Look to the Future and Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election
Do you know much about William McKinley?
I didn’t.
As much as I appreciate and am fascinated by American history and her heroes, I couldn’t have told you anything about him; however, after reading up on his life and accomplishments as our 25th American president, he should definitely be lauded as one of the greats.
Without going too deeply into his entire legacy, I was interested in learning about him because he was a Republican, two-term president who ardently championed tariffs.
See where I’m going here?
As we look at the possibility of a future with either President Kamala Harris – or the second term of President Donald J. Trump, it seems crucial to understand the tariff issue a little better because Trump plans tariffs. Big, beautiful tariffs – probably the best tariffs ever!
Consider a Second Trump Term.
This campaign season has seen Trump literally turn up the volume.
If you’ve ever gone to or watched any of his rallies or events, you know his playlist: “YMCA,” “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “Takin’ Care of Business,” “God Bless the USA,” and “Rocket Man.” (This one’s for you, Kim Jon-Un!) Trump rallies are celebratory and overflowing, typically with tens of thousands who stood in unthinkable lines for a chance to join the festive pro-America throng. Watching him speak to the crowd chanting “USA!” and “Four More Years!” seems far removed from the media’s portrayal of the former president as a super-villain. These audiences love Trump, and he seems to love them back. He is the America-first candidate, promising to champion our nation and citizens.
Back to McKinley. His story is about how the United States went from being a start-up nation, only around a century old, deeply wounded by a bloody and depleting Civil War – to an economic superpower. When it comes to the American prosperity that has brought the U.S. to the pinnacle of success, you simply can’t get there without President McKinley. And he believed in protectionist tariffs.1
That simply means, much like President Trump proposes, tariffs were placed on imported goods to prevent foreign countries from undercutting our American industries and workers. Tariffs, or even the threat of tariffs, represent a bargaining chip to achieve the desired outcome, making expanding business and industry in the U.S. less risky and discouraging American companies from moving their plants overseas. It massively benefited our national interest and businesses, large and small.
Though McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist in 1901 during his second term in office – his legacy and strategies helped build America’s economic infrastructure as never before. Before he succumbed to his wounds in the days after the shooting, his last words were, “It is God’s way. His will, not ours, be done.” Character, faith, and courage.
McKinley’s model is not far from what President Trump hopes to achieve through tariffs. He would contend, like McKinley, that tariffs, levied judiciously and threatened strategically, will be vital in returning prosperity and exponential growth to the American economy.
As voters, we must decide if we believe it to be a winning policy. It worked earlier in America’s history – after the war had deeply marred and divided our nation. Can the same be true for our COVID-damaged, crime-ridden, inflation-ravaged union?
Critics say, “No,” but Trump claims strategic tariffs will ignite our economy.
Since we’re imagining what a future Trump term might entail, it’s worth mentioning that we can’t know for sure what will happen for either candidate. There’s no way to predict how many impeachment attempts will be made, nor do we know what the balance of Congress will be after the election.
We can easily imagine the border being secured relatively quickly by restoring the policies President Trump implemented during his first term. He is experienced in this and just last week received the unanimous endorsement of the Border Patrol Union. That’s 100% folks. That speaks volumes.
Trump also plans to deport criminal illegals as quickly as it can be done. What will that look like? We can’t say.
He also promises to “Drill, baby, drill,” a popular cry of Republicans who desire to see our energy sector reinvigorated in hopes of achieving energy independence. The former president also promised that lowering fuel costs would also reduce the price of groceries and much more.
Further, his plan includes no taxes on tips or overtime wages. He also claims he’ll end taxes on seniors’ monthly Social Security stipend and even make interest on car loans tax deductible.
We hope a Trump administration will leverage the intellectual capital of business titans Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to take a good hard look at government waste, corruption, and “the swamp.”
Trump has stated that he believes education should be sent back to the states to manage rather than using a bloated centralized Department of Education. There must be a host of bureaucrats concerned about what may happen in the next couple of years should Trump take office. During his previous term, he’s stated and proven that he is determined to favor America and her people over the monolith of government bureaucracy.
The most important question to ask ourselves is: Are we better off now than we were four years ago?
Your answer should inform your vote.
How About President Kamala Harris?
The vision of a Harris presidency, as articulated in her speeches and interviews, has been a little harder to pin down.
While Trump speaks for 90 minutes plus – several times a week, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been much less talkative.
She focuses heavily on ridding the nation of Trump, stating that she believes he has cast a pall on our great land because of his tone, words, and “dangerous” agenda (see above). Above all else, she casts a vision for a world without President Trump. So, if you are part of the “orange man bad” coalition, she’s got you covered.
