"If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen."
Harry Truman.
I don't know where you're getting your information, but it's obviously flawed. The trade gap between the US and the rest of the world literally exploded under Trump.
First, I never mentioned trade deficits. But your assertion that they "exploded under Trump" is demonstrably false. U.S. Trade Balance 1970-2023
The trade deficit exploded under Biden, even allowing for the impact of COVID, which affected 2020 and 2021. US Trade Deficit Hit Nearly $1 Trillion in 2022, Largest on Record
"Imports of goods were up 14.9% to $3.28 trillion. They increased the most for industrial supplies and materials, led by crude oil. Import gains were also reported for capital goods, consumer goods, automotive vehicles, parts, and engines, and food, feed, and beverages. Services imports added 23.7% to $680.5 billion, with travel and transport higher."
"Exports reached $2.09 trillion, a rise of 18.4%, driven up by fossil fuel shipments."
2013--minus
2014--minus $510 billion
2015--minus $526 billion
2016--minus $506 billion
2017--minus $537 billion
2018--minus $593 billion
2019--minus $578 billion
2020--minus $627 billion
2021--minus $862 billion
2022--minus $948 billion
U.S. trade balance for 2021 was $-861.71B, a 37.32% increase from 2020.
U.S. trade balance for 2020 was $-627.50B, a 8.42% increase from 2019.
U.S. trade balance for 2019 was $-578.79B, a 2.41% decline from 2018.
U.S. trade balance for 2018 was $-593.08B, a 10.5% increase from 2017.
He didn't actually end any of our wars either. He never actually withdrew us from anywhere, or anything, except treaties. DOD budgets went UP, not down. Once again, Trump presents this mirage of what he claims he will do, which never actually squares with the record. It takes research, and an open mind to ever see it. Took me years. Some will never get there unfortunately.
He didn't get us into any new wars despite some provocations to do so. Trump had to rebuild a tired military that had been depleted by endless wars. Remember the General who told him that they lacked ammo?
DOD budgets usually go up just to account for inflation. Personnel costs comprise about 25% of DOD's base budget. DOD argues that their budget has not kept pace with inflation. Since when does spending more on defense equate to being a warmonger? Peace thru strength is the objective.
The military and Congress stymied Trump's efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan and Syria. Trump put more pressure on NATO countries to spend more on defense. Only 5 of them, including the US, met the agreed upon obligation to spend 2% of GDP on defense.
And we all supported him then. I was right there on the front lines. That's how I got to know DeSantis so well, as he was on TV most every night making Trump's case for him. But it could have been a much smaller mess if Trump had appointed a good AG, and Deputy AG. I'm not trying to fully blame the victim here, but according to testimony Trump never even spoke to Sessions about whether he might recuse himself before appointing him AG, and this issue was already front and center by then.
It was up to Sessions to inform Trump. In point of fact, it was a mistake for Sessions to recuse himself. He didn't have to. Unfortunately Sessions trusted the corrupt DOJ for counsel. It was all part of the Russia Hoax. They got rid of Flynn and Sessions. As I stated previously, Trump was dependent upon the GOP to recommend appointments. He was a total outsider without a retinue of insiders. He was constantly being stabbed in the back by the Uniparty.
s Trump being held to an unfair standard, compared to his predecessors, absolutely. And I supported him through his impeachments, and support him in his trials now. But I don't think you can say at this point that all the alleged crimes are non-existent, or manufactured.
I absolutely do think these alleged crimes are non-existent and manufactured. As Beria said, "Show me the man and I'll find you the crime." "Let us once and for all root out the seeds of individual ambition. Let us smash any manifestation of anti-party groupism, put an end to efforts to destroy party discipline, in whatever form these efforts manifest themselves" The Stalinists are running America.
Just take the growing amount of evidence that Trump was showing off a classified war plan to attack Iraq, to members of the press at one of his golf clubs. I'm sure you know there's even audio of him describing it as still classified at the time. You can twist yourself in a pretzel and say he was just joking, or you don't have the proof, etc, and I do fully support the concept of innocent until proven guilty, especially in his case, but there is growing evidence against him in this regard, if you haven't been following it.
First there is no evidence of what he showed or the classification level. He could have been using hyperbole. That said, the Presidential Records Act allows him to possess classified information. The corrupt DOJ has criminalized the possession of these documents and a dispute with the National Archives. Contrast that with the treatment of Biden. Or Comey who gave classified information to a friend to pass to the media so he could get a Special Counsel appointed.
