I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to gasoline at $2 per gallon and my car insurance rate being cut in half. Those are just a couple of the benefits Donald Trump promised if only we voted him back into office as president.
He said there would be lower grocery costs, too, reduced home sale prices, and landlords cutting back on rental rates. And sub-3-percent loan interest rates to put some real coin back in our bank accounts.
And don’t forget, there will be no tax on Social Security payouts (assuming Social Security survives), no tax on overtime pay, and for all you ride-share and service workers out there, no tax on tips (you have been declaring all tips, right?). Also, our new/old president promised lower income tax rates for families bringing in less than $200K per year. I don’t know how many families would benefit nationally, but I’m guessing it’s a lot of households, so I think we all can agree that’s good news.
Also, in September’s presidential debate against Harris, Trump promised the war in Ukraine would end “before I even become president.” Seriously, that would be great, just as fulfilling as his claim to know how to end Israeli-Palestinian hostilities.
Of course, with all these positive promises, there had to be a few more questionable ones, too, led by “mass deportations on Day One.” Not only is that morally questionable, but shortsighted and potentially devastating to the U.S. economy as manual laborers (you know, the ones doing the jobs “real” Americans don’t want) are expected to make up a large percentage of likely deportees.
Similarly, Trump’s many-times-promised tariffs on foreign-sourced goods and raw materials – namely out of China, but many other foreign providers will be caught up in it as well – have economists in an uproar, warning Americans to be prepared for widespread increasing consumer prices, a worsening economy, and eventually, cuts to the domestic workforce. But as long as the tariff plan at least shows “them” who’s boss, maybe it’s worth it to “us.”
Then there’s the promise to cut federal funding for schools that teach what Trump calls “transgender insanity,” despite local taxes – not federal tax funds – providing approximately 92% of all public school funding nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Clean energy funding is likely to take a hit, too, something that Trump’s new friend Elon Musk might have been trying to mitigate with his late-in-the-campaign $100 million infusion to the cause. Regardless, we should probably expect more drilling and fewer environmental regulations, which may exacerbate climate change but perhaps reduce energy costs, too.
Then, of course, there’s Trump’s promise to pardon the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters after the previous presidential election. But of course, they did so on his behalf and encouragement, so surely, they can’t be all bad.
And bonus: Thanks to this latest election, Trump’s prodigious legal troubles appear to be going away, so we won’t have a felon as our president after all.
Tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection, he continues to face four federal charges: two related to disrupting Congress' certification of the 2020 electoral vote, one outlining a scheme to impede the collection, counting, and certification of votes, and one alleging a conspiracy to deprive citizens of the right to vote and to have their vote counted.
Since all are federal charges, though, Trump’s reelection allows him to dismiss all charges, which is very tidy and convenient for all involved.
I think we all can agree.
In New York as well, Trump lawyers have said 34 felony convictions this summer for violating New York State’s corporate record-keeping laws to cover up hush money payments to an adult film actress should be vacated based on a Supreme Court decision in July on presidential immunity. It appears Trump’s packing the Court with like-minded judges in his first go-round proves it pays to think ahead, too.
And, of course, closer to home is the Georgia state case against Trump, stemming from his call in November 2020 to ask Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes to flip our swing state’s 16 electoral votes away from Joe Biden to Trump’s benefit.
To Raffensperger’s credit, he refused, and last summer, our new/old president plus 18 associates were facing charges ranging from racketeering to issuing false statements to filing false documents to impersonating a public officer.
This case remains open for now but has been plagued with mismanagement and personal drama among its prosecutors. Especially with Trump’s reelection, it appears already on its way to becoming just a footnote to presidential politics history.
Truthfully, it seems to be a case of everything old and new again, so we should just start looking forward with hope and promise for the future.
Me? I just hope we survive, but I promise it’ll be interesting.