By Todd Lassa

Do you fear The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025? Or do you hope to see the incoming Trump White House quickly execute it?

President-elect Donald J. Trump spent the vs. Harris portion of his campaign disavowing any significant knowledge of the sweeping, 900-some-page blueprint titled Mandate for Leadership – The Conservative Promise, which includes provisions to fire thousands of federal public employees and replace them with the president’s loyalists, make the nation safer for Christian nationalism, eliminate the Education Department and cut or privatize Social Security and Medicare.

On that first point, specifically, Project 2025 proposes that the next conservative president reinstate Schedule F, which Trump signed at the end of his first administration, to “dispatch at will” federal employees who are in the position to make or advocate policy, says the special interest website, Federal News Network. President Biden rescinded Schedule F on the third day of his administration.

The Harris/Walz campaign tried to tie Trump/Vance to Project 2025 and tried to tell voters it is authoritarianism hiding in plain sight.

The Harris/Walz campaign’s warning didn’t work, convincing only voters who already were supporters.

Trump denied knowing much, if anything, about Project 2025, though “at least” 140 people who worked on it had also worked in the Trump administration, according to an investigative report by CNN.

Before JD Vance became Trump’s running mate, he wrote the forward to a new book by Heritage Foundation chief and lead architect on Project 2025, Kevin Roberts, originally titled Dawn’s Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America (a title whose second half seems to evoke what many Trump supporters attempted on January 6, 2021). The book was original scheduled for publication by HarperCollins on September 24, but the controversy raised by the Harris/Walz campaign prompted Roberts to call for its release date to be delayed until November, according to RealClearPolitics.

In his early-Wednesday morning acceptance speech last week, Donald J. Trump said he has an “unprecedented mandate.” Trump has since won all seven battleground states, and has even won the American popular vote, a claim he could not make eight years earlier.

Meanwhile, the GOP has a 53-46 Senate majority (with one race yet to be called) and a 213-203 House majority likely to remain Republican when all the ballots are counted.

Since his election victory, Trump has reiterated plans to close the southern border and start deporting undocumented aliens – at least, those deemed “criminals,” at first. He will end the Russian-Ukraine war in 24 hours, much to the dismay of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and to the delight of Vladimir Putin.

Trump will keep his tax-cut promise, which means making the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – set to expire next year – permanent, while also lowering the corporate tax for certain corporations to 17%, from 21% (which itself was a TCJA reduction from 35%).

Our president-elect finds “tariff” to be the most beautiful word in the English language and has promised 10% across the board one for virtually all incoming imports.

Conservative and liberal economists alike warn that his plans for tariff hikes and mass deportations will re-ignite inflation, so Trump might want to consider instead slow-walking these promises and take the Bidenomics gains of 2.4% current inflation and 4.1% unemployment, along with decent economic growth, as his own win.

Which gets us back to Project 2025: Will Trump pivot back to The Heritage Foundation’s radical conservative blueprint? Will he implement a few of the less-radical policy initiatives? Or will he move toward full implementation without naming it?

Your opinion on these questions matter. Email editors@thehustings.news with your civil comments and please, indicate your political leanings in the subject line. [You’ll note a right-column commentary on this question by Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay, who is a never-Trump conservative. We welcome comments from both never-Trump and pro-MAGA conservatives, as well as liberal readers from the various degrees along the left-spectrum.]

_____
MONDAY 11/11/24

Right on Project 2025

Even if Trump Doesn’t Read It

According to CBS News on December 1, 2021, "On most days, Trump's PDB [Presidential Daily Briefing] comprised three one-page items describing new developments abroad, plus brief updates of ongoing crises in the Middle East.

"The goal was to make the PDB shorter and tighter, with declarative sentences and no feature-length pieces.

“Though the PDB was published every day, Mr. Trump only received an oral briefing two to three times a week, when ‘he relied on the briefer to orally summarize the significance of the most important issues" the account states’…”

The man is evidently not a big reader.