This is the Russia Hoax all over again. FBI Swat teams descending on Trump and his supporters violating their civil rights and 4th Amendment rights. There was plenty of "evidence" showing that Trump colluded with the Russians to steal an election. And Rush used to say, it is the seriousness of the charge that matters, not the truth.
And that's just one example, of how Trump supporters are simply unwilling to consider he may have made a mistake. "We admit he's flawed" they all say, yet, you can never find a single thing they're willing to admit he ever did wrong. Doesn't mean he's deserving of all this persecution, it just means that there is a lack of reality surrounding Trump and his followers. As long as that exists, he will continue to make more and more mistakes.
You seem to be missing the point. We have a two-tiered justice system. There is a separate standard for Trump. His "mistakes" are crimes, while those who commit actual crimes are not held accountable, e.g., the Biden Crime Family. Look at the disparate treatment of the J6 political prisoners and ANTIFA/BLM. Be specific and provide some examples of his "mistakes" that you consider to be crimes.
Some were, but he appointed them. He doesn't deserve a free pass for putting those people in place. "Trump appointed snakes" is correct. "Trump refused to fire snakes he appointed" is also correct.
No one is giving him a pass. Trump fired plenty of snakes. They went on to write tell all books. Do you want all their names?
As anyone should expect she would. But the issue is, that left NO additional security beyond the Capitol Police, which everyone should have known was insufficient. But no one wants to admit that Trump could have called the National Guard beforehand, but didn't. They want to hide behind Pelosi as if it was her fault not to secure Trump's event. Trump's event wasn't secure because Trump didn't secure it. And he definitely could have called the National Guard in advance, because he is the one who eventually called them, but only AFTER it had gotten out of hand. Watch this admission from him:
Trump did not have the authority to call up the National Guard before January 6th. He did offer them, but he was turned down by DC's Mayor and Pelosi. As Sund said in his book and interviews, they were all concerned about "the optics," a term that was used by everyone from DOD to Congress. Kash Patel was present when Trump made his offer to use the National Guard. Funny that everyone forgets the attack on the WH when the Secret Service incurred more injuries than the J6 "insurrection" and forced Trump to retreat to his bunker under the WH. The Metropolitan police acted as bystanders. It was OK for Antifa and BLM to riot, loot, and kill.
After J6 started then Schumer and Pelosi got on the phone pleading with the WH to send in the National Guard--after the fact. All part of the plan.
And that is silly talk, that you've sadly devolved to, after making all the excuses for Trump you could think of. Once you've gone in so deep, but don't realize it, then things that don't even make sense start coming out. There were more votes on BOTH sides in 2020, because Trump and the Congress passed a bill that gave the states hundreds of millions of dollars to implement mail in voting, on a scale never seen before. So what if Trump went up 17%, because the Democratic totals went up even more! It's no different than a track star saying "I just ran my fastest time ever" as if that means they won the race. It doesn't. Others may have performed even better.
Silly talk? Those are facts. You are sadly misinformed about the widespread election fraud that took place in key battleground states. The evidence is overwhelming. So you don't believe the election was stolen?
If not, then it deserves a separate post. Zuckerberg gave close to $500 million to manufacture Dem ballots in key states. State laws were changed by Dem state officials and courts to facilitate the steal. There were so many anomalies in the 2020 election compared to previous ones. How does Biden win while winning only 1 of 19 bellwether counties? Why is Trump the only President in history who gained more votes the second time and lose? Have you seen 2,000 Mules? Read the thousands of affidavits collected by Giuliani that were presented to battleground state legislatures?
I have followed closely the theft of the 2020 election. It was stolen. Not even close.
Read the Molly Ball article, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election that celebrates the theft.
Have you read anything about how Social Media colluded with Deep State to influence public opinion? Or the 51 former Intel Officials who authored a public letter on Hunter's laptop characterizing it as having the earmarks of Russian disinformation?
I don't have TDS in the least, I was huge supporter of his until just a few months ago. I still defend him at times, I just don't blindly defend him at every turn like I used to. His cost/benefit ratio has gone far negative, and will continue to go south. Enjoy the ride.
Denial just ain't a river in Egypt. A huge supporter until just a few months ago? Yeah, right. A sunshine supporter.
ROFL. The irony is incredible here, considering you somehow still see Trump as your champion against the GOP.
That said, the Presidential Records Act allows him to possess classified information.
