In my next several blog posts, I will be recapping exactly what President Trump achieved during his four years, and just how crazy and frequent the lies of the Democrats and left have been.
And… to be sure folks don’t waste their time accusing me of just making stuff up, I have included links to every item at the bottom of my post.
For years, news stories were published and broadcast about Russia and Trump. The country was whipped into a frenzy, and polls showed the vast majority of Democrats believed Trump was compromised by Russia. A Quinnipiac poll in December 2017 showed that 86 percent of Democratic voters believed “the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.” And when Quinnipiac asked Democrats the same question in July 2018, 74 percent responded they believed Trump had colluded with Russia. The 2018 mid-term elections were held at the height of the hysteria, and Democrats rode that wave to huge victories in the House.
It all fell apart in March 2019, when Mueller’s expensive and expansive special counsel probe closed without a single American’s being charged for colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election, much less President Trump. It was a huge blow to the Democrats and their media allies. They tried to keep the collusion hoax going, suggesting that new attorney general William Barr had improperly downplayed the findings of the special counsel, but the lefts conspiracy had run out of gas.
Democrats had hoped that the special counsel’s Russia report would form the basis of an impeachment probe. Democrats hatched a last-ditch attempt to get Trump when they had Mueller testify before Congress about how his report was actually much worse for Trump than it seemed. But his testimony was disjointed, and Mueller seemed confused about the conclusions of the probe he had ostensibly led. As a result, the effort failed, and impeachment was dead in its tracks.
The day after Mueller testified, President Trump had a phone call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he discussed the Biden family’s business dealings in the notoriously corrupt former Soviet Republic. The call reportedly worried a National Security Council staffer tasked with listening in, who soon began discussing it with others. The contents of the call were leaked, albeit quite inaccurately, to the media, and operatives began working with Representative Adam Schiff, the new chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. An impeachment effort was soon launched.
Since 2019 the Russian Collusion Hoax paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC; promoted daily by the dishonest left-wing media, has fallen apart. We now know with absolute certainty that it was all lies.
In 2016, it was none other than Marc Elias who hired Fusion GPS, the firm that cooked up the “Steele dossier,” named after former British spy Christopher Steele. Fusion had hired Steele to put together opposition research on Donald Trump. The result was page after page of unsubstantiated allegations about Trump’s involvement with Russia, which were promptly planted in the media to influence 2016 voters by creating a nefarious narrative that Trump was somehow beholden to Vladimir Putin. The dossier was also given to the FBI and bureaucrats in other agencies, who used the discredited information to launch a major investigation into Trump that would consume much of his presidency.
Throughout the 2016 campaign, the media dripped out stories alleging that Trump’s “America First” foreign policy was the result of his being controlled and blackmailed by Russia. As soon as Clinton lost, she wanted the focus to be placed on Russia. The media followed suit and made Russia’s interference in an American election the biggest story of the century.
The Russia collusion hysteria made it difficult for Trump to staff his administration, and it even led to a powerful special counsel investigation before it was revealed that Marc Elias had paid for the dossier as part of his legal work for the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. While journalists were encouraged to take the Steele dossier seriously, its origins as untrustworthy partisan opposition research had been hidden in the $5.6 million in legal fees that had been paid to Perkins Coie (DNC & Clinton Campaign Law firm)
Republican representative Devin Nunes of California and his House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence were the rare investigators skeptical of the whole operation. They sought to find out who funded Fusion GPS’s work. Nunes was attacked for his efforts, but they paid off when it turned out that Elias, Clinton, and the Democrats had been behind the dossier all along.
What’s more, Elias lied about his role in creating the dossier. New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said that when he tried to report the story of the DNC’s involvement, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’ ”
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman agreed. “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year,” she tweeted.
In fact, Elias’s dirty trick against Trump was apparently a closely kept secret. When Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta was questioned by Congress in September 2017 on whether the campaign had been involved in the operation, he denied knowledge of any contractual agreement between the campaign and Fusion GPS. Elias, sitting right beside him, did nothing to correct the false information.
But unlike the Russia hoax, Republicans didn’t fall for it. In fact, not a single Republican in the House, no matter how much he or she disliked Trump or was nervous about taking on the media or Democrats, fell for the operation. The only senator to fall for it would be Mitt Romney, the senator from Utah and former Republican nominee for president whose distaste for Trump ran deep.
[Side note; Marc Elias was the primary leader and organizer that convinced more than a dozen states to illegally change their mail-in ballot rules and processes in order to cheat in the 2020 Presidential Election]
On February 4, 2020, the day before his acquittal in the Senate, President Donald J. Trump strode confidently into the House Chamber to deliver his State of the Union speech. His survival in the face of Democrats’ politicized attacks had clearly reinvigorated him. He had beaten the attempt to get him out of office and had solidified his grasp over the Republican Party.
