Speaking of liberal, never worked in the real-world, never started a company, and never met a payroll economics professors, for years, I have been comparing President Donald J. Trump in a very positive way to the main character in the movie “Back to School” starring Rodney Dangerfield.
In the film, the Dangerfield character is a very tough, mega-successful New York City CEO who goes back to college to look after his son. Soon, he finds himself in a class led by a far-left, never did anything in life, economics professor who proceeds to lecture the class on how to start and build a 30,000 square foot “widget” factory. The very tough, very successful New York City CEO finally loses it and proceeds to “school” the liberal economics professor.
Tough, Successful CEO: “Oh, you left out a bunch of stuff.”
Liberal Econ Professor: “Oh, really? Like what, for instance?”
CEO: “First of all, you've got to grease the local politicians for the sudden zoning problems that always come up. Then there's kickbacks to the carpenters. If you plan on using cement, the Teamsters will want a chat, and that will cost you. And don't forget something for the building inspectors. Then there's the long-term costs, such as waste disposal. Are you familiar with who runs that business? It's not the boy scouts.”
Suddenly, recognizing they are in the presence of a very tough, very successful, real world business CEO, the entire class turns away from the liberal, no nothing professor to look at the CEO while scribbling notes just as fast as possible. Realizing that he is losing the class to the CEO, the liberal professor makes one last attempt to save face by saying: “The next question for us is where to build our factory?”
Tough CEO: “How about Fantasyland?”
The class then rightfully bursts out in laughter.
But from that movie and from that particular scene, we do realize that life often does imitate art. Come 2015 and 2016, tens of millions of Americans realized that with Trump, they were in the presence of a massively successful businessman who had built an iconic global business empire. Because of that realization, they suddenly turned away from the liberal, never built a company, never met a payroll economists, media personalities, and professional politicians and began “taking notes” every time Trump spoke. They were sick and tired of the “Fantasyland” being presented to them by the left and wanted an America which would be made great again by the tough, mega-successful, New York City businessman.
Starting back in 1928 and attributed to President Calvin Coolidge, we were introduced to the phrase: “The business of America is business.” That is true in so many critically important ways.
But for most of our lives, we have not had a real, massively successful businessman occupying the Oval Office of the White House. Much to the detriment of us all.
Joe Biden was a shady career politician; Barack Obama was created in Chicago and then sent forth by the Democratic Party; George W. Bush played at business before engaging in a war which took hundreds of thousands of lives; Bill Clinton was a longtime student before becoming a longtime politician; George H.W. Bush was in many ways a professional diplomat before becoming president; Ronald Reagan was an actor, organizer, and spokesperson; Jimmy Carter was in the Navy and struggled as a peanut farmer; Gerald Ford was mostly a professional politician; Richard Nixon the same.
Just that list takes us back six decades. It’s not to say that these men did not possess some innate business talent or find some business success. Some did.
But all pale in comparison to the real-world business experience Trump has brought into the Oval Office. Experience which means something. Experience which can mean everything.
Now, we have the “Liberation Day Tariffs” rightfully put forth by President Trump. Tariffs which are going to save the economic life of our nation. Tariffs which have been predictably and pathetically attacked by many “no nothing” economists and others on the left.
While they were howling at the moon in protest this week – simply because it was the “hated” Trump proposing such tariffs – President Trump was spelling out the coming benefits:
“I said this would exactly be the way it is. We have six or seven trillion dollars coming into our country, and we've never seen anything like it. The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom. And the rest of the world wants to see if there is any way they can make a deal. They've taken advantage of us for many, many years…Our country is going to boom.”
Trust Trump on Tariffs. Trust Trump on Business.
The “Fantasyland” of the left was literally killing our nation and her people. Trump is putting “America First” -- as it should and must be. And with that strategy will come the most powerful economy the world has ever known.
Businessman Trump is taking the left, the haters, and the doubters “Back to School.”
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book: The 56 – Liberty Lessons from those who risked all to sign The Declaration of Independence. Follow him @DougOfSkye.