No, it absolutely does not. Have you even read it yet? Apparently not. Trusting what Trump tells you will often leave you completely misinformed, or worse, repeating those mistruths. The PRA only allows a President to keep "personal records," that being, things he created himself. No government documents, can remain in his possession, at all. Especially not classified ones. The unclassified ones must go in a Presidential Library process managed by the National Archives. It's really quite plain, when you read it. Trump is trusting you won't.
You seem to be missing the point. We have a two-tiered justice system.
No, I get it, completely. And, considering how you keep looping back to that complaint in every paragraph, it is clearly by far the main reason you are still supporting Trump. Probably goes for most people still supporting him. They want the government to pay for what they did to Trump. That's the summary of pretty much every thing you say.
And I want accountability too, but Trump has already proven he's incapable of ever delivering accountability. From his letting Hillary walk, to never firing any of his horrible hires, to having the election supposedly stolen right out from under his nose, to seeing a lot of his J6 supporters locked up without even trying to help them, he's been nothing but a punching bag for the other side. Is he really this inept, or is he fighting with one arm behind his back just to draw more sympathy?
Silly talk? Those are facts.
Facts that don't matter in the grand scheme. So what if Trump's vote totals went up 17%, when the Democrats went up a lot more. And all the "evidence' we hear of is not of actual "fraud" which has a legal definition. No, it's all statistical based, or complaints about process, that simply present a possible opportunity for fraud. But no actual fraud has been proven, to any measurable degree, just questionable processes. Yes, they're questionable, but they don't prove fraud, of any kind. And he's had almost 3 years to find someone to find a whistleblower from all the supposed widespread fraud. Not one? Anywhere? Someone who can show some first hand proof, is usually what you need to easily win in a trial. Without that, you better have some hard evidence of your own. Not just guesses of what may or may not have been happening. Even the two sets of PI's Trump hired to look into it, which included calling back homes to see if they did vote, and who they voted for, couldn't turn anything up. And Mike Lindell? Really?
Trump did not have the authority to call up the National Guard before January 6th.
Prove it. I say it's yet another Trump fairy tale you've fallen for. I gave you the video where Trump says HE called out the National Guard on J6. Show where he couldn't before. I don't think you can, based on what I've seen. No other Freeper has, when challenged, either. They all just say "well that's what I heard" or some other nonsense. Trump turned 1 million angry people loose on Washington with no security. It's a wonder it didn't turn out worse.
How does Biden win while winning only 1 of 19 bellwether counties? Why is Trump the only President in history who gained more votes the second time and lose? Have you seen 2,000 Mules?
Still stuck on Trump getting more votes than in 2020 LOL? As already explained, and anyone should understand, there was massive mail in voting. Vote totals for everyone went up, not just Trump. Is your Trump bubble that thick? Bellwether counties is an interesting statistic, but even that wasn't unprecedented. 2,000 Mules appears to describe ballot harvesting, which is legal in many states. Just because Trump told you not to do it, doesn't mean that was smart, or that doing it was illegal. And none of that is PROOF of anything. The lack of any concrete proof is one of the main reasons I quit supporting Trump. He doesn't have any actual proof. Just a lot of interesting statistics, or legal processes he doesn't like, in the end.
Have you read anything about how Social Media colluded with Deep State to influence public opinion?
Sure. It played a part, I would imagine. Wasn't it like less than 100 accounts that got banned on Twitter, and some stuff like that. Sounds pretty minor out of over 100 million votes. And media influence (your words) isn't fraudulent votes.
Or the 51 former Intel Officials who authored a public letter on Hunter's laptop characterizing it as having the earmarks of Russian disinformation?
Obviously they were lying. But Trump's own lawyer Giuliani misplayed the rollout of Hunter's laptop, which he had possession of, first. I know because I watched him release one little out of context e-mai a day, for about a month. I got no traction, without releasing it all, Wikileaks style. It was easy to ignore, and discredit.
A huge supporter until just a few months ago? Yeah, right.
Go look at my posting history if you doubt it. I know all these facts because I was continually let down trying to support this guy. One of the big turning points that started opening my eyes was the $250M he took under the guise of fighting the election theft, to then go and use that money for other purposes. I was right here on this site defending him, when all that money was collected in December of 2020, from those who were saying Trump was just going to take the money and run. When I found out that's exactly what he did, I felt betrayed. As should everyone. I've seen nothing since 2020 to make me believe Trump is any more trustworthy now.