Why?

By Joseph Catena

I have learned not to question President Trump’s methods or decision making. They might be a little unorthodox and mysterious at times, but who could argue with his results?

Next to Abraham Lincoln, he is arguably the most transformative president in the history of this great Republic. His success in terms one and two can’t be questioned. For example, when he went buck wild with tariffs several months ago, and the stock market plunged like a deep-sea diver, I never turned into a “panican.” I trusted The Donald’s judgement and exuded patience. The results were a raging success. The stock market keeps breaking its own record high, the country is making billions per month in trade surpluses, and inflation is a more-than-respectable 2.7 percent.

If any Democrat accomplished in four years what Trump has done in term two, year one, sculptors would be demanded to take their equipment to Mount Rushmore and immediately start breaking mountain rock.

I would be in favor of Trump serving a third term, because he was cheated out of a second term. Never say never on that one. Wink, wink. Sure, he’s imperfect, but he’s human, and his presidency is as close to perfect as possible.

So, why?

Why did the president not immediately endorse New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as soon as she announced her bid to be governor of the Empire State? Stefanik was the ultra-MAGA team player. She was also a pitbull who served her master well. Her excoriation of the MIT, Harvard, and Penn University presidents about their apparent capitulation to the anti-Semitic nepo baby snot noses who took over their respective campuses was artful. She cut right to their collective nerves and obtained start status. She jolted the elitists in a knockout performance. Furthermore, when Trump was elected to his second term, his wish for her to keep her congressional seat due to the thin margin held by Republicans and not clamor for the nomination as U.N. ambassador was granted.

When she announced her bid to challenge incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, it suddenly felt like the Republican party had a real puncher’s chance of winning the office for the first time since 2002, when George Pataki won his third term. Like it or not – I hate it – politics often times comes down to demographics and optics. Being a fellow woman, Stefanik would have cancelled out the female card and could have attacked Hochul in a way that perhaps a man could not. At only 41 years old, she also symbolized a bright future Republicans, particularly Republican women. For whatever reason, Trump remained silent.

Enter Bruce Blakeman, county executive of Nassau County. Blakeman impressively dominated Seth Koslow by nearly 12 points in his re-election earlier this year. This was done in a county with 110,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. He is a personal friend of the president’s and is also a proven fundraiser. Like Stefanik, he is pure MAGA. But he’s not Stefanik. He is a 70-year-old White guy. And in this particular race, Republicans need every edge they can get, especially demographically.

Feeling no other choice, Stefanik dropped out, choosing to forego what would have been a brutal primary. She did it with class, citing her reasons as choosing family and raising her young son as her major priorities. No bluster. No sour grapes. No blaming. It is hard to believe that she didn’t espouse any of these feelings privately, but her public persona remained stoic and accepting.

Upon her decision to drop out, Trump immediately endorsed his friend. Let the 2026 races begin.

It’s hard to believe that Blakeman stands much of a chance, no matter how much conservatives and Republicans may hope or want to believe. Stefanik was a rising superstar, and as Trump likes to say, was “right out of central casting” as the kind of candidate our side would want to challenge Hochul, an incompetent human fright fest, who recently signed an assisted suicide bill.

Along with her accomplishments, Elise Stefanik showed loyalty and a willingness to selflessly sacrifice all personal ambitions for the greater good. She was the ultimate teammate, someone who could have been a force in politics for the next two decades had she stayed. For whatever reason, the cruelty of politics rewarded her with a big zero. Logic be damned. For now, Elise Stefanik will go down as a footnote instead of a future headliner. Perhaps the future will present a new path and a new opportunity for her.

As for the present, we can only continue to ask:

Why?