From the moment Donald Trump made his grand entrance onto the political stage, one of the primary lines of attack against the bombastic outsider, among countless others, is that he “is only out for himself.” In fact, that was a core message of Democrats across the land and prominent commercials for both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that aired thousands of times during the 2024 presidential campaign. Biden/Harris care about the working man and woman, while Trump only seeks his own glory. It was a bookend narrative to Trump’s famously successful ad tying Harris to a purple-haired freak depicted as they/them, while Trump is for you.
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Basing so much of the bitter vitriol against Trump on a subjective factor – the notion of Trump being entirely self-involved that can be neither proven nor disproven – is a counterintuitive line of attack. Trump arrived in Washington having already attained the American dream, the enviable trifecta of fame, fortune, and family – more than any man could hope for, it seems. He certainly did not need to become a punching bag for the entrenched Washington deep state and jeopardize his idyllic life by daring to speak his mind without reservation and calling out the DC uniparty establishment, seemingly without fear or favor. Remember that, in addition to dismantling the progressive worldview through three election cycles, he lit into three former Republican presidential candidates, including a two-term president, and thoroughly rejected the neoconservatism that had come to define the GOP, all at great personal cost.
So, as the 45th and 47th president looks to the dwindling months of a second term unlike any in our lifetime, the product of a political comeback for the ages, let us consider what he has produced that will endure long past his historic presidency. His laser focus on leaving behind a durable and positive legacy – in the eyes of fair-minded Americans – was undoubtedly magnified when he escaped certain death in Butler, PA, by a skinny inch. Much like Ronald Reagan when he survived an assassin’s bullet, this president is convinced he was saved for a reason. The perception of divine intervention on your behalf tends to create incentive beyond measure.
The Trump Golden Age Upon Us?
Nevertheless, Trump cannot credibly continue unrestrained talk of a golden age when prices at the pump and in the supermarket continue to rise, and the people are feeling it. Not after Joe Biden whistled past the graveyard by denying that soaring prices were soaring. There is sufficient reason to believe that inflation and the cost of living will be contained once the Iran War is brought to a conclusion, likely after the November elections. But that is cold comfort to people grinding out life, paycheck to paycheck. If, instead of proclaiming that we are in the midst of a golden age, Trump spoke of the golden age he is putting in place, both he and his party would likely benefit in a big way. Why? Well, it goes back to the notion that this two-time president either is or isn’t out for himself. And this analysis cannot rest strictly on his, um, enthusiasm for slapping his name on anything that’s not nailed down, and many that are, such as the Kennedy Center. What we are out to discover is not whether the man has an outsized ego, but whether that ego was employed in service to himself or the country.
President Trump has had a hyperactive presidency marked by new initiatives flying in every direction, systemic change aplenty, remarkably bold foreign adventures, and a willingness to test the outer limits of his executive power. Let’s examine Trump’s record through the lens of the left’s never-ending claim that Trump is only out for himself.
You hear little about it in big media, but in the 20 months since he returned to the White House, Trump has secured up to $20 trillion in pledges by foreign investors. Since many of these promises have yet to be fulfilled and are thus of no immediate benefit to Trump, this focus on attracting foreign investment is specifically designed for future economic stability and growth.
Had it not been established and empowered by Trump and Bobby Kennedy, the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement would undoubtedly be hailed by most everyone as a historic breakthrough. Resting on the frightening fact that chronic disease among Americans has increased by nearly 1,000%, from 6% to 62%, in the last 60-plus years, MAHA has led the crusade to remove dangerous additives and chemicals from foods and is already reversing the upward trend. But the real results will happen eventually, in the longer term, and thus are of no particular benefit to Trump personally.
Global Threats
When it comes to Iran, the easiest course for Trump to pursue would have been that of the previous seven presidents – talk tough and do little about a threat long identified as existential to the entire Western world. He could have glided into retirement, having kicked the can down the road again. Instead, concerning himself with the future rather than just the present day, he undertook incredibly bold action to blow up Iran’s nuclear program and eliminate its capacity to sow terror and death across the region and the world. It is inarguable that the Iran War is based not only on the present but also on the future of a Middle East no longer terrorized by the Islamist regime in Tehran.
From the get-go, Trump has been all-in on tariffs. The more the merrier, it seems. But whether you approve of his tariff regime or not, he knew it would cause instability for a time and risked stoking inflation, the last thing any president would invite. The long-term structure he has put in place with dozens of trade deals is yet another initiative that will bear fruit, it is hoped, more in the future than now. This is yet another short-term risk to his legacy for the sake of instituting reforms, employing every ounce of America’s unparalleled leverage, that Trump, for better or worse, considers crucial for the long haul.