According to the Project 2025 website:

“Project 2025 is a historic movement, brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement, to take down the Deep State and return the government to the people. Its Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, published in April 2023, is a product of more than 400 scholars and policy experts from around the country. The book offers a menu of policy suggestions to meet our country’s deepest challenges and put America back on track, including:

•Secure the border, finish building the wall, and deport illegal aliens

•De-weaponize the Federal Government by increasing accountability and oversight of the FBI and DOJ

•Unleash American energy production to reduce energy prices

•Cut the growth of government spending to reduce inflation

•Make federal bureaucrats more accountable to the democratically elected President and Congress

•Improve education by moving control and funding of education from DC bureaucrats directly to parents and state and local governments

•Ban biological males from competing in women' s sports”

Lack of modesty notwithstanding (“a historic movement”), those bullet points sound exactly like what Trump was saying on the campaign trail.

So whether he’s heard about it, read it (c’mon, he has people for that, right?), or even happened to accidentally see one on a desk somewhere, if the question is whether he is going to implement its agenda, the answer is obvious.

—Stephen Macaulay

_____
MONDAY 11/11/24

Silver Linings?

By Hugh Hansen

As a generally moderate friend said in response to the results, "This is why we can't have nice things." The electorate displayed so much id, so little superego. It is painful to realize how deeply I've misjudged our society -- I'm reminded of sci-fi stories in which advanced aliens are waiting until our species reaches a certain level of ethical enlightenment before welcoming us into Galactic citizenship -- well, the wait is apparently going to be longer than I'd thought.

And there are silver linings pretty much any of us can find.

Mine: It is valuable to know I've misjudged, so I can rejudge more accurately; Elissa Slotkin pulled it out here in Michigan, due in some small part to the work done by me and my friends; my town, which went for President Biden by 9 votes, went for Vice President Harris by 40-some, ditto; I've gained an hour of leisure time in the morning by not reading the news for a while, and feel better to boot.

Big One: It brings home how many millions of people who aren't well-off, highly educated white men have faced election news which brought them no comfort or hope over the history of our country.

_______________________________________________

Your Thoughts?

We are using this column, which is meant to provide those on the left with space for opinion and commentary, to invite those on the left and on the right to provide thoughts on Tuesday’s elections, including Donald J. Trump’s victory in the presidential race.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

In addition to Trump’s win, Republicans gained Senate seats, according to The Associated Press. The count as of Wednesday morning was 52 Republicans to 42 Democrats, with eight seats to be determined.

We still await results for 57 seats in the House of Representatives. Currently, 198 Republicans and 180 Democrats have been elected to the 119^th Congress.

Abortion Initiatives

Voters in Arizona, Missouri and Montana have passed ballot measures expanding abortion rights in those states (AP). In Florida, 57% voted to overturn an abortion ban, but that number fell short of the 60% needed to pass.

Voters in Colorado, Nevada and Maryland enshrined abortion rights into their constitutions, and in New York State, voters backed a reproductive rights measure that bars unequal treatment based on pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy, and sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability.

_____
WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

…meanwhile…

Question: Now that Donald J. Trump has decisively won a second term, will the president-elect again embrace Project 2025, which obviously was written for him in the first place?

FRIDAY 11/8/24

Racist Text Messages to Black Youth, Adults – The FBI and several state attorneys general have opened inquiries into racist text messages sent to Black men, women and children that started to appear Wednesday, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The texts have gone out to Black middle-school, high school and college students, including the 17-year-old son of St. Louis’ mayor, according to the report, and say the recipients have been chosen for “some sort of indentured servitude.” (Listen to NPR’s report here.)

NPR tried calling phone numbers associated with the texts, to no avail. There is no indication yet whether the texts might be related to election day bomb threats at polls or pre-election day misinformation and disinformation thought to have come primarily from Russian hackers.

•••

EU to Abandon Ukraine? – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told an informal conference of European Union leaders in Budapest Friday that the EU must rethink its support for Ukraine following Donald J. Trump’s election victory, Reuters reports. Orbán, who is a close friend of both Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said Europe cannot finance the war without US support.

Trump has promised to “end” the war via negotiations between Putin – who has fortified his aggression with North Korean army troops – and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war,” Orbán told state radio (a product of his own authoritarian rule).

Meanwhile … The Biden White House is rushing to process about $50 billion in guaranteed loans to Ukraine before January 20.

Speaking at the EU leaders’ conference in Budapest Thursday, Zelenskyy said this: “There should be no illusion that a just peace can be brought by showing weakness. Peace is a reward only for the strong.”

•••

Newsome Jumps Trump – Gov. Gavin Newsome Thursday issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the California legislature “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” It is set to begin December 2, the day newly elected members of the state senate and assembly will be sworn in.

