If you’re a Trump supporter you know that there’s no time to waste when it comes to accomplishing your goal of reintroducing Americans to their basic core values and to get the Left to believe the incoming administration when it says that making America great again is not just a cheap slogan.
There are now less than two years left before the 2026 midterm elections to make the course correction necessary to return American culture and the economy back to some semblance of stability. From there, the country can begin to heal itself.
If Republicans fail to assure the electorate that they are better off two years from now than they were when Trump took office then the Republican majority will be lost and with it the hopes and aspirations of the administration to accomplish its goals. It’s just that simple.
Make no mistake, the expectations of those on the right are sky high right now, but we who are students of history know that absent any real successes in the coming 24 months, the majority in the House could well shift to the party out of power (this time the Democrats) as it has many times in recent memory with George W. Bush getting a “thumping,” Barack Obama a “shellacking,” Donald Trump with a “blue wave,” and Joe Biden with a “red spurt.”
There are no guarantees or absolutes in politics only educated guesses to probable outcomes, but America’s midterms are generally the easiest elections to predict.
With that in mind, the Trump administration must marshall all of its efforts to hit the ground running and make several important decisions and take critical important steps, simultaneously.
The first is bringing down the cost of energy (principally refined petroleum products), replenishing our depleted oil reserves, re-authorizing pipeline constrction and drilling permits, and encouraging the construction of new refineries.
We also must face the ugly fact that our energy grid needs replacing.
In addition, the U.S. must wean itself off the Democrat-led commitment to replace gasoline-powered vehicles with 100% electric cars.
Finally, the U.S. must threaten to exit the Paris Climate Accords given that the other members have not agreed to place tough limitations on the amount of pollutants that China and India are allowed to spew into the environment.
Protecting our border
America’s Southern border must be made secure and quickly. Border Patrol agents must be free to detain any and all immigrants that have come across our border illegally. They must be returned to their home countries and told that if they wish to apply for asylum they can do so legally at U.S. embassies or if they choose to remain in Mexico they can apply at official U.S. points of entry.
Employers must be given notice that they have 120 days to clean up their workplaces and regularize the status of their employees and dismiss those without proper identification or permission to be in the U.S. or else face stiff penalties.
Sanctuary cities and states must lose their federal funding unless they allow ICE the information it requires to authenticate an alien’s bona fides.
In addition, the Congress must take up a new, revised immigration bill that is vastly different from the one introduced by the Democrats under Joe Biden. A series of public hearings must be held well in advance of any bill leaving the House for the Senate.
Cleaning up the culture of government
Starting with the military, a thorough review of all mandatory “cultural” indoctrination now taking place must be done. All “woke” related DEI, CRT and similar conditioning of military personnel must cease. All requirements for attending such courses must be dropped and any servicemember who has been denied promotions or forced to retire for refusing to attend such courses must be reinstated and be placed in contention for the promotions they were disallowed or be permitted to reenlist and receive back pay from the time of their retirement. Any military officer that supports promotions or awards or better assignments based on sex or race quotas must be removed from his position.
The “deep state” attitude of slow-walking the implementation of presidential directives or purposely obstructing the use of those directives by creating onerous regulatory measures must be eliminated. Any federal employee found to be actively impeding such implementation must be reprimanded and in some cases, terminated. All departments of government have a sworn duty to be non-partisan and act, lawfully. None is above the law nor should any allow themselves to be “weaponized” and used against a sitting administration.
Incentivizing inward investment
Instead of immediately imposing excessive tariffs on imported goods, the administration should consider establishing a clear, reasonable and advantageous tax abatement program for U.S. companies that return a portion of their production back to the U.S. These incentives should also apply to foreign partnerships with other countries that could result in improving our exporting capabilities and assist in bringing down our trade deficit with specific countries.
A “renewing urban America” program should be created that provides for additional opportunity or enterprise zones for start-up companies in many of America’s decaying urban areas where long-term unemployment has been traditionally high.
Poor health care is a disease in itself
America’s health care industry is in shambles. Everyone knows it, especially the patients, but the health care providers have been particularly hard hit since the pandemic. Since the U.S. system is largely private, a commission must be set up to create a roadmap for making health care in America affordable and accessible that takes into consideration the contribution that the industry makes to America’s bottom line (it represents about 17% of our gross domestic product). The only workable solution is to develop a system that does not bankrupt insurance companies, health care providers or the average citizen while guaranteeing care to all. Of all the immediate domestic issues facing Americans, this one stands out as the one affecting the largest number of people and must be addressed over the course of this coming administration.
How high is too high?
Inflation must come down and the rise of prices must not exceed Americans’ ability to pay. Many citizens are making dangerous choices in order to stay afloat, economically. Some are foregoing their prescription medicine in order to buy their food and pay their rent. If the administration ignores inflation and does nothing to impede its upward progress, they will pay the price at the polls in 2026. Price controls don’t work. We saw that under Richard Nixon.
Walking and chewing gum
The Trump administration has some tough choices to make, right from the start. But one choice is self-evident and must be implemented in tandem with the practical choices outlined above. It is that of engaging in a “charm offensive” (CO) to assure the American people that the government has their backs and that their votes in November are not being taken for granted. COs have long been used to smooth over mistakes that have been made and to calm the rough waters of an aggressive media. They have not traditionally been used as a preventative measure to strengthen bonds between groups or for bridging the ideological gaps between people. Anyone who’s lived in the U.S. the last decade or so knows that these gaps are great and that our comity is a tragedy of American politics and that bringing people together who have been at each other’s throats will require more than a simple P.R. campaign administered by a few spin doctors.
That’s why the administration must reach out to Americans with an offensive that is more than a “feel good” effort to calm people’s nerves and tempers. The new Trump CO must be carefully constructed for today’s Americans. It must remind them that despite our many differences, the documents that bind us together like our Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights are the most important things that keep us from losing our way and becoming our own enemies from within. This campaign must be directed at our schools, our communities and even our places of worship, for this message is not one of politics; it is one of survival. In fact, it may be America’s last chance to begin to heal its wounds.
Stephen Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of which are on American politics and has written over 1,400 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com.
Image: Michael Vadon, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
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