Anthony Scaramucci is the founder of SkyBridge Capital, co-host of Wall Street Week on Fox Business, and member of Donald Trump’s economic policy council and finance committee.
For the past 30 years, the political establishment has failed the American people. Poorly negotiated and lazily enforced trade deals have caused jobs to flee the heartland. Misguided economic and tax policies have hampered growth, allowing the rich to become richer while turning the middle class into the working poor. Trillions of dollars spent on foreign wars have done nothing to make Americans feel safer at home.
Given that Hillary Clinton is the embodiment of failed establishment politics, it’s no wonder her campaign has sought to make the election about personal suitability. But Americans are tired of political games and false promises from Washington. Donald Trump is not a career politician, and so that has created its own level of surprise and diversion from his core message and policies. But this election remains all about policy—and Donald Trump’s pro-growth economic plan and pragmatic social platform represents a more prosperous way forward for the country.
For a counterpoint, see: “Don’t Let Donald Trump Make You His Next Patsy.”
Donald Trump doesn’t speak like a politician, and that’s made some people uncomfortable. In a world of political correctness run amok, his straight talk has been a breath of fresh air. As Peter Thiel recently noted, the media takes everything Donald Trump says literally, but they don’t take him seriously. As a proud New Yorker, Donald Trump does not back down from confrontations and is prone to rhetorical flourishes.
However, the core substance of his message resonates loudly with the American people. He believes in “waves and waves” of legal immigration, but simply wants to secure the border so we know who and what is coming into our country. He wants to pause refugee programs until we can get a better handle on the effectiveness of our vetting processes. He wants to reevaluate our military strategy in order to achieve sustainable long-term peace. These are not extreme views. Because Hillary Clinton stands for nothing but more of the same failed policies, advisers have trained her to divert attention away from the issues and onto Donald Trump’s personal eccentricities. Donald Trump is not a racist or a misogynist. He is a family man with a long record of empowering people of all backgrounds. American voters can see through the nonsense and are focused on which candidate can provide them a better future.
The U.S, economy is currently mired in the slowest expansion in nearly 80 years while labor force participation is at its lowest point since 1981. The solution to every problem during the current administration has been to increase regulation and raise taxes, an approach that has suffocated small business owners and job creators. Donald Trump’s economic plan promises to unleash enormous pent up demand and innovation in the American economy. He will repeal ineffective social welfare programs like Obamacare, replacing them with competitive solutions that promote efficiency and drive down prices. His plan to reduce and simplify the tax code for all Americans will provide a lasting boost to economic growth and government tax revenues, just as Ronald Reagan’s did. His plan for record infrastructure spending will be the most powerful and least wasteful stimulus program of all time because it will be managed by a businessman, not a bureaucrat. Wage growth has not matched inflation during the last three decades, causing quality of life for the average American to deteriorate. A Hillary Clinton presidency represents the continuation of that path, while Donald Trump offers a chance to disrupt the sclerotic status quo.
Perhaps most importantly, a Donald Trump presidency would restore common sense to Washington. American politics didn’t used to be so polarized and paralyzed—there was a time when good of country came before good of party. However, career politicians have turned the governing process into a game of self-preservation. The statesman is a dying breed. Donald Trump’s pragmatic solutions don’t fit into a neatly-bundled partisan platform, nor does his wide cross-section of support cut across traditional party lines. Donald Trump wants to be a president for all Americans – rich and poor, black and white, male and female, young and old, Republican and Democrat. Voters respect the fact he tells them the truth and isn’t afraid to take on entrenched political dogmas. The media wants to paint an apocalyptic vision of the first 100 days of a Donald Trump presidency when in reality—if given the chance—he will go down as the greatest consensus-builder and deal-maker in modern American political history.
Elections are never about candidates, even if certain politicians try to make them so. Elections are about the electorate and what it needs at a given moment in history. Right now the American people are filled with angst about the future. They see our economic values diverging from the capitalist model that made our country great. They see our society’s culture drifting away from the ideals of liberty and freedom that turned America into the shining city upon a hill. They see our inconsistent and weak-handed approach to foreign policy inviting evil to take hold around the world. Right now the American people need fresh, bold leadership to jerk the steering wheel back in the right direction, and Donald Trump is the perfect candidate for the job.