“The special session will focus on bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families,” the proclamation states.

Newsome is a likely candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination who was considered in the running after President Biden stepped down from his re-election bid and before Vice President Kamala Harris was named his successor.

The special session will assure California “won’t be flat footed come June,” said Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta, (per the Los Angeles Times). “You can be sure that as California attorney general, if Trump attacks your rights, I’ll be there. If Trump comes after your freedoms, I’ll be there. If Trump jeopardizes your safety and well-being, I’ll be there.”

James Gallagher, the California assembly’s Republican leader, responded thusly: “This special session is a shameless political stunt. The only ‘problem’ it will solve is Gavin Newsome’s insecurity that not enough people are paying attention to him.”

Newsome v. Musk? … Lots of context here. In addition to the civil rights issues AG Bonta mentions above, Sacramento is concerned Trump will seek to gut California of its ability to set its own emissions standards established during Gov. Ronald Reagan’s administration. Later, during the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (also a Republican), California established a zero-emissions mandate, which had stemmed early losses at Tesla as it sold EV credits to automakers that fell short of the standard.

But by the ‘10s, CEO Elon Musk, who appears headed to the Trump White House as a government waste-reduction czar, said he would have preferred Tesla to stand on its own without the ZEV credits.

•••

Casey Defeated in PA – The Associated Press has called Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat for Trump-backed Republican challenger David McCormick, former CEO of the world’s largest hedge-fund. However, three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D) had not conceded as of Friday morning, saying at least 100,000 ballots – including provisional, military and overseas – are yet to be counted, according to the AP, which reports McCormick leads by 31,000 votes.

The Senate count now stands at 53 Republican, including McCormick, to 45 Democratic, with two races yet to be called. In the House of Representatives, Republicans have 211 seats to 199 Democratic seats, with 25 races to be called, and 218 necessary for the majority.

--TL

_______________________________________________

THURSDAY 11/7/24

This Just In -- Ex-president/President-elect Donald J. Trump has named a top political aide, Susie Wiles, as chief of staff. She will become the first woman in the role.

•••

UPDATE – The Federal Reserve lowered its target interest rate by ¼ points to the 4 ½% to 4 ¾% range, while reiterating it remains “strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2% objective.” Whether meant intentional or not, the commitment seems to warn about potentially inflationary policies like tax cuts and tariffs.

II -- Chairman Jerome Powell said he does not expect the general election to influence the Fed's rate setting in the future, though the next president or Congress could enact fiscal policy that "could have effects over time that do matter." (Per Marketplace.) Powell also said he will not step down as Fed chairman if President-elect Trump asks him to, according to Marketwatch.

Another Rate Cut? – The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by another ¼-point when it concludes its Board of Governors meeting Thursday afternoon, according to NPR’s Morning Edition. This would mark the second benchmark rate cut since the Consumer Price Index fell close to the Fed’s 2% target late this year. In September, the Fed cut the rate by a half-point as the CPI came down to 2.5% from its end-of-pandemic high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Fed up? ... While Thursday’s expected cut was considered the second of many, the economic policies of President-elect Donald J. Trump could potentially blunt that. Specifically, another tax cut financed by hiked tariffs on imported goods would potentially re-fuel inflation. Trump already has spoken of taking executive control of the otherwise independent Fed and is unlikely to re-appoint its chair, Jerome Powell, when his term from the first Trump administration expires May 15, 2026.

•••

Zelenskyy Promotes ‘Peace Through Strength’ – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his most-pointed response to President-elect Trump’s vow to work out a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia, at the European Political Community Summit in Budapest Thursday, per The Kyiv Independent.

“There should be no illusions that a just peace can be bought by showing weakness,” Zelenskyy said. “Peace is a reward only for the strong.”

Trump has said he can “solve” it in a day, as he has promised for a number of other issues, which apparently means handing over parts of Ukraine already claimed by Vladmir Putin’s Russian army.

Meanwhile, President Biden is rushing to distribute before he leaves office a remaining $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans, backed by interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets, reports Morning Edition.

•••

That’s a Wrap – Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith is expected to wrap up his two cases against president-elect/ex-President Donald J. Trump – conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election and hoarding of classified documents -- before Trump’s January 20^th inauguration (per NPR’s All Things Considered). Because a sitting president cannot face trial, that gives Smith 74 days as of Thursday to present his case. Afterward, he faces potential retribution from the once and future prez.

