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To my sane friends — that is, the ones who voted against Trump — here’s some holiday cheer: Things may be OK.
The Trump presidency may work out.
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Think about foreign policy: As to Iran, nothing’s worked so far. Maybe the recent events in Syria will be an improvement, no matter who’s the president. Or maybe Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy will be as good as whatever Biden’s been doing.
China? Same deal. Perhaps threats of tariffs, or actual tariffs, will bring China back onto the right side of the global community. I’d pay another percent or two for manufactured goods in exchange for an improvement in the world order.
In Israel, Netanyahu may give Trump the welcoming present of a peace deal in Gaza. That would undoubtedly be an improvement.
On NATO, maybe Trump is bluffing. Trump wants member countries to contribute more money for their defense. Perhaps they will, and the United States will not withdraw from the alliance. That’d be a win-win.
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In Ukraine, victory for the good guys appears to be out of reach. Perhaps a negotiated solution that ends the dying is not so bad.
North Korea? Nothing’s worked for the past few decades. So whatever Trump does is a push with the past, unless Trump triggers World War III. I don’t think he’d do that, because World War III would ruin all of his golf courses.
See? On the foreign policy front, things could be OK.
How about domestic policy?
Maybe Trump’s just bluffing about imposing 20% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Perhaps our neighbors will make some insignificant adjustments to something, Trump will claim that he’s achieved the greatest victory in the history of the world, and life will move on.
Same with deportation of illegal immigrants: Trump will deport a few thousand undocumented workers who committed crimes while they were in the United States. Beyond that, deportations will become expensive and unpopular. Deportations will stop, Trump will claim success, and life will go back to normal. Actually, life will go back to a better normal.
Tax cuts? This is tricky. The Trump tax cuts disproportionately benefited the rich. Continuing those tax cuts will worsen the federal deficit and again simply benefit the rich. But we’ve lived with those tax cuts for six years now, and we’ve survived. And the damned politicians have ignored deficits since the Reagan era, and we’ve gotten away with it. Maybe there will not yet be a price today.
Climate change? Maybe the market economy will help: Coal and gas will become expensive sources of energy compared to nuclear, solar, and wind, and folks will gradually shift to cheaper, and more climate-friendly, alternatives.
See? Things might not be so bad.
I confess that you’ll probably get a dose of Trump every morning for the next four years, as he continues to steal the media spotlight for no good reason. I can’t help you with that. Just ignore him.
In the meantime, think about this: Every day, for the rest of your life, you’ll proudly be able to say, “I’ve never voted for a convicted felon to be President of the United States.” That puts you way ahead of tens of millions of Americans.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].