A Biden vs. Trump Rematch?

Is anyone excited about the prospect of a rematch between these two?  I’m not. 

Before discussing the election, I will open my political kimono to reveal my conservative/libertarian underpinnings.   I like fiscal responsibility, good management, citizens first, personal freedom, merit-based evaluations, patriotism, science, the law, education, and truth.  I don’t like lies, cheating, globalism, wokeness, big government, racial bias, “progressive ideas,” one-sided media, or politicians who tell you to “reject the evidence of your eyes”¹.

With that mindset, you may not be surprised that I am not a Joe Biden fan, but you may be surprised that I don’t like Trump either.  I dislike them for different reasons. In an attempt to alienate everyone (i.e., all three people who read this blog), I’ll tell you why.

First, let’s talk about Trump.  He would probably be a fun golf partner, but I don’t like his Presidential personality.  Let’s discuss his negatives.

• Snarky names for his opponents.  Like Crooked Hillary, Bird Brain, Sleepy Joe, DeSanctimonious, and many more.  It can be a little funny, but it’s not Presidential.   Everyone knows that people who are mean and degrading are not well-liked.  Remember when he mocked a reporter with a neurological disorder?  That was mean and did not win him any admirers.    
• January 6.  I’m not sure what role Trump played, but the misguided individuals who entered the Capitol could not have done more damage to Trump.  The country has an image of Republicans wearing bison hats like the so-called Shaman.  The Democrat commentators and Biden are delighted to use the term “MAGA extremists” to describe anyone who is not a Democrat and to evoke images of January 6.  A schoolteacher might say about the people who entered the Capitol, “They made some bad choices.” Trump’s association with the Jan. 6 people will haunt him in the 2024 election. 
• Trump superlatives.  Despite all the practice, Trump is not a good speaker.   He speaks more like a mediocre standup comic than a President. He often uses multiple superlatives to describe himself, his followers, and his accomplishments.  He’s done an excellent, fantastic, perfect job, and he’s a genius.
• Trump tends to lie about issues that may affect public perception of him. On many occasions Trump was caught telling untruths that seemed to be related to his ego. Other statements that received multiple Pinocchios indicate he was operating with wrong information.
  Here’s a small sample of his whoppers:
  – It didn’t rain on the day of his inauguration, and he drew bigger crowds than Obama
  – Coronavirus was under control, (long before it was.)
  – The trade deficit with China before his Presidency was $500 billion (an exaggeration)
  – He did not know about the payment to Stormy Daniels
  – He stopped separating families at the border
  – He was once Michigan’s Man of the Year
  – He lost the popular vote because of millions of illegal ballots
  – Many other exaggerations
  
  The Fifteen Biggest Lies of Trump’s Presidency
  Trump Falsehoods
• The fake tan and dyed hair.  Should a man in his late 70s be so concerned about his appearance?  Maybe.  Getting old is scary, but his attempts at looking younger have been too obvious and are easy for his opponents to mock.
• His history with women.  Who knows how many of the stories are true?  We know that Trump seems to think of himself (maybe his younger self) as a real studmuffin.   That cost him in the Stormy Daniels trial and, more recently, the lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll, who claimed he sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in 1996. She was awarded $5 million.  
• Foot in mouth.  Trump tends to say dumb things that provide ammunition to those who already hate him.  Many of his off-script statements could be described as cringeworthy. Many of his regrettable statements are his tendency to speak in extremes. Things are either very bad, very good or extremely something or other. He does this repeatedly. 
  
  But often, the media twist his words to generate anti-Trump news segments. Recently, Trump used the term “bloodbath” in a sentence. He was talking about Chinese auto manufacturing in Mexico and claimed that if he is not elected and the Chinese are not stopped, there’d be a bloodbath in the U.S. auto industry. Morning Joe and other MSNBC reporters jumped on the poor choice of words and claimed he was threatening a massacre in the country if he is not elected.   That’s very typical.
• Presidents should be magnanimous.  I admire Presidents who can rise above the fray and not get into heated exchanges with reporters or others.  Reagan was excellent at this.  Reagan used humor to defuse tense situations.  Trump is unwilling to let anything pass without a fight. A wise person once advised to choose one’s battles wisely.
• His behavior with world leaders.  I know Democrats claim that Trump was too complimentary to Putin and Kim Jung Un.  That’s not what bugs me.  I remember the video taken at a G20 meeting when he pushed his way through the group to be in the front of the photo.   It made him look like the neighborhood bully. In his defense, I suppose the official photographer should have positioned the U.S. in the front rather than behind Indonesia and Mexico.
• Polarizing personality.  Trump’s personality divides the country.  The leftist media hates him, and he hates the press.  Devout liberals hate him with a passion.

