Donald Trump made big promises running as a populist candidate. Liberals warned voters that it was fake populism and not to be fooled by such promises. But such failed caveats are now behind us.
Trump and his transition team have already been walking back some of these significant commitments that experts saw as unrealistic.
What Americans must now do is pressure President Trump to make good on those pledges, especially those populist ones that managed to sway enough Democrats and independents to Trump’s corner.
Major promise #1: get inflation down
Let’s remind the President what he said last September during a rally which was a theme repeated over and over. He said, “We will end inflation and make America affordable again, and we’re going to get the prices down, we have to get them down. It’s too much. Groceries, cars, everything. We’re going to get the prices down.”
No, Mr. President, you do not have the option to move the goal post on this one even as most economists know the Office of the Presidency cannot single-handedly lower the costs of consumer goods. Also, the free market doesn’t seem to be anticipating much of any change considering that since Trump got elected, prices on everything not only remains high, but worsened in some areas.
Still, let’s extend in good faith to the President that he, along with his party majority in Congress, could at least pass legislations to create a favorable environment for the prices of as he said, “everything” to come down. Trump said it – without offering details – and many voters believed him, now demand it so be done.
The promise we hope Trump doesn’t keep that would work against lowering inflation is his pledge to implement higher tariffs which economists almost unanimously say would raise the prices of goods.
Major Promise #2: End the war in Ukraine
The peace-loving presidential candidate bragged about his peace-negotiating skills to get Ukraine and Russia to resolve their war. He repeated calls for peace throughout his campaign at town halls, rallies and interviews. He told Fox’s Sean Hannity, “I would fix that within 24 hours, and if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled. 100% sure.”
Unlike his first major promise above widely viewed with skepticism, this pledge by Trump was seriously believable even among military experts.
However, that pledge for instant peace in Europe has come into serious doubt as Trump begun to announce his cabinet nominees. Each one, one after another, is known to be a hawkish, pro-war neocon.
Then last week during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said it is his “hope” to try to get a deal in six months.
Well, that time of brokering peace before getting into the office had already passed. 100%. But let’s keep the president to his word and assume a “quick” end to that war will come very soon and that it will not just be campaign bluster.
Putting cynicism aside, unlike the inflation situation, ending the war in Ukraine is comparatively easier, doable and within the power of the Office of the Presidency. Just cutting the billions in military aid to Ukraine could end the war.
The complexity and challenge for Trump is how would he sell it to the public without looking like a Putin stooge and betrayer of an ally. He must also deprogram the political left and many in the right who have been fed that Putin is an expansionist threat ready to take over Europe (foolish understanding of geopolitics), and that Putin is a military threat to the world. The only way Putin remains an existential military threat to the U.S. is if this proxy war continues.
So, while Trump obviously exaggerated the rapidity of ending the Ukraine-Russian war, he should get it done, ASAP!
Partisanism for partisan sake alone is just toxic
A majority of Americans voted Trump in, and he is deserving of a fair shake. It doesn’t mean that we abandon our priorities or values, but we can at least be supportive of Trump’s promises we agree with like lowering inflation and a more peaceful world.
What we don’t want to be is a partisan antagonist wanting Trump to fail in all areas – including on those issues that we support – just because we don’t like Trump or don’t want to see him succeed. This is being a partisan at all costs, illogical, counterintuitive and counterproductive.
Isn’t partisan politics tiring and toxic enough that we ought to start to leave it behind? You will always have partisans in politics because these politicians on the Hill – or at the state level — have a vested interest. Or there are pundits and media out there who make a living and thrive on partisan politics. Their livelihood, if not their identity, is wrapped around it. But as average Americans, let’s try to be fair and break old patterns.
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