It took three minutes for Trump to make it from the back of the chamber to the speaker’s podium, shaking hands with State of the Union attendees as he went.
The audience for his fourth address before a joint session of Congress was comprised of members of the House of Representatives, members of the Senate, most of his cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief justice of the United States and associate justices of the Supreme Court, and members of the diplomatic corps. The politicians and assorted dignitaries were packed on top of one another. The visitor and press galleries above the floor of the chamber were also full to the brim.
Guests, including President Trump’s personal guests, such as Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Lara Trump, were seated in the gallery above the chamber, looking down on the crowd. Some members of the White House staff, such as the legislative staff, crowded in at the back of the room to listen to the speech.
It was the fourth time President Trump would address a joint session of Congress, and the last of his time in office.
“Members of Congress, the President of the United States,” said Pelosi, a few weeks shy of her eightieth birthday, wearing a sharp white suit. Pence, in a dark suit and blue tie, smiled as he stood behind the president. The room, or at least the Republican side of the room, erupted in more cheers and exuberant hoots and hollers. “Four more years! Four more years!” the Republicans clamored.
So much had changed in the four years that Trump had been president—but Trump had not changed so much as the Republican Party was different. By the time Trump began his final State of the Union speech, he had triumphed in the face of considerable opposition—and he was ready to seize his moment.
Trump tended to shine at his State of the Union addresses. The speech was an opportunity to tell the American people directly all that his administration had accomplished. But more important, it was a chance to offer his vision for the country going forward. “Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again.”
“America’s enemies are on the run. America’s fortunes are on the rise, and America’s future is blazing bright. The years of economic decay are over,” he said. “The days of our country being used, taken advantage of, and even scorned by other nations are long behind us. Gone too are the broken promises, jobless recoveries, tired platitudes, and constant excuses for the depletion of American wealth, power, and prestige. In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of Americans’ destiny. We have totally rejected the downsizing. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never, ever going back!”
[That is until the Democrats took control again. Look at where we are now!]
Senator Kamala Harris, wearing a gray suit with a black turtleneck, sat expressionless. Pelosi paged through the papers and looked into the distance. James Clyburn, assistant Democratic leader, who had served in Congress since 1993, shook his head, upset.
Trump talked about slashing regulations that prevent economic growth, enacting tax cuts, and reforming trade agreements. “Our agenda is relentlessly pro-worker, pro-family, pro-growth, and, most of all, pro-American,” he said to a standing ovation, with Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross smiling broadly.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida who used to chair the Democratic National Committee, looked on stone-faced from her seat.
Trump talked about the “unbridled optimism” that comes with improved economic conditions for all citizens. Seven million new jobs had been created on his watch, and the country could boast the lowest unemployment rate in over half a century.
“The unemployment rate for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans has reached the lowest levels in history. African American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low. African American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded,” he said.
Remarkably, only Republicans applauded. The refusal of Democrats to applaud the lowest poverty rate for black Americans shocked observers, a sign of the deep-seated hatred that had marked their approach to the entire Trump administration. Several of Trump’s most vociferous critics refused even to show up to the State of the Union.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, MA (@RepPressley), had the audacity to Tweet… “The State of the Union is hurting because of the occupant of the White House, who consistently demonstrates contempt for the American people,” Twitter, February 4, 2020, 3:31 p.m., https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1224792604094627843
Those that did attend kept hearing more and more good economic news. Veterans, disabled Americans, workers without high school diplomas, and young Americans had record employment. “Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls during the Obama Presidency. Under my administration, 7 million Americans have come off food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare,” Trump said to huge cheers.
Trump talked about 3.5 million working-age people joining the workforce. The net worth of the bottom half of wage earners increased by 47 percent, three times faster than the increase for the top 1 percent. The Trump economy was providing for working Americans, an accomplishment that economists had long written off as impossible.
“After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast—and, wonderfully, they are rising fastest for low-income workers, who have seen a 16 percent pay increase since my election. This is a blue-collar boom,” he said, as Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who was Hillary Clinton’s vice-presidential candidate in 2016, literally twiddled his thumbs. Meanwhile, Republicans erupted in jubilation.
Sadly, since the election of Joe Biden, these same people that Trumped helped have seen their cost of living skyrocket due to the highest rates of inflation in over 40 years.
Real median household income was at the highest level ever recorded. Stock markets had soared 70 percent, adding more than $12 trillion in wealth and bolstering 401(k)s and pensions. Consumer confidence had reached new highs.
Trump didn’t shy away from talking about issues where he had bucked Washington orthodoxy. His opinions on “free trade” departed radically from the consensus that had dominated both the right and the left in Washington for decades. Rethinking trade, especially trade with China, was an important part of Trump’s agenda, and he was keen to highlight it in his address to the nation.
