As a libertarian, there are a lot of things I despise about Donald Trump. He surrounded himself by people who hate him. We got an administration of war hawks with Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and Nikki Haley, just to name a few.
Trump got completely suckered by the COVID narrative. He kept Fauci on for his entire term in office, and Trump allowed Fauci to dictate COVID policy and hysteria. Trump also boasted about his Operation Warp Speed that later led to vaccine mandates.
Trump was better on foreign policy than any other president of the last 40 years, but that isn’t saying much. Trump tore up the agreement with Iran (one of the few decent things Obama did), and the Trump administration ordered the assassination of an Iranian official. He also continued the horrible wars that started before he entered office.
On economic policy, Trump was mostly a disaster. He did cut corporate tax rates, which was good, but he oversaw increased spending and massive deficits.
So I have a long list of criticisms of Trump and his 4 years in office. It’s hard to believe that Biden has been so much worse, but he has.
I will probably vote for Dave Smith in 2024 for president, but I can’t completely discount voting for Trump, and there’s really only one reason why, aside from stopping Biden or some other horrible Democrat.
Taking on the Deep State
Trump has taken on the establishment in many ways, even if his policies haven’t necessarily reflected that. And the establishment has taken on Trump with Russiagate, two impeachments, one indictment (so far), and non-stop hysteria and media coverage about how bad Trump is.
With all that has happened to Trump, you would think that he would be better on the issues. He won’t be better on economics, but he should have an even greater realization of the evils of the deep state than he did in 2020, and certainly compared to 2016.
Trump has been speaking out against the deep state, especially since his indictment. He has been speaking out against the FBI and other intelligence agencies.
A Slim Hope
Chances are, if Trump were to get elected in 2024 and take office in 2025, there wouldn’t be a great deal of difference, policy wise, as compared to his first term. He probably isn’t going to defund the CIA or dismantle the FBI. He probably won’t even surround himself with a bunch of “America-firsters” on foreign policy.
I’d say that the chance of a radical change against the deep state and in favor of liberty would be less than 10%. But with Biden or some other Democrat (aside from RFK, Jr.), the chance is zero percent. Even with some other Republican, the chances of significantly taking on the deep state are almost zero.
So even though Trump probably won’t be any good, there is a small sliver of hope.
To channel Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
Changing Hearts and Minds
Ultimately, we still need to change hearts and minds. It isn’t so much about electing the “right” politicians. But electing some people can help to change hearts and minds, and it can help to get the ball rolling.
Trump has already helped in some ways. The Republican Party as a whole is far less hawkish than it used to be. Ron Paul told Republicans it was ok to be a Republican and be anti war. Most of them weren’t ready for his message yet.
Trump comes along and had the right tone at the right time. He was able to call the Iraq War a disaster, and he really has helped expose the deep state in many ways. The deep state itself has exposed itself by overplaying their hand against Trump.
We have made progress, but more needs to be made. Many Americans have little trust in politicians and the establishment media. They just need to get a deeper understanding of economics, foreign policy, and the nature of the state.
And then it would help to have a little push from the top. If Donald Trump somehow gets elected and takes office again, we can only hope that he will be better and less naive than the first time.
I don’t have much hope in Trump, but at least there’s a chance that he could do something good.