How about the Golden Dome, the defense shield that will essentially be an exponentially larger version of Israel’s famed Iron Dome? It will provide unprecedented levels of security against nuclear attack, but is years away from completion, so once again it’s all about the future, and not of any particular benefit to Trump in 2026.
A Ballroom for All Time
Next, let’s delve into the whole overblown debate about the new White House ballroom ordered up by the president. In all the legal challenges and manufactured hysteria over it, there is scant mention of the projected completion date: late 2028. If this were all about personal glory for Trump, then how come he won’t even get to use it for more than a couple of months? As should be obvious to anyone paying attention, the ballroom is designed to fulfill the aching need for a secure facility to host major events in the world’s most famous house – for future presidents, not Trump himself.
Then there are the Trump accounts and Trump Rx. Since the tax-advantaged accounts for newborns funded to the tune of $1,000 by the government won’t start reaching maturity for almost two decades, you can hardly make the case that the Trump accounts are self-aggrandizing. They could be life-changers for some or many in the future, especially with the Social Security system now under pressure as never before. Trump Rx is a classic example of using maximum executive leverage on big pharma and finally doing something that should have been done long ago: offering Americans, long accustomed to paying far more than their foreign counterparts, the lowest prices on the planet for a wide array of popular pharmaceuticals. This is a program no future presidents would dare trash; they will likely just change the name and take credit for the savings its customers will continue to experience.
By promising and delivering no taxes on tips, overtime, or Social Security, Trump is ultimately putting serious money back in the pockets of everyday Americans. Good luck to any future presidents who dare overturn those wildly popular reforms to the tax code. Again, with the same theme, Trump was not going to personally benefit from these reforms because he is not running for president again, but he believes they will allow hard-working Americans to keep more of their money.
Foreign Adventures
When it comes to his many foreign adventures, the most significant point to be made is that each and every one of them came at great risk to his presidency. If his daring capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran had gone wrong, a bloodthirsty left and its allies in big media would have had a field day destroying him. Trump could only have been willing to take these risks because he was convinced it would lead to a future of greater peace and prosperity. Likewise with the ongoing conflict in Iran. Why would Trump risk a midterm blowout with a war of choice that is driving up the cost of living? Once again, it could only be because of Trump’s long-term vision of the peace and stability ready to break out in Central and South America once Maduro was taken down and in the Middle East once the Islamist regime in Iran is fully emasculated. With Venezuela and Iran brought to heel and their lifelines all but cut off, Trump also knows Cuba will eventually be the next domino to collapse. Again, not today or tomorrow, but in the not-too-distant future.
Another major initiative willfully ignored by big media, stretching back to Trump’s first term, is the Abraham Accords. They created diplomatic and commercial relations between Israel and friendly Gulf states and were followed up by Trump’s second-term creation of the Board of Peace to oversee the post-war transition, security, and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip following the Israel-Hamas war. Together, the Abraham Accords and Board of Peace have created new alliances among the United States, Israel, and Gulf states designed for long-term stability. There’s that word again: long-term.
Why, you may have asked, would Trump concern himself with Greenland, of all places? Ninety percent of the place is unlivable. But it also happens to hold significant strategic value because intercontinental ballistic missiles launched by Russia, China, or other US enemies would pass directly over that massive ice-covered country. By talking big about annexing or purchasing Greenland and incurring the wrath of Europeans who hate him anyway, Trump again used the art of the deal to get what he really wanted from the outset: permanent security control of the country, to the exclusion of the Russians, Chinese, or anyone else.
All presidents concern themselves with legacy, especially those serving a second term, knowing it will be their last chance to fashion their image for all time and shape the destiny of the nation. How will history remember them? Many presidents have stumbled as they approached the finish line. Joe Biden hoped to be remembered as the man who took down Trump, only to usher in his return to the White House. Richard Nixon wanted to be viewed as a great foreign policy president but was upended by the Watergate scandal. Lyndon Johnson hoped history would remember him as the Great Society president but lost his way in Vietnam. Those desperate for Trump to finally leave the White House – for good this time – will anticipate being “free at last,” but the remnants of the Trump era will endure. Whether you love or hate him, let us once and for all set aside the argument that he is only in it for himself. He may be telling us the golden age of America is upon us, but it looks increasingly like its hopeful onset will occur once the presidency of Donald Trump is in the history books.
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