Beyond that, you might presume a Harris term may mirror the last four years of Biden/Harris since she has not voiced any desire to distance herself from their performance together. It may be a commendable attempt not to say unkind things about her boss, President Biden. Still, given our economic, border, and crime woes, we can’t confidently say what changes may be central to the plan she implements.
Harris seems to be loosening a bit on her measured approach to the media, which we applaud. To her credit, in the last two weeks, as we barrel toward election day, Harris has upped her interview game a bit. She has not only stepped out with those who voice fawning approval, like The View, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Howard Stern Show, and the Call Her Daddy podcast. Harris also appeared on 60 Minutes, though CBS severely fumbled as it was discovered that they drastically edited the interview to artificially improve Harris’ performance. However, she also sat for her first appearance on Fox News, a no-nonsense, non-edited interchange with Bret Baier.
She seems to avoid many specifics of her vision in these appearances, except when she recently offered a plan to woo black men to the voting booth. It included five points.
- Provide 1 million “fully forgivable” loans to black entrepreneurs.
- Improved education, training, and mentorships for black men.
- Regulation of cryptocurrency to protect black men who invest.
- National Health Equity Initiative focused on black men.
- Legalized recreational marijuana to create career opportunities for black Americans.2
We doubt the Constitutionality of the racial preferences of the Harris plan, especially given the Supreme Court’s striking down of Affirmative Action last year because it violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It’s worth considering whether this new list will pass Constitutional muster.
She has been vague but promises border reform. During the Bret Baier interview, though she wasn’t able or willing to share how many illegals had been released into our nation during her four-year team, Harris did point out an early piece of immigration legislation she and President Biden pushed. The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 addressed border issues; however, it was called by the Heritage Foundation “the most radical piece of immigration legislation in American history.” They also wrote: “This proposal would provide amnesty to untold millions, erase the line between legal and illegal immigrants…”3
She’s mentioned that bill several times lately, which makes us wonder if it is something she would attempt again? Will she close the border? She hasn’t said. She and Trump have vastly different approaches to the crisis, with Harris promising that hers will be more equitable and effective. While she seems to hedge a bit when asked directly, from her words and actions through the years, she seems to favor a robust path to citizenship for illegal aliens.
Harris harshly criticized President Trump for not supporting a recent “border” bill that failed in Congress; however, it would have codified the entry of up to 1.8 million per year. Most Republicans saw it as a bad bill, and it reveals a bit more about Harris’ view of a “secured border.”
Harris also touts her planned “Opportunity Economy.” She plans a federal ban on “price gouging.” Her website says Harris will unleash investigators to ensure companies won’t collude to raise prices. Is nefarious corporate scheming the driver of the sky-high grocery prices we’ve lived through? Harris seems to think so. Biden also famously called out food companies for putting less in bags and containers – shortchanging consumers.
She boasts of casting the deciding vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, a piece of legislation that most now admit is dedicated to furthering green policies. Going forward, she plans to sink more than $265 billion tax dollars into clean energy, which she promises will create more than 300,000 jobs. If going green is your thing, a Harris presidency is all about it!
She promises to incentivize new businesses with a $50,000 tax incentive and first-time home buyers with $25,000 towards their down payment. We have no word on where this money will come from, but I have my suspicions as a taxpayer. Harris has repeatedly stressed that her plans will be funded by billionaires who will finally pay their “fair share.” No indication of how much that is.
She also expressed in an interview an interest in taxing unrealized capital gains. Most pundits who have commented on this agree that it’s a bad, bad idea. Simply put, it’s a tax on the increase in value of an account or asset, even if you haven’t sold it. A capital gains tax is typically assessed when you sell something at a profit. Her plan would cause the tax to be assessed, whether it’s been sold or not.
Harris promises to support LGBTQ causes and the woke ideologies that have begun to sink roots into our schools and culture. She has voiced the need for everyone to be “more woke.” Her words, and we assume, her vision for America.
No matter where you stand, our nation is relying on you to vote. Vote early, and ask your friends from church and in your community to go ahead and cast their ballot as soon as possible. This will be one of the most consequential elections in our lifetime. Visit MomVote to learn more, and don’t miss our recent Moms for America Townhall with Senator/Vice-Presidential candidate J.D. Vance.
Trump and Harris couldn’t be more different from each other. The choice is now in your hands. America is counting on you, mamas.
This Week’s Podcast: Moms, you may remember NBA star Jonathan Isaac from his patriotic and Christian stand during the BLM protests in 2020. Jonathan talks about standing up for his values and faith then and now. When his contract with NIKE ended, Jonathan started UNITUS, his own premium athletic apparel brand that embodies his Christian values. He joins us to discuss how Moms for America has inspired a brand new Unitus athletic shoe, and he announces a limited, exclusive offer for our moms.
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Check out this Presidential Comparison Chart!
