I'm unable to read the Wapo piece as I'm not a subscriber, and likely never will be.
However, from the title I can assume it's an opinion piece about why the US voter should feel as they have been conned by President Trump. The reply to this question is simple in my case, he's made good on every promise that concerned me in 2016. The wall is going up, I've seen it. We pulled out of the Iran deal. Taxes were lowered which has meant more money in my pocket. Drug prices, specifically insulin, are much lower than before, again more money in my pocket. We are now energy independent. My gasoline is less than $2.00 per gallon and I even filled up a few times this year at $0.99/gal. He's cleaning out the swamp in DC though it seems very deep and still needs more work. No new wars, and this was a biggie for me. But the most important reason I will vote for Trump again is because he's not a politician, he's a businessman. He has added money to my pocket and yours too if you're an American whether you like him or not. I ask myself the Reagan question when considering a President's performance: "Am I better off now than I was 4 years ago?" The answer for me is "Yes definitely." How about you? Are you better off than you were?
I think you covered all the Republican talking points, congratulations. But perhaps you too have been conned.
Very little new wall has been built. And most of the work that’s has been done has been on preexisting wall.
By unilaterally pulling out of the Iranian deal we went from Iran completely halting its fissionable materials to a full on enrichment. And strengthening Iran’s status in the Middle East while weakening the reputation of the USA as an untrustworthy treaty negotiator.
Most of the taxes breaks went to the wealthy; those to the middle class are much smaller and temporary. And all this resulted in a huge increase in the deficit. Remember when high deficits were bad things for Republicans? Will our children be better off? Or did we just steal a lot of money from them to put a few coins today in the middle classes pockets?
Trump stabilized in a showy manner some drug prices but look at the swamp he’s created in conflicting interests in vaccine production alone. Either the taxpayer or the vaccine taker will be paying for this for a long time. And he intends to kill provisions of Obama care that protect preexisting conditions and ensure health care to many millions of citizens unable to afford it previously. And I will not even bother to mention all the Americans dead of covid-19.
Gasoline prices? Don’t you remember that when they began to fall Trump worked feverishly to push them back up? But more so he has damaged renewable energy and increased pollution enormously. What will our kids do when the existing oil is exhausted and prices begin to soar, when their environment I’d blighted? But I’m glad you saved a bit when you filled your car. And net energy exports had already began to fall way before the Trump administration without this massive environmental damage.
Empty the swamp? I’ve posted articles about how he has created a highly organized swamp by which people paying money directly to Trump and family business interests result access to the highest levels of government and their wishes come true.
No new wars? At the cost of throwing in the towel, betraying our allies, and conceding large stretches of the Middle East to terrorists, leaving our military and national security experts in despair.
Are you better now that 4 years ago? Other than that Mrs Lincoln did you enjoy the play?
