Brunswick Beacon, 08.29.24
In his recent letter, Mike Dies concedes that Trump is “not a nice guy,” but excuses Trump’s outrageous behavior because he mistakenly believes Trump’s policies made America safe and prosperous.
Dies claims, “America was at peace under Trump.” In fact, 65 American soldiers died in combat under Trump, compared to 16 under Biden.
Dies’ claim that America’s enemies “feared” Trump is contradicted by Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, who said they consider Trump “a laughing fool” and are “fully prepared to take advantage of him,” adding, “Trump’s self-absorption makes it impossible for him to understand that.”
Dies claims America prospered under Trump. Biden’s economy is better. Trump is the only president (except Herbert Hoover of Great Depression fame) to finish his term with fewer jobs than when he started. Biden has added over 15 million jobs so far. Excluding jobs lost to COVID and regained, Biden has still created more jobs per month than Trump.
The economy grew 1.4% annually under Trump, 3.5% under Biden. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit all-time highs under Biden:
41% and 675 higher, respectively, than under Trump. Inflation, caused by global supply chain disruptions, began before Biden’s policies took effect. It’s down to 2.9%. The Wall Street Journal called Biden’s economy “the envy of the world.”
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, called Trump “America’s Hitler.” Trump’s chief-of-staff Gen. John Kelly called Trump, “the most flawed person I’ve ever met.”
At the Democratic National Convention, former Republican congressman and Iraq/ Afghanistan veteran Adam Kinzinger called Trump “a weak man pretending to be strong, a small man pretending to be big, a man whose only purpose is himself.”
Kinzinger said that he himself shares an “allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy” with Democrats and urged Republicans to “Make the right choice. Vote for our bedrock values and vote for Kamala Harris.”
Rich Cooper
Leland
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