Getting a jump-start on Monday night’s start of the Republican National Convention, the Trump White House has announced an “aggressive” agenda for President Donald Trump’s second term.
Fox News’ Steve Hilton was given an exclusive look at the multi-point policy plan, revealed earlier today.
Trump’s agenda is chock full of specifics, unlike Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s “plan” from last week’s acceptance speech.
The Big Four of concern to most Americans might be these:
• Create ten million jobs in ten months
• Bring back one million manufacturing jobs
• Eradicate the China virus (with a vaccine by the end of this year)
• Hold China accountable
Overall, today’s big reveal consists of specific policies in nine areas: Job creation, COVID-19, healthcare, education, “drain the swamp,” policing, immigration and worker protection, economic innovation, an “America first” foreign policy.
Trump’s second-term jobs program is indeed aggressive. The policies outlined include tax cuts, a “Made in America” tax credit, continued deregulation, and expanding the economic “opportunity zones” Trump authorized in his first term. The hope would seem to be spurring a V-shaped recovery resulting in the announced 10 million new jobs and a million new small businesses for 2021.
Deregulation is probably the easiest of those to get done, but that V-shaped recovery is going to depend in large part on Democratic governors unshackling their states from coronavirus restrictions. And of course, tax cuts and credits would have to originate in the House, currently under Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s heel.
Trump’s coronavirus-fighting agenda looks like so:
A working and reliable vaccine by the end of this year might be a bit optimistic, but getting the weight of the Executive Branch behind a lofty goal certainly doesn’t hurt. “Returning to normal” in 2021 is also going to rely on the cooperation of some power-drunk Dem governors. But Trump’s longer-term plans to bring the PPE supply chain back into this country and to refill our stockpiles (thanks, Obama!) are both smart and necessary.
Healthcare is a tough nut to crack, given that our hybrid public/private system has a lot of interest groups all feeding at a very large trough financed by government spending. The one area where a president can move — and where Trump has moved — is in making prices more transparent. On that score, Trump just got a big win.
Sally Pipes reports:
In a victory for consumers, D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichol just upheld a Trump administration executive order requiring doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies to be transparent about the prices they negotiate for health care services. Previously, those prices were closely held secrets. The lack of transparency contributed to the relative dysfunction of the health care market.
Four more years of moves like that ought to be a big selling point in Trump’s reelection campaign.
Antifa/BLM Spread Riots to Denver, Kenosha — America Going Full Weimar?
There are only two items on Trump’s second-term education agenda, but they both look custom-built to make all the right heads explode. His promise to “teach American exceptionalism” is a dagger aimed right at the heart of America’s largely America-hating K-12 educational system, which has been adopting the America-hating (and debunked) 1619 Project in recent months. Trump also wants to expand school choice to “every” child. In the long-term, that’s a dagger aimed at the leftist slush fund that passes for so much of our education spending.
“Defend Our Police” is a longer and more detailed list of proposals.
Most of these items are actually state issues, and best left to the voters at that level. But going after antifa as a terrorist organization is past due, given that George Soros-owned district attornies in places like Portland and St. Louis are acting against the laws of their own cities and states.
“Draining the Swamp” always sounds nice, but is easier said than done. Trump promises:
• Pass congressional term limits
• End bureaucratic bullying
• Expose Washington’s money trail
• Take on International Organizations
Term limits would have to come by a constitutional amendment that there’s never been enough appetite to get moving. Maybe now our mood has changed, but probably not within the next four years. The other three items are all things Trump can push from right behind the Resolute desk. But come to think of it, a Trump second term all by itself might go a long way toward draining the swamp.
P.S. Mr. President, keep harping on Washington’s ties to China, and I don’t care what party any particular person belongs to. If they’re making money from or with China, they might as well be CCP instead of D or R.
Trump’s immigration plan is more of the same, and that’s not a bad thing. Politically, he just needs to make the case that a Biden administration would undo — almost immediately – everything Trump was able to accomplish in four years.
Rounding things out, Trump’s policy proposals for economic innovation and foreign affairs are more extensions of the policies he pushed in his first term.
If you like that Trump has reduced our footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan, if bolstering the NATO countries on Russia’s doorstep (to Germany’s chagrin) seemed like a good idea to you, if you’re happy that Trump hasn’t involved us in any new fighting, then “four more years” must sound awfully good to your ears.
For his part, Steve Hilton sounded ecstatic about the big policy reveal on his show.
Here’s the clip.
First, however, Trump needs to win reelection. But that’s something Team Biden seems almost eager to help along with its platform that is weak on both substance and inspiration.
Also for our VIPs: Trump and the Art of the Middle East Peace Deal
