OPINION:
Before you read the following, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I voted for former President Donald Trump twice. I have defended him, applauded him, and thanked him.
And should he prevail in the GOP primary, I will likely vote for him again, especially if he is the only thing standing between our God-given freedoms and the Democratic Party’s hellbent determination to make our country look more like George Orwell’s “1984” than the one bequeathed to us in 1776.
Frankly, there is no way any thinking human being can deny that under Mr. Trump’s leadership, the United States was stronger on nearly every metric than it is now under the bumbling incompetence of President Biden.
Our military was stronger. Our borders were more secure. Religious liberty was defended, and freedom of speech was honored. Inflation and fuel prices were low. Domestic energy production was strong, and the economy was robust. Our country had not started a new war, nor was it paying for those who were at war.
Who can pretend that under Mr. Trump, the average American was not freer, braver, wealthier, more confident and more secure? These facts are statistically beyond dispute.
No, the label “Never Trumper” is hardly one you can hang on my nose. But that aside, I just have to say I’m appalled that Mr. Trump didn’t participate in this week’s GOP debates. I find it disgusting that he wasn’t there. I’m angry, and if you have a conservative bone left in your body, you should be, too.
Seriously, have we actually come to the point in the Republican party where we have no problem with our front-runner telling us he’s above debate and doesn’t need to answer our questions? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have a whole host of them that I think need to be considered. Here are just a few:
First, “Concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, what responsibility do you take, Mr. Trump, for giving Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx carte blanche authority to run roughshod over our constitutional rights and personal freedoms? Why didn’t you do more to stop them? And why did you tacitly go along with the lunacy of shutting down schools when nearly all the data indicated it was unnecessary and even harmful to do so? Why did you buy into the science-denying foolishness of masking? And, Mr. Trump, perhaps most importantly, why do you, even now, continue to boast about the fact that under your watch, millions upon millions of Americans became lab rats for an experimental drug that, by definition, was not adequately tested for efficacy and safety? Finally, why, as duly elected leader of our nation, did you not do more to defend our religious liberty when a bunch of unelected bureaucrats decided that going to the liquor store was more ’essential’ than going to church?”
Second, “On the issue of the culture wars, Mr. Trump, can you explain why you chose to host a major blowout bash for LGBTQ activists at your home in Mar-a-Lago just a few short months ago? Aren’t you, by association, championing the cause of drag queen story hours and the corresponding moral nihilism of the Rainbow cabal? Doesn’t your gay-bi-queer-trans party simply celebrate those wishing to deny women their own facilities, scholarships, and sports? And how does this do anything to help stem the tide of these radicals indoctrinating our children with their gender-bending delusions?”
Third, “On the matter of abortion, Mr. Trump, I’d like to ask you about your comments right after the 2022 midterm elections where you called profilers “too harsh” and blamed us for the ’red wave’ that never materialized at the polls?”
Fourth, “Concerning the Second Amendment, why do you think that even some on the political left write that you are more friendly to “common sense” gun control legislation than even Barack Obama?”
“And finally, Mr. President. All the national polls right now show you winning the GOP primaries. That’s great, but at the same time, none of these polls indicate that you can even beat a near-comatose, dementia-laden Joe Biden in the general election. With our nation’s life hanging in the balance, why, at your age and status, aren’t you playing the role of a ’kingmaker’ rather than that of King Isildur?”
I’m grateful for Donald Trump, but perhaps the important question he should be asked right now is why he’s so willing to risk the nightmare of four more years of Democrat rule rather than hand the baton to the next generation of conservative leaders. If he simply got behind any one of them, we’d win in a landslide.
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host.
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