•••

Next House – Control of the House of Representatives for the 119^th Congress remains undecided, with 40 seats yet to be called. As of Thursday morning, there are 205 Republican, and 190 Democratic victors, with 218 needed for control. It may take weeks before numbers are final, according to The New York Times.

New Senate … Republicans already have taken the Senate, with 52 seats. Democrats now have 44 seats. Key races in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania have yet to be called.

--TL

_______________________________________________

Trump Will Be #47; GOP Takes Senate

WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

There will not be the long, drawn-out ballot count in the battleground states that virtually everybody (including us) had predicted. North Carolina and Georgia fell to Donald J. Trump before midnight Tuesday, while blue counties in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were showing smaller margins for Kamala Harris than for Joe Biden four years earlier and Trump’s margin in key red counties in most states grew from 2020.

Trump, 78, was leading the popular vote Wednesday morning for the first time in three elections, 71.39 million to 66.45 million, according to the AP.

The once and future president did not wait for the AP to call Wisconsin and leap past the 270 electoral vote threshold when he made his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, about 2:30 am EST.

“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump told his crowd, referring to an assassination attempt last July in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another last September at Trump International Golf Club in Florida.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the first foreign leader to hail Trump’s victory, The Guardian reports, writing on social media: “The biggest comeback in US political history! Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the world!”

It probably doesn’t need to be repeated that Orbán is the only European Union leader allied with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s “huge victory” a “powerful recommitment” to the US-Israeli alliance, according to Haaretz.

Prior to the market’s opening Wednesday morning, stocks rallied and bitcoin soared, “with investors piling into trades that align with a second Trump presidency,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “The dollar and Treasury yields both jumped, reflecting bets that Trump’s policies could widen the budget deficit and stoke inflation, while tariffs would strain trading partners.”

Meanwhile, myriad media outlets report that exit polls indicate male Latino support for Trump nearly reached 50%; Evelyn Pérez-Verdía, founder of We Are Más, cited the gender gap and told NPR’s Morning Edition the president-elect’s support was up 13 points among Latinos from 2020.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____
WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Those Who Need to Know Don’t

By Stephen Macaulay

I will admit that I have underestimated the amount of fear and uncertainty that evidently exists throughout America. The fear of the Other, whether that is someone who is going to sneak across the southern border and rape and pillage or someone who is undergoing sex reassignment. The uncertainty that comes from a memory of the not-too-distant past of shelves being without toilet paper.

We want someone who will save us from that. And while Tucker Carlson’s “Daddy” comment may be perceived as creepy, that’s what I suspect many of our fellow citizens were looking for: Someone who will be in control, someone who will assuage the fear and uncertainty simply because he rails against those people who probably sent the toilet-paper-producing jobs overseas.

Were it not that the numbers for Trump are so commanding it would be easy to say that this is an election that the Democrats lost.

They did lose it — bigly — and maybe they did so because they played the rules that have been relegated to the trash can of history.

For weeks after Harris was, in effect, anointed, there were many who were critical of her lack of fulsome articulation of her plans and policies. And she did a mealy-mouthed job of trying to explain what she would do, which became rather tiresome when she kept talking about her upbringing.

Meanwhile, Trump just kept warning people of the “invasion” and the prospects of “World War III” and the “evil” nature of his opponent.

Haitians eating cats and dogs in Ohio was certainly a more striking image than any comprehensive housing plan.

“But that’s not the way it is done!” the Democrats cry. “People need to know policies!”

No they don’t.

One of the things that the Democrat procedural wonks don’t seem to recognize is that for many people 280 characters is all they want or need — at most. And they would probably prefer a GIF.

Hell, this commentary has gone on far too long by that metric.

Trump won. Harris lost. And soon we’ll see the consequences.

_____
WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Counterpoints Welcome

So long as you keep them civil.

For Monday’s front page, we posted synopses of the Trump/Vance platform in the right column and the Harris/Walz platform in the left column, both as they appear in donaldjtrump.com and kamalaharris.com, and without commentary.

In today’s right column, Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay offers his critique of the Trump/Vance platform. We are sure there are pro-MAGA readers who may have something to say about the Harris/Walz platform and/or Macaulay’s commentary. As always, you are welcome to submit your comments for posting in the right column.

