By Jeffrey A. Rendall
Trump 80th birthday? Trump legacy? Is it turning out the way he would’ve wanted it?
Happy birthday President Trump!
Yes, we’re a couple days early for the grand occasion, the commemoration/celebration of Donald John Trump’s 80th birthday, but it’s never too soon to convey best wishes for the realization of an important actuarial milestone in the legendary commander-in-chief’s life.
Here’s speculating Trump will throw himself a grand get-together (UFC Freedom 250?), one generously stocked with elegant and meaningful things the president has surrounded himself with in his 80 years’ worth of approaching each day as though he owed it to his family and brand not to waste.
You may recall a few years back when then-President senile Joe Biden turned 80, and that ill-conceived official photo of him attempting to blow out the four score ignited candles on an enormous cake, a formidable challenge for anyone let alone the man who’d noticeably deteriorated as the entire world looked on. It wasn’t a good impression for the Biden people to try and pass off as a positive.
The Bidens noted Joe’s White House birthdays with little mention or fanfare, but here’s thinking the Trumps will want to play June 14th up. Donald J. Trump loves a good party, and the businessman who proudly displays “Trump” on most of his impressive real estate holdings isn’t shy about self-promotion, either.
For most Americans, Trump’s birthday will be just another day, one of thousands in the political life of the outsider 45th and 47th president. Trump is most definitely piecing together a legacy, one consequential decision at a time. The question is whether he’ll be proud of what he’ll eventually become known for by posterity.
Most conservatives and Republicans would credit Trump for loving America and for desiring to leave this nation better than he found it. It’s ironic that Trump was born on Flag Day, since he adorns his buildings, golf country clubs – and now, the White House – with enormous star-spangled banners, sufficiently large for all to see from miles away.
Americans can tell that Trump governs the country with the future in mind. That being said, not every aspect of his agenda will leave a lasting upbeat impression among those who assess presidential performance.
Exercising American military might
Donald Trump burst onto the political scene in the mid-2010s by immediately poking (figuratively, of course) his knuckles in the eyes of the Washington ruling class of both parties. As a leading example, Trump rankled many, many establishment Republicans by criticizing and savaging the Bush/McCain/Romney elites for their committing Americans to nation-building missions in Iraq and Afghanistan while simultaneously supporting massive quantities of foreign aid to countries that didn’t echo American values.
Trump promised, if elected, that the old ways would end. NATO countries would be compelled to pay their fair share of their own defense. Tariffs would be imposed on nations that had taken advantage of the United States’ markets and soft trade policies. Trump’s was tough rhetoric that’s been largely backed up with strident face-to-face talks with foreigners and an establishment media that’s withheld credit for the President’s successes.
Now, with the United States seemingly bogged down for the long-term in Iran, Trump will be devoting a major portion of his second White House go-round to dealing with the Middle East, which, historically speaking, has challenged and sometimes ruined presidencies.
There are a multitude of arguments in favor of what Trump is working to accomplish – namely to permanently suppress antagonistic and terroristic Muslim regimes – is absolutely worth it. If the forward-thinking president succeeds in bringing peace to the region by defeating Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas and others – such as ISIS – then America will reap the benefits of a safer world for a long time.
It’s not exactly the picture Trump painted during his presidential campaigns, however. The human costs have been relatively light compared to past neoconservative adventurism. But the public’s reactions count, too. Time will tell if Trump will be viewed as a peacemaker — or an aggressor.
Illegal immigration and the American Left’s over-the-top antics
Now 80-year-old Donald Trump’s signature issue has always been illegal immigration. Trump’s promise to speak plainly about the issue and devise uncompromising solutions has been his calling card since he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower eleven years ago.
As a result, Trump committed a great deal of his political capital to enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. There’s little doubt the United States is better off with Trump’s unrelenting attention to border enforcement. His legacy will certainly include righting the nation’s path on the question of illegal crossings, be it at the borders or battling the Mexican cartels or spotlighting the truly international nature of illegal human smuggling.
Part of his lasting legacy, unfortunately, will be the fierce resistance the left mounted to Trump’s immigration policies. The issue is far from resolved, but the president has moved the needle like no other in this regard. Trump will be proud to take credit. He deserves it, as do the voters who put him in office.
People will remember Trump the tax cutter but also big spender. The debt as a legacy?
To be fair, I don’t recall Donald Trump the amateur politician ever promising to balance the federal budget. From the beginning, Trump was adamant about keeping entitlement spending off the congressional budget negotiating table. By doing so, Trump insulated himself from the kind of demagoguery Democrats routinely used against fiscal watchdogs of the past.
Does anyone remember the famous TV spot where Democrats depicted Paul Ryan as pushing a wheelchair-bound granny off a cliff?
There will be two years remaining in Trump’s second term regardless of how this November’s federal midterm elections turn out. This means there’s still opportunity for Trump to improve his standing with budget management-types before his time is up. Will he do it?
There are few signs Trump intends to clamp down on federal spending in his last couple years. Trump has argued that boosting tariff and energy extraction royalty revenues would help close the budget gap. He’s also highlighted the fraud and waste issue, suggesting America’s political class could move closer to a balanced baseline figure by cutting the fat alone.
The U.S. economy should grow larger because of Trump’s fiscal policies. But will the growth – and larger tax revenues because of it — be enough? There’s been very little – if any – movement to address the biggest drivers of debt, namely Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Healthcare costs have gone through the proverbial roof due to Obamacare.
Yet Republicans have done little, if anything, to devise permanent fixes. Trump has tried to move Republican leaders to propose reforms on the issue. He hasn’t been able to force change. It’s a legacy item Trump might be stuck with one way or another.
In addition, drastically increasing the military budget will factor into Americans’ estimations, and how they remember a Trump presidency.
Lastly, the midterms
The aforementioned topics will determine what Trump’s legacy will end up being. The multitude of great things Trump has done will surely be shaped by how Republicans do in this year’s midterm elections, and whether they retain majorities in Congress so as to, theoretically, make further progress on the MAGA agenda.
Common sense says the “middle” segment will determine the victory margin for the winning side. I have suggested Trump and Republican congressional leaders must play to the “persuadable” voters to succeed later this year. The swing of a couple points will make a huge difference in which party controls Washington next year.
Trump’s legacy could depend on being able to cement his agenda in legislation. The president should enjoy his birthday celebrations this weekend, but hopefully he’ll receive a gift-wrapped box of perspective as one of the presents.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .