By PERRY HOOPER, Jr.
President Trump won 2019 and it wasn’t even close. The year began with Nancy Pelosi being sworn in as Speaker of the House much to the glee of the establishment. That was her high point. The Democratic house she was now leading is unrecognizable to most Americans. They believe America is evil and must be remade. They envision some sort of green new deal socialist country that apologizes to everyone for being great. They had only one item on their legislative agenda; impeach Donald J. Trump and the Mueller report was going to give them the ammunition. Joe Biden was sleep walking to the Democratic nomination as nobody’s number one choice.
Now look where they are. Pelosi’s decision to impeach Trump already has cost her a house seat and stands zero chance of resulting in a Senate conviction. Not only has Mueller shuffled off the stage, but Michael Horowitz’s report on FBI behavior raises serious doubts about the credibility of the Democrats and the media elites. Mitch McConnell blocks liberal bills from the House while constantly confirming additional conservative judges. Biden is damaged by his son’s recklessness and the problems of his candidacy manifest themselves with every gaffe he makes.
The economy is growing at gangbuster rates and shows no signs of stopping. Well-known Wall Street veteran Jim Cramer reported to his associates at MSNBC “this is best economy of his lifetime” and as much as they may regret it, they must give credit to the president. Sadly, Democrats hope for bad economic news. Some have hoped for a recession causing harm to countless American families because it would hurt the President. It would be a small price to pay in their estimation.
The high point of Trump’s good year may have been Friday, March 22, when the Justice Department acknowledged the receipt of the Mueller Report. The full report was made available to the public on April 18. It was clear by then that despite all of the time, energy, and resources spent by his biased team, Mueller had not uncovered a single criminal activity between the Trump Campaign and Russian authorities. Mueller’s testimony before Congress was a flop. The Russia investigation that had begun in the summer of 2016 and consumed the media and Democratic Party for 3 years ended in a whimper. It was a big lie.
No president wants to be impeached. No president ought to be impeached in the 9absence of compelling evidence as it in this case. There is an argument to be made that in some ways however, impeachment has benefited is the President.
Impeachment crowded out everything else and united Republicans. This made freshmen Democrats from districts Trump won in 2016 very nervous. Pelosi had to give them something in return for their impeachment vote that they could take back to their districts. That something was the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement—which just happens to be a top priority for the President. There are five weeks until the Iowa caucuses and hardly anybody besides the candidates and their immediate families seem to care.
By ordering the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, President Trump has demonstrated to Iran’s leaders that he will take “swift, decisive” actions to protect Americans. This is in stark contrast to Obama’s line in the sand that was all talk and no action.
President Trump begins with the new year with his new NAFTA, a “Phase One” China deal, A Space Force, 185 young conservative federal judges, the lowest unemployment in half a century, a stock market that has increased by 50 percent since Election Day 2016, and a unified Republican party. He has an opposition headed toward a confusing and bruising primary where all the candidates are trying to get left of Lenin. Trump won 2019, but this is the preseason. The real game will be played and won in November 2020. This is the election to keep America great!
Perry O Hooper, Jr. is a former State Representative from Montgomery who serves on the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee. In 2016 he chaired Alabama’s Trump Victory campaign.