The early phases of the 2024 Presidential campaign are well underway and barring unforeseen events, the final faceoff will be between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Both candidates are known to all Americans. But the truth of what is known varies considerably, mainly because media coverage has bent over backward to depict Biden as a talented public servant with a long record of accomplishment. His tripping and falling is blamed on the wind, his stuttering and stammering and painful confusion overlooked, and plausible reports of his dishonesty dismissed as scurrilous. Some commentators have gone so far as to call Biden one of our greatest presidents!
In contrast, the mainstream media’s picture of Trump has been equally consistent . . . but in the opposite direction. When he was accused of being a traitor to Russia, abusing power, obstructing Congress, inciting insurrection, and committing high crimes and misdemeanors, the media seldom if ever questioned the charges. They also devoted more time and space to his two impeachments than to his two subsequent acquittals.
As unfair as these examples of negative treatment were, two others seem to me worse. One is the frequent comment that he has been only interested in enriching himself, while ignoring the fact that during his presidency he refused to take his presidential salary of $400,000 per year, which to my knowledge no president (let alone a self-serving one) has ever done.
The other most offensive negative treatment of Trump was that he accomplished little or nothing noteworthy while in office. What follows may seem rather long, but it is considerably less than half of the Trump accomplishments listed in the White House Archives. In the Trump administration:
“America gained 7 million new jobs – more than three times government experts’ projections.
Middle-Class family income increased nearly $6,000 – more than five times the gains during the entire previous administration.
The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest in a half-century.
Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows.
The bottom 50 percent of American households saw a 40 percent increase in net worth.
[Over] 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs [were created.]
Household net worth rose $7.4 trillion in Q2 2020 to $112 trillion, an all-time high.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the largest tax reform package in history [was signed]
Over $1.5 trillion was repatriated into the United States from overseas.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA [was replaced] with the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The USMCA [added] powerful new protections for American manufacturers, auto-makers, farmers, dairy producers, and workers.
An executive order [was signed] making it government policy to Buy American and Hire American, and took action to stop the outsourcing of jobs overseas.
A written, fully-enforceable Phase One trade agreement [was completed] with China on confronting pirated and counterfeit goods, and the protection of American ideas, trade secrets, patents, and trademarks.
China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of United States exports and opened market access for over 4,000 American facilities to exports while all tariffs remained in effect.
Tariffs [were imposed] on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese goods to protect American jobs and stop China’s abuses under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
More than 50 agreements [were successfully negotiated] with countries around the world to increase foreign market access and boost exports of American agriculture products, supporting more than 1 million American jobs.
$28 billion in aid for farmers [was authorized] who have been subjected to unfair trade practices – fully funded by the tariffs paid by China.
China lifted its ban on poultry, opened its market to beef, and agreed to purchase at least $80 billion of American agricultural products in the next two years.
The European Union agreed to increase beef imports by 180 percent and opened up its market to more imports of soybeans.
South Korea lifted its ban on American poultry and eggs, and agreed to provide market access for record exports of American rice.
Argentina lifted its ban on American pork.
Brazil agreed to increase wheat imports by $180 million a year and raised its quotas for purchases of United States ethanol.
Guatemala and Tunisia opened up their markets to American eggs.
Tariff exemptions [were won] in Ecuador for wheat and soybeans.
For the first time in nearly 70 years, the United States has become a net energy exporter.
The United States [became] the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world.
The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines [were] approved.
The Child Tax Credit [was doubled] from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and expanded the eligibility for receiving the credit.
2,100 new Medicare Advantage plan options [were added] since 2017, a 76 percent increase.
Druge prices [were lowered] for the first time in 51 years.
Court of Appeals vacancies [were filled’ for the first time in four decades.
Over 400 miles of the world’s most robust and advanced border wall [were built.]
Illegal crossings . . .plummeted over 87 percent where the wall [was] constructed.
The dangerous practice of Catch-and-Release [ended], which means that instead of aliens getting released into the United States pending future hearings never to be seen again, they [were] detained pending removal, and then ultimately returned to their home countries.
