OPINION:
A brief glance of the various information sources leads one to believe that America is a nation in deep crisis. The public is being told, both in the news and entertainment media, that there is a White House-instigated constitutional crisis in Washington, the economy is rushing headlong into an inevitable recession and that other nations, especially our allies, despise us. The country’s collective nervous breakdown includes a belief that the Earth itself is on the verge of becoming unlivable.
None of that is accurate.
It is true that the opposition to the Trump presidency is unprecedented. Other than the election of Abraham Lincoln, no other transition of power has led to more extraordinary reactions from the opposition party and the bureaucracy. This is not, however, the result of anything the 45th president has done or promised to do in terms of public policy, other than promising to run the nation as the U.S. Constitution mandates.
I covered the inauguration in 2017. There were protesters calling for his impeachment even before he was sworn in. The “crisis” is the result of the refusal by professional Washington to accept the will of the people, eerily misusing the resources of the intelligence services to pursue their partisan purpose.
Yes, President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. The reality is that even if every tenet of that agreement were fully complied with it would make almost no impact on the environment. More to the point, despite the rantings and dire predictions of those who seek to use “Man Made Climate Change” as an excuse to revamp world economics into a socialist model, there remains no convincing evidence that any changes will be severely detrimental or that humans are responsible.
There can be little doubt that the U.S. economy improved dramatically since this administration assumed power, and that it is the result of its policies. It’s particularly evident in manufacturing, and in the employment statistics, especially for minorities.
The only option for criticism, then, is to predict that it will all soon end in an inevitable recession. Yes, cyclical recessions can and do occur, but the strengthening of America’s financial status, particularly due to President Trump’s energy policies, is solid and enduring.
The nightly news regularly paints a portrait of Washington being isolated from its allies. The reality is far different. Shortly after taking office, the new president received a hero’s reception in Eastern Europe, a region that was deeply relieved to be delivered from President Obama’s appeasement policy in the face of Russian rearmament and its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. Relations with key allies in the Middle East, especially Israel and Saudi Arabia, have never been better.
Rather than ignore the issue as his predecessors have done, Mr. Trump has confronted China about both its imperialistic designs in the Pacific and its rapacious trade policies. Nations such as Australia, Japan, India and, somewhat reluctantly, the Philippines, have taken notice and are moving closer to the United States.
The administration faces daily charges of racism about its logical stance on enforcing immigration and visa laws by those who ignore the alternative of soaring expense, crime and danger of terrorism.
A Studyfinds survey found that about two in five Americans are stressed out by the political climate, one in five say they’re losing sleep and nearly a third of those surveyed feel views expressed on cable news channels are driving them “crazy.” It termed the impact similar to a public health crisis.
Politics is, of course, a blood sport, not meant for the feint of heart. However, the hyperbolic rhetoric, relentless assaults and frankly misleading allegations that characterize the opposition to the current White House are deeply damaging to the nation. It is a degree of partisanship that puts party gain far over the good of the nation.
• Frank V. Vernuccio Jr. serves as editor in chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government.
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