by Herman Cain
It’s the season of gratitude and time to take measure of the great ways we can appreciate all that we have as Americans.
Here are five things that Donald Trump has done for our country, for which we can all be grateful as one nation.
Historic Prosperity
GDP data strongly indicate that the American economy is on pace to grow by more than 3 percent in 2018 — maybe even 3.5 percent. Democrats like Barack Obama said it couldn’t be done — that sluggish growth of 2 percent or less was the “new normal” and we should just get used to it. I, for one, am thankful President Trump proved that those pessimistic projections were utter nonsense.
In just 22 months, President Trump has delivered historic levels of job creation. Unemployment is at an all-time low for Black and Hispanic Americans. Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high. Wages are growing for ordinary Americans. Small business confidence is at a 45-year high. American manufacturing operations are hiring once again.
There’s something for everyone to be thankful for in this economy.
Avoided Foreign Wars
Compared to his predecessors, fewer U.S. servicemen and women have been deployed overseas thanks to President Trump’s judicious use of the American military.
This is not a coincidence. It’s a deliberate policy that Donald Trump ran on and is now delivering. The President has resisted persistent calls from neo-conservatives and contrarian Democrats to get the U.S. to intervene with “boots on the ground” in international conflicts such as Syria, Yemen, Chad, and elsewhere.
The era of “nation-building” and military adventurism may be over, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped protecting vital American interests. President Trump deployed American assets to destroy the vicious ISIS cult, fulfilled field commanders’ requests for more troops in Afghanistan, and ensured robust funding for our military.
Curbed Mass Amnesty
A recent Yale-MIT study estimates that there are 22 million illegal aliens in America — twice the 11 million-person figure that pro-amnesty politicians and activists have claimed. Most Americans don’t realize how close we came to giving all 22 million of them a “path to citizenship” and the right to vote in American elections.
In 2013, the Senate — including 14 Republicans — voted to do just that. That “Gang of Eight” plan was seen as a done-deal with Barack Obama in the White House, but the Republican-controlled House of Representatives was able to delay the legislation, leaving the pro-amnesty crowd to wait confidently for a Hillary Clinton administration after the 2016 election. Only Donald Trump’s victory in that election and his tough stance on immigration since he took office averted this disaster.
Tax Cuts that Put Money Back in our Pockets
The President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is allowing the typical American family to save about $2,000 per year. As we get into the holiday shopping season, I know I’m thankful for that extra security and well-being.
I’m hardly the only one, though. Experts predict that more than 54 million Americans will travel for Thanksgiving this year, and overall retail spending this holiday season is expected to surpass $700 billion for the first time ever.
A Lasting Legacy of Good Judges
Everyone knows that President Trump successfully appointed two brilliant, constitutional originalist Justices to the Supreme Court, but few have noticed the Trump administration’s record pace of appointments to lower federal courts with the help of the U.S. Senate — he’s secured 84confirmations so far, with Senate Republicans planning to vote on as many additional nominees as possible before the current Congress adjourns.
President Trump’s steadfastness and urgency on this issue will pay dividends for years to come, undoing decades of drift toward activist liberalism in the courts.
Whether it’s preventing mass amnesty, deploying American troops more judiciously, rejuvenating the economy, or putting the brakes on judicial activism, there’s something in President Trump’s lengthy list of accomplishments for just about everyone to appreciate.
What better time than the holiday season to reflect on how far this nation has progressed in less than two short years?
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Herman Cain is former CEO of the National Restaurant Association and a former presidential candidate.
