I found it interesting to read this week that Wall Street investors are “conceding that former President Donald Trump will likely win the GOP primary for the 2024 presidential race.” (The Epoch Times, Jack Phillips, 1/24/2024). These remarks were made just before Trump won the New Hampshire primary. He also won Iowa earlier this month with strong support from his working class and middle-class base which has not been diminished in their support by the politically motivated law-fare being waged against him.
In fact, pundits across the political spectrum have concluded that the Biden’s unprecedented election interference caused by the numerous political legal cases that have been filed against Trump—the numerous indictments and efforts to deprive American’s of their right to vote by removing Trump from state ballots—have provided jet fuel to the Republican nomination and to his consistent lead over Biden in national and key swing state polls.
However, as interesting as that is, I found another set of comments even more insightful. Major Wall Street investor, Jamie Dimon, who is JPMorgan Chase CEO said he agreed with multiple statements and policies that were made by Trump on immigration, taxes, and the economy.
“Take a step back, be honest. He was kind of right about NATO, kind of right on immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Trade tax reform worked. He was right about some of China,” Further, “he wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why” people voted for him. “I wish Democrats would think a little more carefully when they talk about MAGA,” he said, referencing the Trump “Make America Great Again” slogan. “I think this negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign.” He further stated that “Democrats and President Biden are basically scapegoating them [saying] that you are like him.” (The Epoch Times).
Mr. Dimon understates the Trump record. President Trump was not merely “kind of right” on NATO; he was completely right and only by calling out the other NATO nations in his bulldogged fashion have those other nations begun to pay into that organization anywhere close to their financial obligations—which is still many billions short of America’s annual NATO contribution. Mr. Dimon also vastly understates that Trump was “kind of right on immigration.” Pres. Trump has been dead right on immigration and the scourge of drugs—including fentanyl that kills Americans daily—crime, human and child trafficking and terrorists who daily come over our southern (and increasingly, northern) border. It’s estimated that 8 million illegals have come into our country during the Biden Administration. I do agree with Mr. Dimon that President Trump “grew the economy quite well” and that “tax reform worked.” In fact, the Trump tax cuts caused the economy to explode with growth.
However, I was most intrigued by Mr. Dimon’s observation that the “negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign” and that the Biden campaign makes a mistake when it “scapegoats” Trump supporters.
This scapegoating of Trump supporters to which Mr. Dimon refers calls to mind Hillary Clinton’s recommendation that the “cult-like’ Trump supporters be “formally deprogrammed.” Of course, we also recall her 2016 accusation in which she deemed Trump supporters to be a part of a “basket of deplorables” … “You know, … you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it.” These Clinton comments were also reminiscent of those of then-presidential candidate, Barack Obama, who stated about religious conservatives “they get bitter, they cling to their guns and religion.”
What a breathtaking misunderstanding of the beliefs and motivations of roughly half of the American people. We support Trump because he is the only hope we see to preserve any semblance of the America we grew up in and deeply cherish. He’s the only national figure we see who can again possibly slow the rapid acceleration of our federal government toward a socialist form of government and our American culture into the godless cesspool that currently smothers us.
It is for these beliefs and values that MAGA Americans are scapegoated, ridiculed, and mocked. And that is why we stand with Trump. Because he stands with and fights for us. As Trump said, ‘in reality, they’re not after me. They are after you, and I am just in the way.’
May he long remain ‘in the way.’
Royal Alexander is a Shreveport attorney.