Trump has a low popularity rating with the general public for all these reasons. He’s not a likeable candidate, and he’s his own worst enemy. Kathy Griffin, a comedian, gained attention by holding a severed head that resembled Trump in a photo. That’s how deep the hatred is among Democrats.

Now, what I like about him – he has some good ideas about government policy. 

• Immigration and the Southern Border.  Trump stopped the massive immigration across the southern border with a few good policies:
  -Creating the Remain in Mexico agreement,
  -Eliminating the catch-and-release policy,
  -Making proof of asylum a more rigorous process,
  -Building a border wall
  -Forcing Mexico to cooperate by threatening trade tariffs
  -Creating the “safe third country” rule, which denies asylum to anyone who has passed through a safe country like Mexico on the way to the U.S. 
  
  Biden reversed all of these policies in his first week in office.
• America First.  He thinks America and American voters and taxpayers come first.  I’m not sure why this is controversial.  Trump’s America First philosophy stands in contrast to the ideas of globalists like the World Economic Forum and, to some extent, U.S. liberals.  Globalists believe in global socialism, a leveling of the playing field within and between countries, and open borders. And, with the U.S. on top of the heap economically, if other countries must move up, guess who moves down? 
• Respect for American institutions.  He believes in patriotism and old-fashioned values.  This is in contrast to young progressives who, in surveys, express little emotional attachment to the country.  A significant percentage dislike the U.S. That should be concerning to older people. If we go to war, who will fight for our side? When the time comes for a wealth tax, guess whose wealth will be taxed.
• Sanctions on Iran.  The Iranian leaders say publicly that they want to eliminate Israel and the U.S.  They believe an international war will be the catalyst for the ushering in of the Mahdi, the Islamic Messiah.  According to Islamic teaching, the Mahdi appears at the End of Time to rid the world of evil and injustice.
   
  Trump reversed the nuclear agreement with Iran, which he felt did not have sufficient verification measures. At the same time, he strengthened the economic sanctions on Iran.  Biden reversed Trump’s Iran policies.  He also released $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds as part of a hostage deal.
• China.  Trump was the first President to recognize China as America’s main adversary.  Many criticized his tariff policy because it caused Chinese import prices to increase.   He encouraged U.S. companies to repatriate manufacturing operations.
• Inflation.  Although the President does not entirely control inflation, price inflation was very low during the first three years of Trump’s Presidency.  In 2020, spending on Covid and supply constraints caused inflation to tick up.  More on that later.
• Oil and Gas.  During the Trump years, the U.S. achieved energy independence.  We no longer depended on oil imports from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, or Russia.  Trump’s policies encouraged exploration and drilling.  

Now, let’s discuss Biden.  Joe has a low approval rating in polls. I think I know why. First, let’s talk about the negatives.

• Putting Citizens First.   This should be obvious, but it’s not to Biden and many Dems.  The government works for the citizens and especially for the taxpayers. Too many politicians, once elected, pay attention only to those who contribute to their campaigns. Results of opinion surveys show that the vast majority of citizens do not approve of the government funding housing, food, and health care for non-citizens. Yet, Biden continues to do so.
  
  The House Committee on Homeland Security recently released a report illustrating that from the estimated $451 billion in annual costs stemming from the U.S. border crisis, a significant portion is going to health care for illegal immigrants. Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are flooding into U.S. hospitals for treatment and leaving billions in uncompensated healthcare costs in their wake.
  
  The children of the migrants, most of whom don’t speak English, go to our schools.  That must be disruptive to the other students.  It also requires bilingual teachers in many schools.   Is that one of the reasons our test scores are so low?
  
  Some Dems say, “We are a country of immigrants, so how do we have a right to keep new immigrants out?”
  
  That would be a good Internet meme, but it doesn’t make sense. First, are we a country of immigrants? Yes and no. Some families have been here for 300-400 years. Their ancestors, their fathers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins have fought and died in wars defending the U.S. At what point do we stop counting them as immigrants? If we were to track immigration over the past 1000-2000 years, a case could be made that all countries are made up of immigrants. The claim that “we are a country of immigrants” is weak.
  
  Second, does the second clause, “How do we have a right to keep new immigrants out” logically follow the first? It doesn’t. Our country has immigration laws. There’s a big difference between legal and illegal immigrants. Our ancestors immigrated legally. The millions wishing to cross the southern border should be directed to designated ports of entry and be required to comply with our laws.
• Motives for encouraging illegal immigration.  Some commentators say the Dems have facilitated the entry of millions of Latino migrants because they see them as future Dem voters.  If that’s true, that is unethical.  Our elected representatives take an oath of office to defend the country. Instead, they place party above country and citizenry.  That’s what Dem politics (and maybe GOP to some extent) are all about – winning elections regardless of the number of eggs that must be broken in the process. Dems may rule over the U.S. forever, but it won’t be the same country. In the first three years of Biden’s Presidency, 7.6 million people have crossed the southern border. An unknown number of additional “got aways” crossed the border without apprehension by the Border Patrol.
  