Left-leaning readers also are invited to comment on the platforms and on our pundit-at-large’s opinion piece.

Go to the COMMENT section of the left or right columns, as appropriate, or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

_____
TUESDAY 11/5/24

Trump Wins

WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Not Even Close -- The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Donald J. Trump just before dawn Eastern time, to give the once and future president 277 electors to Vice President Kamala Harris' 224.

"This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before," Trump said at a victory gathering in West Palm Beach, Florida, before the AP call, "and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond."

The Republican Party also took control of the Senate Tuesday night. The House of Representatives remains close.

•••

Nabs Georgia, North Carolina – Just after 1 am Eastern time Donald J. Trump led Kamala Harris 247 to 210 in the Electoral College vote count as called by the AP, with 270 needed to win. Trump is leading in Pennsylvania for its 19 electoral votes, at 51.2% to 47.8%, with 91% of the vote in.

Trump also is leading in the key swing states of Michigan, 51.4% to 46% with 59% in, and Wisconsin, 51.4% to 47.2% with 84% counted. Trump has a slight lead over Harris in Arizona, at 49.9% to 49.2%, with 51% in. Just 4% of the votes were counted in Nevada, where Trump was leading 71.5% to 26.8%.

--TL

_______________________________________________

ELECTION DAY 11/5/24

Scroll down one page with the trackbar on the far right to read …

<<<<<<<<<<Kamala Harris’ platform in the left column.

Donald J. Trump’s platform in the right column. >>>>>>>>>>

Shape of the Count to Come? -- First-in-the-nation-to-vote Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, finished counting its six ballots at 12:12 am Tuesday. The result, reports The New York Times: Three votes for Kamala Harris. Three votes for Donald J. Trump.

•••

Yet More Misinfo, Disinfo – Late Monday night as Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald J. Trump were wrapping up their presidential election campaigns, the Office of the Director of National Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI said in a joint statement, according to The New York Times, that foreign adversaries led by Russia were “conducting additional influence operations intended to undermine public confidence in the integrity of US elections and stoke division among Americans.”

Fight misinformation, disinformation … Confused over what you are reading about today’s election on Facebook and X-Twitter, or watching on TikTok and YouTube and the like? The Brennan Center for Justice has this handy guide to voter misinformation.

•••

Wait For It – As in 2020, swing states Pennsylvania and Michigan were not allowed to count early ballots until Tuesday, November 5. Wisconsin’s rules have changed and this year election workers have already begun tabulating the early ballots.

•••

Abortion on the Ballot – Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota have ballot measures to roll back bans on abortion, the AP reports. South Dakota, in fact, has two competing ballot initiatives, according to NPR. In addition, AP says, Colorado and Maryland have measures that would protect abortion rights via their state constitutions. Initiatives to maintain access are on the ballots in Montana and Nevada, and a New York law would ban discrimination against women on the basis of “pregnancy outcome, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

•••

Trump’s Last Rally – Donald J. Trump began what he called his “last rally” after midnight Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he got “kind of sentimental” NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

“But here’s the good news: All we were doing is putting ourself in a position where we could win tomorrow if you show up,” Trump said.

Earlier, Trump held a rally in Pittsburgh with conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, whom he once called “nasty” for her question during the first 2016 GOP primary debate on Fox News, of whether Trump has the temperament to be president.

“He got mocked by the left by saying he would be a protector of women,” Kelly told the rally crowd Monday evening. “He will be a protector of women and it’s why I’m voting for him. He will close the border and he will keep the boys out of women’s sports where they don’t belong.”

•••

Harris on Rocky Steps – That’s the steady sort of rocky, as in the steps up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Sylvester Stallone runs in his 1976 movie, Rocky.

Harris called the “famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog, and climb to the victory.”

Celebrities speaking at Harris’ final push were Oprah Winfrey, Fat Joe and Philly native DJ Jazzy Jeff. Lady Gaga, The Roots and Ricky Martin performed.

“We are done with it,” Harris said of the “most consequential” presidential election of our lifetime. “America is ready for a fresh new start, where we see our fellow Americans, not as an enemy but as a neighbor.”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____
TUESDAY 11/5/24

A Quick Review of a Shaky Platform

By Stephen Macaulay

How many people who plan on voting for Trump have actually taken the time to go to his official website — www.donaldjtrump.com — and have looked at his presidential platform?

