My fellow conservatives,
Like many of you, for me, the thought of Donald Trump ascending to the Republican nomination in 2016 seemed implausible, laughable, and to an extent, frightening. Here was a candidate challenging traditional conservative orthodoxy on issues ranging from trade to federal power. And yet, by mobilizing fiercely loyal grassroots support, Trump did it. He defeated 16 of the most qualified conservatives of our generation and pulled off a shocking upset in the 2016 general election. Now, in the midst of the 2020 Republican National Convention, Donald Trump is yet again the nominee of the Republican Party, having decisively won in a primary season with no serious challengers. As a Republican who’s never embraced the Trump revolution, here’s my case for why he’s our only choice come November.
Like me, many of you conservatives who oppose Donald Trump come from a suburban, middle to upper-middle class background. Indeed, in vying for support from blue-collar Americans in the Rust Belt and the South, Trump sacrificed support among the Republican Party’s suburban, educated, white-collar base. Traditionally Republican municipalities like Orange County, California, and the famously wealthy towns on Connecticut’s “Gold Coast” all went for the Democratic nominee for the first time in generations. But heading into the November elections, conservatives from all backgrounds must unite to defeat Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, because the stakes are simply that high.
To my fellow anti-Trump conservatives, I hear you when you voice your legitimate grievance that Trump isn’t a real conservative. But what’s the alternative? Possibly the most radical left-wing agenda to ever occupy a Presidential ticket in the history of this country. While it is true that Biden himself isn’t a radical leftist, his election to the highest office in the land would empower and embolden the radicals of the Democratic Party to reshape America in the vision of their Marxist “utopia.”
Most of us, Trump critics included, have benefitted vastly from the economic boom Trump has presided over, at least up to the pandemic that has befallen us. Thanks to his tax cuts and massive regulatory reform, under President Trump, we’ve witnessed record gains in the stock market and the longest economic expansion in American history. Under Trump, the S&P 500 has hit an all-time high even though COVID remains in full swing. We expected a total evisceration of the American economy due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but on the contrary, we added 4.8 million jobs in June and 1.8 million in July. Say what you will about Trump, but given the circumstances, the numbers prove that at the very least, he’s been an exceptional steward of the economy.
On the other hand, what would a Biden presidency mean for the American economy? For one, Biden has promised to undo President Trump’s tax cuts for individuals and businesses. This would undoubtedly have an adverse effect on the economy, as businesses who are already struggling to keep their doors open due to COVID would now face the added burden of a tax hike. In fact, Biden’s tax proposal would add $3.8 trillion in federal tax receipts, which would halt any semblance of recovery that has been taking place recently. Biden has made lofty promises of giant new federal programs, such as a $2 trillion investment in clean energy and a public option for healthcare. When our nation is already over $26 trillion in debt and counting, this is hardly the right trajectory on which to continue.
Aside from the economy, conservatives of all stripes are united by their defense of the Bill of Rights, specifically the 2nd Amendment. And we must maintain this unity going into the 2020 Presidential Election. Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, proclaimed during her Presidential bid that she would give Congress 100 days to pass draconian gun control, or unconstitutionally pass such legislation herself, in what is clearly nothing but rule by decree. Trump may not be the 2nd Amendment absolutist we seek, as seen through his willingness to consider “red flag” laws, for example, but he is certainly better than the candidate who promised to make Beto “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15” O’Rourke in charge of gun control in his administration.
Finally, in such tumultuous times as the present, the conservative embrace of law and order is more important than it’s ever been. Not since the late 1960s have we seen social upheaval to the extent we do now. And while we must always defend the right of peaceful Americans to air their grievances, we must recognize that violent rioting puts all Americans at risk. The Democrats, unfortunately, don’t seem to understand this and have instead chosen to side with the anarchist agitators and rioters that seek to tear this country apart.
But what did Trump do? When anarchists tried to lay siege to a federal courthouse in Portland, the President sent in federal law enforcement to quell the violence. While Democrats were busy making excuses to defend the lawlessness of the agitators, Trump boldly declared that he would “deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets” until and unless the violence subsided. In times like these, Democratic leadership is simply ineffective and indecisive in stopping the wanton destruction of lives and property by malicious actors. Trump is the only presidential candidate who takes the threat posed by these rioters seriously, and the only one who has shown that he is willing to take decisive action against violent demonstrators. If we instead choose to follow the hands-off approach to law and order espoused by Joe Biden and his ilk, we will inevitably jeopardize the safety and security of Americans across the country.
In 2016, Donald J. Trump was my 17th choice out of 17 Republicans. And to this day, many Republicans feel this way. But unfortunately, in 2020, he’s our only choice. This will be a hard choice for many of us, but it is one that given the circumstances, we’re forced to make. We can hope that the Republican Party will return to its more traditional roots by 2024, but in 2020, we must focus on the options we have before us: one is a President, who despite his unorthodoxy, has shown that he is capable of governing from a conservative standpoint. The other is someone who would just as soon hand over the reins to the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wing of the Democratic party as he ascends to the Presidency. Our choice is clear, my fellow Republicans, and so I implore you to make the right one. The future of America depends on it.