  
  
  On March 11, 2024, Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, warned that the open border has caused the threat of terrorist attacks within the U.S. to rise to a “whole new level”. According to Wray, the cartels who move immigrants into the U.S. have ties to ISIS.
  
• Inflation.  Biden and the Dems have caused the CPI to increase by 18% in the first three years of Joe’s administration.  By the time Joe completes his term the CPI will have increased by at least 21%.  That has enormous consequences for American families, retirees, and especially the poor.
  
  
  Dems argue it’s all Trump’s fault.  In 2020, inflation started because of COVID-related supply bottlenecks.   But in early 2021, Janet Yellen, Biden’s Secretary of Treasury, stated that inflation was transitory and would soon subside.  So, instead of dealing with it, the administration denied it.  The Dems poured fuel on the fire with massive deficit spending, and citizens are paying the price. 
• Weaponizing the DOJ and Dem prosecutors.   This is a problem with the Dem Party, not just Biden.  They have weaponized the justice system against an opponent.  Biden, VP Harris, and liberal TV commentators repeatedly state that if Trump were elected, he would pose a “threat to democracy.”    They invoke images of January 6. 
  
  Yet, a more significant threat to our form of government is when the ruling party uses power to 1. Disqualify opponents from participating in elections as several states have tried to do, 2.  Indict opponents on phony charges in highly partisan jurisdictions like NYC or D.C. 
  
  There are several examples, but the best example is the suit brought by Leticia James, the New York State AG, who ran her election campaign on a promise to “get Trump” without any idea how.  After she gained election, she indicted Trump on the charge that his company overestimated the value of real estate in its application for a loan from Deutsche Bank.  Yet, Deutsche Bank had never complained to the government.  Deutsche Bank’s due diligence team examined the application before granting the loan, and the Bank was paid the amount due.    So, what does this have to do with the NY State government, and how could they possibly impose a fine of $350 million?   This is banana-republic corruption.  
• Writing off student loans.  This is an example that infuriates many people.  Biden is willing to use taxpayer money to buy votes.   That’s sleazy.
• Making it easy for Voting Cheats.  The Dems favor mail-in voting and authentication by signature only.  This makes cheating easier than if real authentication were required.  The Dems oppose voter IDs or strong forms of authentication as racist.  The argument is illogical, but the R-word can quiet debate.
• ‘Republicans are Fascists’ Claim. This one drives me crazy. Fascism and Nazism sound bad, so the Dems are eager to apply those labels to their opponents without much thought or understanding. They reason that “Make America Great Again” sounds nationalistic. The desire for a closed border also seems to be contrary to globalism. Weren’t Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy also nationalistic? Weren’t the leaders of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy also bombastic, like Trump? Bingo, there’s the connection.
  But this logic has a few flaws. Aren’t other countries that are not Fascist also highly nationalistic? China, Russia, North Korea, Japan, and Switzerland all fit the description. I could go on.
  Also, the primary characteristics of Nazism or Fascism are much different than Republican principles or even MAGA principles.
  
  The Dems would like to believe that the label applies, but it’s based on emotion rather than facts.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion vs. Merit.    He has surrounded himself with a diversified, hyper-partisan, incompetent team, which makes his administration even more polarizing.
  
• The Military Embarrassments. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a national disgrace. Billions of dollars in military equipment and ammunition were left behind and quickly acquired by the Taliban. U.S. Intelligence and the Department of Defense must have been uninformed, or they miscalculated badly.
• Demise of the American education system.  Maybe Biden does not bear responsibility for this, but the Dems and their buddies in the teacher’s union certainly do.  The U.S. once had the highest test scores in the world and the most coveted universities.  Not anymore. The U.S. test scores now rank 38th. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/

• Energy policy.  From the start, Joe’s administration has discouraged oil exploration, drilling, and refining. Only when the price of gas at the pump rose to over $5 per gallon did Joe react to public pressure and loosen the noose around the industry a bit.    
• The Cheerleader Media.  Almost all media employees are Democrats and supporters of Biden.  They don’t publish everything that is newsworthy, but report news selectively and put their own spin on news that they publish.
  
  The 1984ish groupthink is apparent to even some traditional Democrats.   Is a single political party really what liberal media commentators want?  If asked point blank, most would probably deny it, but many hyperpartisans (e.g., members of The View, and MSNBC commentators) say they want to eliminate the GOP.
  
  Recently, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela murdered a nursing student in Georgia. Biden mentioned it in his 2024 State of the Union address (only after a member of the audience interrupted his speech to call him on it) and referred to the murderer as an illegal. The liberal press could not abide by the grave faux pas. Their follow-up questions were not about the murder but about use of the word illegal. So, in their mind it’s alright that a Venezuelan entered the country illegally and murdered a citizen, but not okay to call the murderer an illegal.
  