“For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States. Now we have changed that,” Trump said. Taking on the challenge of China had been a big part of his 2016 campaign. It was no small task, and particularly roiled the establishment and the Republican Party.
China’s privileged status as a trading partner had been considered untouchable ever since Bill Clinton lobbied for the accession of the communist nation to the World Trade Organization in 2000. Clinton thought the United States was getting a good deal. “Economically, this agreement is the equivalent of a one-way street,” he said while in office. “It requires China to open its markets—with a fifth of the world’s population, potentially the biggest markets in the world—to both our products and services in unprecedented new ways. All we do is to agree to maintain the present access which China enjoys.”
But since then, increased trade with the United States hasn’t influenced China so much as China has influenced the United States. And China benefited more from the new arrangement than the United States did. Investors found the westernization of China’s economy a tantalizing reward for massive investments in China that gutted manufacturing and other vital American industries. China skillfully managed the growth of its booming capitalistic economy while its communist government maintained centralized control. The approach raised China to the world’s second largest economy, with tremendous expectations of future growth.
When Trump came along in 2016, talking about “Chy-na” and the need to impose tariffs against the country, Republicans were skeptical. Republican orthodoxy had required lip service, if not actual service, in favor of lowered tariffs.
Trump’s position was also somewhat misunderstood. Trump supported free trade in principle, but in a world of complex trade agreements what was presented to voters as “free trade” was often not that simple. He wanted to update trade agreements and make them more bilateral than the expert preference for multilateral deals.
Over the course of his administration, however, he received begrudging respect for his focus on China and his attempts to limit that country’s rise vis-à-vis the United States. He changed the focus of America’s foreign policy and single-handedly made the China threat the number one priority among experts and elected officials alike. It was another area where Trump had won over the Republican Party. And it was an important accomplishment to highlight before the nation in his address.
Unlike the Republican establishment that had preceded him, Trump made it clear in his State of the Union speech that, while a thrice-married New York celebrity was an unlikely champion of conservatism, he was proud of the policy actions he had taken to promote conservative values. He was also proud of conservative culture and grassroots heroes, a rare trait among Washington Republicans.
Links & Sources
“February 4, 2020: State of the Union Address,” Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/february-4-2020-state-union-address
https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1224792604094627843
“Full Text of Clinton’s Speech on China Trade Bill,” New York Times, March 9, 2000, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/030900clinton-china-text.html
Bob Davis, “How China’s Trade Concessions Made It Stronger,” Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2016, https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-REB-36410
Michael Kranish, “Clinton Lawyer Kept Russian Dossier Project Closely Held,” Washington Post, October 27, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-lawyer-kept-russian-dossier-project-closely-held/2017/10/27/e7935276-ba68-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html
Mollie Hemingway, “Media Silent as Christopher Steele ‘Hero’ ‘Spymaster’ Narrative Crumbles,” The Federalist, August 3, 2020, https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/03/media-silent-as-christopher-steele-hero-spymaster-narrative-crumbles/
For example, see David Corn, “A Veteran Spy Has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump,” Mother Jones, October 31, 2016.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/veteran-spy-gave-fbi-info-alleging-russian-operation-cultivate-donald-trump/
Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign
Adam Entous, Devlin Barrett, and Rosalind S. Helderman, “Clinton Campaign, DNC Paid for Research
That Led to Russian Dossier,” Washington Post, October 24, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.c938bb9a67a3
Tristan Justice, “Intel Community Blog Founder Admits Nunes Was Right about Spygate from the Beginning,” The Federalist, December 19, 2019, https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/19/intel-community-blog-founder-admits-nunes-was-right-about-spygate-from-the-beginning/
Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel), “When I tried to report this story, Clinton campaign lawyer @marcelias pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong,’ ” Twitter, October 24, 2017, 6:38 p.m., https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/922955410327425027
Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT), “Folks involved with funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year,” Twitter, October 24, 2017, 7:07 p.m., https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/922962880206647297
Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb, “Exclusive: In Hill Interviews, Top Dems Denied Knowledge of Payments to Firm behind Trump Dossier,” CNN, October 26, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/26/politics/john-podesta-debbie-wasserman-schultz-trump-dossier/index.html
Arno Rosenfeld, “Marc Elias, Democratic Power-Lawyer, Is Hero of the Election in Many Circles,” The Forward, December 29, 2020, https://forward.com/news/461074/marc-elias-democratic-lawyer-voting-rights-campaign-finance-trump/
Jeremy B. White, “California Republicans Spark National Feud Over ‘Harvesting’ Ballot Boxes,” Politico, October 15, 2020; Dylan Jackson and Dan Roe, “Big Firms Bring in Millions as Hundreds of Election Lawsuits Rage across the Country,” Law.com, October 15, 2020, https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/10/15/big-firms-bring-in-millions-as-hundreds-of-election-lawsuits-rage-across-the-country/?slreturn=20210612190547
Who is Marc Elias?