By Joseph Catena
“Thou shalt not speak ill of any other Republican.”
That famous quote was stated by President Ronald Reagan back when he was Governor Ronald Reagan, during his 1966 gubernatorial campaign in California. True to his word, Reagan practiced what he preached throughout that campaign and later in his 1976 presidential primary against incumbent president, Gerald Ford.
“The Gipper” served two terms as governor of California, and when he ran for president in 1976, he was the conservative outsider looking to shake the Establishment to its core. Ford represented a very mealy GOP. The contrast between the Republicans and Democrats was quite marginal at that time. Segregationist Governor George Wallace (D – Alabama) once quipped there “wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference” between the two parties.
Reagan could have broken his promise during his uncommon intraparty challenge against an incumbent, especially after he lost the first six primaries. Reagan stayed disciplined and focused on delivering his message. When he did “attack” during the North Carolina primary, Reagan did so with grace and was succinct. He questioned Ford’s policies and his ability to lead our country in the wake of Watergate – particularly in foreign policy with American evacuation of Saigon and South Vietnam’s collapse. The growing nuclear threat by the Soviet Union also loomed over the Ford Administration. Domestically, President Ford’s call for an increase in taxes did not garner him any support among the growing conservative wing of the party. He was not seen as business friendly, nor was he conservative on social issues at that time.
After a hard-fought campaign, Reagan narrowly lost at the convention by a mere 117 delegates. It was the last great nomination battle at a national convention. Reagan was sunny and gracious in his speech, and he pledged unity. Ford had his full support in the general election.
By 1980, the GOP nomination was Reagan’s for the taking. He steamrolled through the primaries. His main opponent, Establishment favorite, George H.W. Bush, was “The Gipper’s” challenger. Bush was critical of Reagan’s free market economic agenda of lower taxes and increased revenue as “voodoo economics.” The moderate milquetoast Bush was no match for the conservative Reagan, however, and Reagan dominated him. In order to balance the G.O.P. ticket, Reagan chose Bush to be his running mate, and the rest is history.
Thirty-five years later, the 11th Commandment was shattered.
Donald J. Trump stormed into the Republican field and verbally assaulted everyone in his path, from “Little Marco” to “Lyin’ Ted” to “Low Energy Jeb” to Rand Paul’s looks. Trump spared no one from his tirade, even people who weren’t running like Arizona Sen. John McCain, who Trump did not consider a war hero, since he was captured during the Vietnam conflict.
Trump shoved a crowbar into the Republican Establishment’s veneer and began remodeling the entire party. He stampeded his way in and let no one deter his path. Trump’s entire first term focused on fair trade, the border, reducing crime, showcasing an America first agenda, and lowering taxes. Trump welcomed in blue collar America to the Republican party, along with populist ideas that resonated with the voters. Stodgy, insider elitists and global interventionists were quickly shown the exit. Trump 2.0 is doing more of the same.
The Donald has shown a rapid-fire, sometimes crudely unorthodox style. His swarm-and-attack style gets things done. In his second term alone – only around 120 days in – he has accomplished what others, namely his impotent predecessor, could not do in four years. The release of some 26 hostages thanks to Trump should earn him a humanitarian award. Who could forget the return of international schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who was arrested for medical marijuana in Russia, and his reunion with his jubilant nonagenarian mother? The border, just recently invaded by millions of illegal aliens, has been shut down to the point where only a trickle are trying to cross. Trump’s tour of the Middle East last week may well prove to be his greatest foreign policy achievement since the Abraham Accords. True, Qatar and Syria might be risky to deal with, but it is obvious that Trump is corralling support in that region to put the squeeze on Iran and eliminate the threat of a nuclear weapon. While some, especially the hawks, are calling for the president to bomb Iran, he prefers a peaceful consensus and internal pressure.
As for the tariffs, the early reviews are mixed. The stock market has rebounded nicely after an early free fall following “Liberation Day.” Great Britain has agreed to a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. and China, feeling the impact of Trump’s trade war, has agreed to a 90-day suspension of certain tariffs. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports are being reduced to 30 percent, and China’s tariffs on U.S. imports are being reduced to 10 percent. Other countries are said to be lining up to make deals, and more than a trillion dollars of private investment has been pledged to build businesses in America and eliminate tariffs altogether. If his “Big, Beautiful Bill” is passed and tax cuts are implemented, we may very well take a giant step forward into the “Golden Age” he has promised.
Trump’s hurricane of activities and dealings still have a long way to go. World peace, a recharged economy, and a reinvigoration of manufacturing and jobs hinge on the president’s moves along with an agreeable House and Senate. The stakes are quite high, and he may need a perfect storm to take place. It’s not for the faint of heart or a mere mortal to spearhead. But Trump is neither of those. He is a man who took us back to economic prosperity after a pandemic shut the world down. He is the man who survived a bullet to the ear on a scorching day in Butler, Pa., only to retaliate with a pumped fist and a battle cry of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” And let us never forget that President Donald J. Trump was at his lowest after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was hampered with countless legal indictments, and even had his mug shot taken at Fulton County Jail in Georgia. None of this could stop him from being the first president since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s to win a second non-consecutive presidential term.
Now, that very mug shot hangs in the Oval Office.
Perhaps it is a reminder that we must all obey the 12th Commandment: Thou shalt not doubt or deny the will of Donald J. Trump to Make America Great Again.
Again.