  Illegals have committed many other crimes, but the national media does not cover them. Recently a Haitian illegal raped a 15-year-old girl in Massachusetts. He had been flown into the country by Homeland Security (how ironic). The Democrat Governor of Massachusetts, when asked about the rape, said, “The alleged perpetrator was thoroughly vetted.” But does anyone believe that Haiti has an adequate criminal information system? Or Venezuela or any of the Latin American countries?
  
  Here are some other hoaxes the media has promoted:
  – Trump colluded with Russia
  – Two MAGA thugs attacked Jossie Smollet
  – The Covington Catholic kid and the Indian chief
  – The Duke Lacrosse team raped a black girl
  – Hunter’s laptop was planted by the Russians
  – BLM riots were peaceful
  – The border is closed
  – Border Patrol used whips on Haitian migrants
  – The COVID virus was transferred to humans by a pangolin or a bat
  – Many others
  
  
  https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/03/16/healey-alleged-migrant-shelter-rapist-was-here-via-federal-program/
• When Joe gets emotional.  In his 2024 State of Union speech, Joe was surprisingly energized and angry. What was he angry about? He expressed no anger about China, Russia, the price of gas at the pump, or the murder and rape of innocent citizens, but he did get fired up when he mentioned MAGA Extremists “who want to destroy our democracy”.
  
  His hate and anger were directed at Republicans, other Americans.
• Tall tales of folk hero Joe and other lies.  Joe beat up Cornpop, a supposed bad dude gang member, when Joe was a lifeguard in Scranton, PA. Joe marched and was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela.  He graduated at the top of his law school class and received a full scholarship.  He stood at Ground Zero the day after the collapse of the WTC. He used to drive a tractor-trailer. He grew up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood.  No, make that a Jewish community. He’s told many other fabricated stories about his life.
  
  Other statements about his political career that are equally untrue:
  – The national debt was reduced during his Presidency
  – He was not involved in Hunter’s business dealings or received any related money
  – Documents in his garage or other rooms in his house were not highly classified
  – The average tax rate for billionaires is 8%
  – He has declared a national climate emergency
  – He plans to build a railroad from California across the Indian Ocean
  -More cops are killed responding to domestic violence than anything else
  -The price of gasoline was $5 per gallon when he took office
  -He’s been to Afghanistan and Iraq twice during his time as President
  -When he took office, there was no COVID vaccine available
  – Many other whoppers.
  
  https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/politics/fact-check-biden-amtrak-grandfather-pittsburgh-bridge-debt/index.html
  https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/list/?category=&ruling=false&speaker=joe-biden
  https://oversight.house.gov/blog/joe-biden-lied-at-least-15-times-about-his-familys-business-schemes/
  
•  Deficit Spending. For the huge federal debt, there’s more than enough blame to go around in both parties. The President can’t control the budget without the cooperation of Congress, but the President does have veto power.
  
  In 2020, the Federal deficit ballooned to over $3 trillion due primarily to expenditures related to COVID. Unfortunately, the extremely high level of spending continued even after the pandemic subsided.
• Joe’s Mental Acuity. Recently, Special Prosecutor Robert Hur described Joe as a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. He said Joe was “painfully slow”. That description fits well with Joe’s performance when he speaks off-script. He frequently slurs his speech and forgets what he is saying mid-sentence. I thought publicity about the Hur report would have caused the Dem Party to look for another candidate, but so far, they have not.
  
  Given signs of mental decline, is Joe up to one of the most demanding jobs in the world?

Now, for Joe’s strong points. 

• As a Senator, he had a reputation as a friendly guy who would work with Republicans.  In his inaugural speech, he said he would be the President of all Americans. However, that’s not what he’s done. He has been highly polarizing even from the first week of his Presidency.
• I can’t think of any other positives.  Joe’s low popularity rating amongst Independents suggests that others see him similarly.

Wrap-up

We are left with two unpopular candidates, although they are unpopular for different reasons. If it comes to a rematch of Biden and Trump, I will hold my nose and vote for Trump.  It will not be a vote for Trump but against Biden and his damaging policies.  Similarly, many voters of both parties will vote not for a candidate but against the other party. 

I would have been inclined to vote for Joe Manchin if he had decided to run. He seems honest and level-headed. Unfortunately, he has dropped out.

 There’s RFK, Jr.  From what I know about him, he’s more mainstream – like his uncle and father.   But I don’t think he has a real chance of winning, so voting for him may be a vote for Biden. Some commentators believe RFK will be the deciding factor in the election, but opinions vary regarding which of the two main candidates will benefit.  

Many of us wonder if Biden will survive till November and if Trump will be imprisoned before then. Let’s wait and see. The wait will be painful.

References:

1. Quote from George Orwell ↩︎