Probably not many. Because he doesn’t offer much in the way of anything but empty bluster or problems that actually exist.

For those who are interested in so-called “kitchen-table” issues, the planks of that platform are pretty flimsy. And if we want to build a stronger America, substantive plans are needed.

So, to review, here are the 20 points of his platform.

1. Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion.

One might think that when he was president and had a Republican Congress he would have gotten that wall built and paid for by Mexico, that there wouldn’t have simply been a reduced number of illegals crossing the border when he was in office, but that he would have sealed it. None of that happened.

2. Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.

This is a red-meat item. . .until people realize that their family members, friends or neighbors are mistakenly caught up in this operation.

3. End inflation, and make America affordable again.

Sounds good, but there is nothing to substantiate how he would make that happen. Arguably the reason inflation is as high as it is is a hangover from the COVID crisis which, as you may not recall, he didn’t handle very well.

4. Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!

Perhaps someone needs to tell him the U.S. currently is “the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!” As of August 2024 the U.S. produces 21.91 million barrels of oil per day. Saudi Arabia is number two, back at 11.13 million. Looks fairly dominant.

5. Stop outsourcing and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, certainly no booster of the Democrats, as of September 2024,“Manufacturing employment fell slightly in September, losing 7,000 employees from August but remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Job growth in the sector has slowed in the past year, yet remains well above pre-pandemic levels with 12,917,000 manufacturing employees in September. The sector averaged 12,648,000 employees pre-pandemic (2017–2019).” So arguably, the U.S. is a greater manufacturing superpower now than when Trump was in office.

6. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!

Notice there is no detail of how big those cuts will be for workers. And going back to the previous item, in Q4 2017, pre-pandemic and when Trump was in office, there were 153.9 million people employed in the U.S. In September 2024 there were 161.86 million people employed. MAGA? And as for the “no tax on tips” — sounds good, but wouldn’t a higher minimum wage work more efficiently?

7. Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms

From whom? Isn’t he the guy who is suing CBS and who is threatening his political opponents? And Harris has said that she owns a Glock, so who is threatening gun rights? And since when has there been an issue related to freedom of religion? Maybe he’s concerned with the Bibles he’s hawking.

8. Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country -- all made in America

Is WW III something anyone has been concerned with. . .until he started making it seem like it is imminent? And it seems fairly clear that his answer to the fighting in Europe is surrendering to Putin. And as for the Middle East, there seems to be no plan. No surprise there.

9. End the weaponization of government against the American people.

Is this a problem for the American people, or just the many people in his sphere who have been found guilty of manifold malfeasances?

10. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders.

“Using the FBI data, the violent crime rate fell 49% between 1993 and 2022, with large decreases in the rates of robbery (-74%), aggravated assault (-39%) and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter (-34%).”—Pew Research Center. Here’s the thing: He can claim there is a problem, then “solve it.”

11. Rebuild our cities, including Washington DC, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again. Remember when Trump was going to transform Atlantic City? How did that work out?

12. Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world.

For a man who denigrates the men and women who have given their lives in service to their country, this is rich.

13. Keep the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.

If he follows through on his isolationist plans, forget about that.

14. Fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age.

Remember his tax cuts for the workers? Where will the funding for these programs come from? Mexico?

15. Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations.

First, there is no “electric vehicle mandate.” Second, remember the e. coli issue that recently broke out at McDonalds due to some contaminated produce? Bet some of the things that the provider of the produce ignored were considered to be “burdensome.” Just think if these regulations were gone.

16. Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.

Who decides what is “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content”? Somehow his sensitivity to race, women and political opponents makes him a dubious arbiter.

17. Keep men out of women's sports.

This is one of 20 things that the want-to-be president is concerned with?

18. Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.

Didn’t he say something about freedom of speech in point seven?

19. Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship

Does this mean that there should be only same-day voting? If so, why has he been promoting early voting? While there certainly should be vetting of voters, this is a non-problem that he is vigorously ginning up so he can blame something else if he loses.

20. Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success.

Laudable. But where is anything in his list that will actually do that?

The presidential election shouldn’t be treated like a popularity contest.

Trump may be more popular than Harris, but the presidency isn’t about throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks or making things up on the fly or gutting our freedoms while claiming the actions make us freer.

_____
TUESDAY 11/5/24