AMAC Exclusive – By Luke Allen
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President in 2015, he promised to restore opportunity to those Americans forgotten and left behind by both political parties: the workers and their families who suffered as a result of one-sided trade deals, open borders, unchecked Chinese economic aggression, high taxes that outsourced American jobs, and anti-American energy policies. As President Trump put it succinctly in his inaugural address: “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer… [e]very decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families”.
During his presidency, Trump fulfilled this promise with breathtaking speed and effectiveness. After just 36 months in office, the unemployment rate among African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans had all reached record lows; real median household income rose to the highest level ever recorded, ten million people were lifted off welfare, 12,000 new factories were built, and America became Energy Independent. Violent crime and property crime rates also fell under President Trump, a testament to the effectiveness of Trump’s commitment to both law and order and criminal justice reform.
Contrast this record with the results of the first ten months of the Biden administration. After Biden endorsed calls to “reimagine policing” during the 2020 campaign, violent crime is skyrocketing under his watch. Thanks to his reversal of key Trump immigration policies, the country has seen record highs in the number of illegal border crossings, human trafficking cases, and deadly fentanyl pouring in.
Biden also cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline and other energy projects, making the country once again reliant on foreign energy supplies. As a result, gas prices are at their highest levels in decades, and it’s going to be drastically more expensive for families to heat their homes this winter. If Biden’s $3.5 trillion boondoggle spending plan passes Congress, Americans can expect even more radical changes to their everyday lives, from higher taxes to government-funded climate warriors knocking on their doors.
In short, under Biden, we are seeing the return of the forgotten Americans. Thus far the Biden agenda has served the interests of progressive special interest groups and liberal elites, utterly abandoning President Trump’s commitment to put first the interests of the men and women who form the backbone of this country.
Those Americans living paycheck to paycheck, just struggling to get by have perhaps been hit the hardest. After wage earners saw real wage growth under Trump for the first time in decades, wages have been stagnant, and worse, dropped, for many groups of workers in the first ten months of the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s reckless spending has led to runaway inflation, meaning that any money working and middle-class Americans have managed to save is now worth less and less each day.
In addition to economic pains, Americans living in cities now have to fear for their physical safety as well. In New York City, shootings were up 50% in August over the same time period last year. This summer was the deadliest for Chicago since 1996. Those who have the financial ability to do so have fled the city for the suburbs. Those who do not are desperately hoping for a reprieve from the violence in their communities.
Even Americans who were able to flee crime-ridden cities have found their hopes dashed by Democrat policies. Blue states like California are working to completely eradicate single-family neighborhoods. Even if working class families can find a single-family home, anti-suburban policies have incentivized big banks to speculate in suburbs and drive up prices for new entrants. Add to that rising inflation and high gas prices, and the American Dream of owning a home is now out of reach for many Americans today.
One of the crowning achievements of the Trump presidency was the resurgence of the manufacturing sector in blue-collar communities throughout the United States. In the first 30 months under President Trump, the country added 314,000 manufacturing jobs, more than all eight years under President Obama. Companies were bringing production back to the United States and revitalizing rusted-out manufacturing towns. In just 10 months, President Biden has undone much of that progress. Higher energy costs have forced companies to cut jobs and production. Moreover, looming corporate tax increases are a massive disincentive for new investment and growth, and companies are once again looking to ship jobs overseas.
The legitimate interests of parents, too, of every political and socioeconomic background, are being forgotten under Biden. In addition to economic pressures straining family budgets, the Biden administration has thrown its weight behind the insidious efforts to indoctrinate children with leftist propaganda in school classrooms. Despite evidence that large majorities of Americans reject Critical Race Theory, President Biden has ordered the Department of Justice to target parents who speak out against CRT and other left-wing ideologies at local school board meetings. As was the case prior to President Trump taking office, Democrats are seeking to use the power of the state to silence all opposition to their radical ideas and policies.
Once again under President Biden, we are seeing the emergence of millions of Americans who are being forsaken and forgotten. However, the hope that these men and women found in President Trump’s agenda remains strong. Fortunately, the previous administration showed that with the right leadership the consequences of bad policies can be reversed with breathtaking speed. The slogan “Make America Great Again” was more than a campaign promise, it became policies that produced real results for real people. And those policies, as President Trump said, “lifted up Americans of every race, color and creed.” It happened once, and it can happen again.
Luke Allen is the pen name of a freelance writer and energy advisor.
