In his first year leading the nation, President Donald Trump has achieved numerous victories and delivered huge benefits to the American people. Honest coverage of these positive developments has been hard to come by in the mainstream media, which has shown dogged determination to peddle tired narratives of dysfunction and drama in the White House.
His recent State of the Union address was an important milestone in the Trump presidency. This address outlined and discussed the various ways the president has made good on his promises to improve the lives of our people, and it presented his vision for what he will continue doing to restore America to greatness.
The State of the Union offered a unique moment for the president to address the nation directly, without the filter of biased and negative media coverage, and he spoke about the issues at hand that really matter. MS13, Dreamers, immigration, tax reform, unifying a nation, North Korea and much more. The several people in the first lady’s box illustrated clearly the issues that resonate with we the people.
The positive effect of having a successful businessman in the Oval Office has been clear to anyone who paid even passing attention to the stock market. Since the Trump presidency began, the market has surged forward and achieved record-breaking highs. Incredibly, the Dow Jones industrial average reached 70 record closes during Trump’s first year, eclipsing the previous mark set in 1995.
The passage of a game-changing tax-cut bill has been the hallmark legislative success, but far from the only one. This bill brought the corporate tax rate down from an onerous 35 percent to 21 percent, and lowered individual rates as well, which will put more money into the pockets of millions of Americans.
The president and his administration also wisely ended the Obamacare mandate that required the purchase of insurance, and put to bed the ongoing battle for drilling authority in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Trump also deserves plaudits for his success at cutting back regulations on small businesses and eliminating other restrictions holding back the growth of the economy. He granted a permit to the Keystone XL pipeline, delivering on his promise to decrease regulations and make it easier for American businesses to operate and create jobs.
The president also came through on his promise to protect America and strengthen our national security by implementing a travel ban and increasing border security. As a result, there has a been a 24 percent decrease in the number of arrests on the border.
When it comes to foreign policy, Trump has put the world on notice that America will no longer subjugate its own interests just to make other countries happy. He made the historic decision to recognize Israel’s capital city as Jerusalem and announced intentions to relocate the American Embassy there. By doing so, the president fulfilled a pledge on the embassy that since 1995 every previous president had made, and then broken.
Trump also has shown that America will not stand by silently and allow the U.N. to be a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment. He withdrew from the poorly negotiated Paris climate deal and pulled out of the misguided Trans-Pacific Partnership.
He correctly tightened travel and commercial ties with the communist dictatorship of Cuba and has signaled that the U.S. will enforce and potentially renegotiate parts of the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. Meanwhile, ISIS and its affiliated groups are in retreat across the Middle East and in the capitals of Iraq and Syria.
The scale of the success is actually staggering. The bold man who inhabits the Oval Office has smartly used executive orders to address and correct issues involving trade and immigration reform. Going forward, Trump will need to continue working with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, something that he has already shown a willingness to do.
The State of the Union gave Trump the opportunity to show his leadership and strength as a gifted communicator, to articulate his policies and priorities directly to the American people without any interference from the media outlets that have set out to demonize him and his every move.
Trump’s Jan. 30, 2018 State of the Union was a roadmap for how America will continue to achieve success, project strength globally and put our people first.
Mr. Williams is manager/sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. Listen to Mr. Williams on Sirius XM126 Urban View nightly 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., EST. Watch Right Side Forum every Saturday live on Newschannel 8 TV 28 in D.C., 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and repeated at 6:30 p.m., EST. Follow on Twitter @arightside. Visit online at www.ArmstrongWilliams.com.