An executive order [was signed] to strip discretionary Federal grant funding from deadly sanctuary cities.
The asylum hearing process  [was] streamlined and expedited through both the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP).
National security travel bans [were] Instituted to keep out terrorists, jihadists, and violent extremists, and implemented a uniform security and information-sharing baseline all nations must meet in order for their nationals to be able to travel to, and emigrate to, the United States.
[The] badly-broken refugee security screening process [was] overhauled.
Integrity to the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) [was] restored by strictly adhering to the statutory conditions required for TPS.
A $400 billion increase in defense spending from NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies [was secured for programming] by 2024, and the number of members meeting their minimum obligations more than doubled.
. . . [UN spending was] reduced by . . . $1.3 billion.
[The U.S.] withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran Nuclear Deal and imposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian Regime.
{The U.S.] conducted vigorous enforcement on all sanctions to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero and deny the regime its principal source of revenue.
[Trump became] the first president to meet with a leader of North Korea and the first sitting president to cross the demilitarized zone into North Korea.
Jerusalem [was] recognized as the true capital of Israel and [became] the American Embassy in Israel.
Historic peace agreements [were brokered] between Israel and Arab-Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Sudan.
[Trump became the] first American president to address an assembly of leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations, and reach an agreement to fight terrorism in all its forms.
An economic plan [was released] to empower the Palestinian people and enhance Palestinian governance through historic private investment.
The United States military [was] completely rebuilt with over $2.2 trillion in defense spending.
[The President] established the Space Force, the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
[The President] modernized and recapitalized our nuclear forces and missile defenses to ensure they [would] continue to serve as a strong deterrent.
Cyber defenses [were upgraded] by elevating the Cyber Command into a major warfighting command and by reducing burdensome procedural restrictions on cyber operations.
[The military] defeated 100 percent of ISIS’ territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
[The President] signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 and improved the efficiency of the VA, setting record numbers of appeals decisions.
[The President] signed and implemented the Forever GI Bill, allowing Veterans to use their benefits to get an education at any point in their lives.
[The administration] eliminated every penny of Federal student loan debt owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled.
Hundreds of thousands of military service members [were helped] to make the transition from the military to the civilian workforce, and  programs [were developed] to support the employment of military spouses.
Nearly 40,000 homeless veterans [were placed] into employment through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.
Over 600,000 veterans [were placed] into employment through American Job Center services.
Second chance hiring [was created] to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment.
Revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods [brought] together Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials to develop solutions to violent crime.
An executive order [was signed] to help prevent violence against law enforcement officers.
The first-ever White House position focused solely on combating human trafficking [was created].
The conscience rights of doctors, nurses, teachers, and groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor were protected.
A Special Envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism [was appointed.]
Over $38 billion was invested in clean water infrastructure.
[The U.S.] led the world in greenhouse gas emissions reductions, having cut energy-related CO2 emissions by 12 percent from 2005 to 2018 while the rest of the world increased emissions by 24 percent.
A moratorium [was placed] on offshore drilling off the coasts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.
Kingpin designations [were brought] against traffickers operating in China, India, Mexico, and more who have played a role in the epidemic in America.”
If you can imagine a list two or three times as long, you will have a sense of how truly impressive Donald Trump’s accomplishments were. If you then recall that during his four years in office he was constantly distracted by legions of haters who accused, attacked, maligned, and vilified him, you will regard those accomplishments as astounding!
I am not suggesting that Donald Trump is generally gracious, diplomatic, dignified, well-mannered, self-deprecating or soft-spoken. And I certainly do not mean to imply that his frequent lack of those qualities is laudable. I am simply saying that despite his failings in such matters, his presidency was more successful than a legion of truth-twisting liberal commentators could fantasize Joe Biden’s to be. Call Trump’s success paradoxical or ironic if you will, but honesty does not permit denying it..
The first step in saving the U.S. from extinction and keeping the world civilized is for voters to understand the vast difference between Biden and Trump.
Copyright © 2023 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved
