How many of you had the chance to watch President-elect Donald Trump’s interview on Meet the Press this past Sunday morning? The interview was apparently much longer than what was included and can be watched on the internet for anyone who missed it. Even though he continued to say things that aren’t exactly true, some are exaggerations and some outright lies, it was one of the first times that I felt he was trying to be reasonable about some things. Not so reasonable about others, he still won’t admit he lost four years ago.
Even though violent crime is down in this country, he continues to blame his imaginary rise in crime on migrants, not just coming in from Mexico, but coming in from Canada. He was asked about separating families as part of his deportation plan, but said he doesn’t plan to separate families. But it sounded like that means deporting kids who have lived their entire lives here along with their parents. He also stated his plan to end birthright citizenship. This might be difficult for him to do as it is part of the Constitution, so he would have to convince not only Congress, but the people of the United States that it is a good idea. It would be a time consuming process and he seems to have the power of persuasion. He said we are the only country that allows this, but there are at least 30 other countries that allow citizenship for those born on their soil.
He is more than willing to pardon people convicted for the January 6 attack on the Capitol. We’ve all seen the pictures, so I’m not sure that they should be pardoned for their actions. Other protesters are probably sitting in jail for doing less. I don’t feel that Joe Biden should have pardoned his son, but I also don’t feel that is justification for Trump pardoning people who participated in the January 6 riots.
He said he was going to bring prices down. If he can do it, that would be great. We would all like to see the cost of necessities come down. But he also wasn’t willing to promise that tariffs wouldn’t make costs go up. Trump believes that tariffs used appropriately can help the economy. I’m not an economist, so I can’t judge the truth of that statement, but we can all hope it is so. If it helps create jobs here, that also would be a good thing. On the other hand, many employers can’t find people to fill the positions they have open now.
He said he wasn’t going to cut Social Security, which makes me happy. But he qualified that with he will try to make it more efficient. I’m not sure what that means. It might or might not be a good thing. He also said he wouldn’t get rid of the Affordable Care Act without having a “better” plan in place. That also sounds reasonable. Insurance rates are high enough without making things worse. And in a country where healthcare is expensive, people need the insurance.
He also apparently doesn’t plan to get rid of the current Federal Reserve chairman, who he must feel is doing a good job. He does however want to get rid of the head of the FBI, a person he appointed. He said the man ordered an invasion of his home. We have to remember that had to do with documents that he probably shouldn’t have removed when he left the White House the last time. At any rate, some of them probably should have been stored in a more secure location.
He isn’t giving up on some of his more controversial picks for cabinet posts though. Given that some have already dropped out, maybe that will take care of itself. And all of his picks aren’t bad. Some are qualified and some I even like and have a bit of respect for.
Either way, in about six weeks, we are going to know which Donald Trump shows up for the inauguration. Maybe if he is allowed to have his way on some things, the petulant child won’t surface, and we can all survive the next four years.