Opinion

TITUS: President Trump’s First Two Years Have Been Historic

Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Alex Titus Contributor
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President Trump put forward a powerful message during his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday. The theme of the speech, “American greatness,” laid out a positive bipartisan legislative agenda for the coming year which prioritized everything from infrastructure to eradicating childhood cancer. He called for Americans to come together, heal old wounds, and find common cause and unity.

While looking forward is important, it is always important to look back. Over the two past years, President Trump has made America safer, more prosperous, and stronger as a nation. As such, it is time to recognize the policies which have allowed America to flourish.

Considering the intense opposition that President Trump has faced since coming into office, it is shocking that he’s been able to accomplish anything. Left-wing politicians in lockstep with the mainstream media have tried to halt his agenda at every turn. And yet, President Trump has fundamentally transformed our country by making Americans of all stripes better off.

Nowhere has this success been better illustrated than our roaring economy. Thanks to the “Trump boom,” African Americans and Hispanics have both enjoyed the lowest unemployment rates ever recorded. Better yet, the unemployment rate for women remains at a historic low.

Wages have risen at the fastest rate since the “Great Recession” and the national unemployment rate has clocked in at below 4 percent. American families are also taking more money home in their paychecks thanks to President Trump signing the biggest overhaul of the tax system in a generation.

Businesses large and small also benefited from President Trump’s tax cuts. America’s corporate tax rate was lowered from the highest in the developed world to 21 percent, fostering more a competitive business environment and incentivizing companies to bring back jobs that were once outsourced abroad.

And the president’s trade victories are beginning to take fruition. In November 2018, President Trump along with Canada and Mexico signed a historic trade agreement to replace NAFTA. The deal, known as the USMCA, will help bring manufacturing jobs back to America by revitalizing the automotive industry. Famers are better off too and will now be able to export more products to new markets.

President Trump’s “peace through strength” mantra has also made the world a safer place. He nixed the disastrous Iran Deal and reapplied sanctions back on the Islamist regime. China is being confronted at the WTO and for their blatant IP theft. The president has also refused to surrender the South China Sea to Beijing and has dramatically increased freedom of navigation patrols.

By the way, don’t believe the lies that this president hasn’t been tough on Russia. President Trump upended Obama’s lethal weapons ban to Ukraine and allowed the sale of American firepower to Kiev. The Trump administration has also sanctioned a number of Putin’s top cronies and oversaw the largest expulsion of Russian spies in US history. President Trump also called Putin’s bluff and pulled America out of the INF Treaty, refusing to allow for unilateral disarmament.

To be sure, he’s also taken a strong stand for our allies. President Trump boldly delivered on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel and move our embassy to the holy city. Our NATO allies are also contributing $100 billion more to Europe’s common defense  because of encouragement from the president.

Creating a conservative judicial system has also been a key piece of President Trump’s agenda. At this point in his term, the president has already appointed a record number of judges to the federal judiciary. These judicial appointees all understand the importance of the rule of law, protecting life in the womb, defending religious freedom, and standing up for gun rights.

Not to mention that President Trump has put his stamp on the highest court in the land. Thanks to his resolve, the Supreme Court has two conservative rock stars on the bench in justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

To be clear, these are just a few of the many incredible achievements in just two short years under this administration. Despite what you might hear from pundits, those are the facts.  Remember that our country is far better off than it was just two years ago by all measures thanks to President Trump.

Alex Titus (@ATitus7) is a Public Interest Fellow in Washington, D.C. The Public Interest Fellowship provides exceptional men and women with professional opportunities in the tradition of freedom.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.