OPINION:
Dear Mr. President/President-elect:
Congratulations! You’re the comeback kid. Not many 78-year-olds win that title.
In my Washington Times column last week — which I’m sure you read — I offered President Biden a to-do list for his lame-duck days. Will he take my advice? Stranger things have happened.
I’m not going to advise you today. Instead, I will remind you of something Clare Boothe Luce, a 20th-century journalist, diplomat, congresswoman and playwright, told President John F. Kennedy. (Credit where credit is due: I learned this from a column Peggy Noonan wrote 15 years ago.)
In 1962, Luce told Kennedy, “A great man is one sentence.”
Ms. Noonan explained that the work of a successful leader “can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don’t have to hear his name to know who’s being talked about.”
An obvious example: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.”
What should your sentence be? Maybe: “He made America great again by increasing its military strength, securing its borders, restoring law and order in its cities, rightsizing the government and boosting prosperity.”
Too wordy? I’ll work on it.
Meanwhile, I want to say a few words about your nominees for national security and foreign policy posts since that’s the business I’m in.
They understand why “peace through strength” is preferable to “war through weakness.” That contrast has been vividly demonstrated over the past four years.
In other words, we won’t need to go to war with an enemy we’ve already deterred. And if we do get into a fight, our enemies shouldn’t have a chance.
Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, will serve you well as national security adviser. He has said, “We are in a Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party.” That’s the reality.
We’re not just in a competition like the Olympics, and may the best team win. Recognizing this has huge policy implications. Mr. Waltz can explain.
Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state is another solid choice. He also understands that Xi Jinping intends to replace American leadership in the world with a neo-Maoist international order.
I’m sure you noticed that while you were not in the White House, Mr. Xi formed extensive military and economic partnerships with Russia, Iran and North Korea.
At my think tank, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, we call this the “Axis of Aggressors” because all four regimes are determined to conquer other lands and either subjugate or eliminate other peoples.
Given that lineup, it’s clear that Cold War II will be more challenging than Cold War I. What to do? Again, effective deterrence requires more military might than we have now, following the Obama and Biden years.
You’re right to insist that America’s allies do their part. The corollary is that when America’s friends fight defensive wars against America’s enemies, we support them.
Can I mention something that worries me a little? Elon Musk is a great American. I’m confident he’ll be an amazing asset to your administration.
It’s been reported (though Tehran disputes this) that Mr. Musk met with Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. Be careful: Iran’s ruling mullahs and their envoys are devious.
They’ll talk about “defusing tensions” and “win-win” outcomes. But these guys tried to assassinate you and other Americans. For 45 years, they’ve been chanting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” They’ve killed and maimed thousands of Iranian dissidents, many of them young women. They’re fueling conflicts across the Middle East.
You will deserve (but will probably not receive) a Nobel Peace Prize if you arrange the destruction of Iran’s program to develop nuclear weapons along with missiles that can deliver those weapons not just to Tel Aviv but also to Palm Beach. Don’t want to do this job yourself? Talk to the Israelis. They’ll have ideas.
You’re a busy guy, so here are just a few more notes on nominees.
Elise Stefanik is a superb choice for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Her sentence should be: “She told the truth about the dictator-dominated globalist swamp on Turtle Bay and, working with you and Congress, ended American taxpayer funding for its most anti-American, antisemitic and terrorist-supporting agencies and officials.”
Pete Hegseth, a purposefully disruptive choice for secretary of defense, will need lots of help to make the military all it can be.
Mr. Hegseth is adamantly anti-“woke,” and rightly so. But if you repeal President Biden’s executive order 14035 mandating diversity, equity and inclusion, the heavy lifting will be done.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a brilliant choice for the ambassador position in Israel. There are tens of millions of American Zionists. Most are Christians.
Your director of national intelligence nominee, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, will have to answer some tough questions to win Senate confirmation.
About what? In 2017, she defended Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. In 2019, she said your tough policies toward Iran were starting a war. And in 2020, she called your decision to kill Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s chief terrorist, a violation of the Constitution. Inquiring minds will want to know how much her views have changed.
Over the weekend, you nominated Chris Wright for secretary of energy. The Liberty Energy CEO is a self-described “tech nerd” who understands that energy security is national security. An inspired pick.
OK, I’ve come up with a simpler sentence for how you might want history to remember you and the Trump 2.0 presidency: “He empowered Americans to make America great again.”
Like it? Ask Ivanka and Jared what they think.
• Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for The Washington Times.
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