How President Trump outsmarted the ‘experts’—again
Eleven days ago, President Donald J. Trump gave Mexico a choice: either restore the rule of law on its side of the border and help curb soaring illegal immigration into America, or face a 5 percent escalating tariff on all exports into the United States.
A Joint Declaration between the two countries came on Friday, reading in part:
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| | Mexico will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border. Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks.
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With these commitments comes renewed enforcement. Part of the new agreement, for example, requires a vote from Mexico’s legislative body to implement. “We do not anticipate a problem with the vote but, if for any reason the approval is not forthcoming, Tariffs will be reinstated!” President Trump tweeted today. It took only days for President Trump to bring Mexico to the table. He did so by leveraging America’s position as the strongest economy in the world. Despite that massive negotiating advantage, many in Washington were convinced that effort would fail. How did the establishment get it so wrong, yet again? Washington suffers from a disease of short-term bias, most of it self-inflicted. Pundits and career politicians inflate trivial controversies to avoid addressing real ones. The mainstream media follows suit, looking for cheap sensationalism to help keep a few more viewers entertained. In both cases, the news cycle moves on before anyone is held accountable for making wrong prediction after wrong prediction. That short-sightedness also tells us who the Beltway’s real customers are. It’s no coincidence that much of the political class pays closer attention to the hourly fluctuations of Wall Street than to the long-term decline of American communities. Both their jobs and those of their patrons depend on not disrupting the status quo at any cost. Real negotiation, on the other hand, requires a willingness to stand your ground. It also requires understanding your bargaining power. President Trump knows that a strong America—both economically and militarily—can help shape the world for the better. The results are already drowning out Washington’s “experts.” For example:
- Our NATO allies cut their defense budgets for years knowing that American taxpayers would pick up the bill. President Trump said no more—and has already secured a $100 billion increase from our allies in defense spending.
- Both President Trump and former President Obama promised to renegotiate NAFTA to get a better deal for American workers. Only President Trump delivered, and the new USMCA now awaits approval from Congress.
- For years, pundits said that America’s days as a manufacturing powerhouse were over. Under President Trump, the U.S. economy added 284,000 manufacturing jobs in 2018—the most of any year since the 1990s.
The bottom line: American strength works. It just requires the will to use it. See the headlines: President Trump secures a historic immigration deal with Mexico.
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