The Clown in the Circus Ring

Journalists love to ridicule Trump and all the former Republican presidents. They should focus on actual decisions and results.

In the U.S., where people accuse President Donald Trump of everything under the sun, it’s called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” At home in Denmark, you could call it “Trump-phobia.” A phobia is a type of anxiety related to certain things which are not associated with real danger. Most journalists in this country have suffered from a serious phobia regarding America’s Republican presidents, especially Donald Trump.

When Republican President Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, the Danish press demonized him by calling him a lousy amateur actor and cowboy who was dangerous, in particular to world peace. No one gave Reagan credit for a previously successful career as governor of America’s most populous state, California.

Most Danes are amazed that today, Reagan is considered one of America’s greatest presidents. He united the U.S. after a long period of economic crisis, and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When the first member of the Republican Bush family was elected president, he was also constantly ridiculed. Later, the media sharply criticized George W. Bush, in part because he was probably not smart enough for the job. This occurred despite the fact that during the Bush administrations, the U.S. continued to strengthen its role as protector of the free world. George H.W. Bush had had a long international diplomatic career and understood the importance of America’s international arrangement. However, people only saw his interest in the world as Republican imperialism and not as a means to protect Europe and other democracies. The absurdity today, which brings this simple hatred to light, is that Trump is heavily criticized for not taking on precisely this role.

Constant bullying by journalists shifts the focus from issues that newspapers ought to focus on. It even seems as if criticism of Trump lacks substance. By simply accusing him of something, one is guaranteed 15 minutes of praise on social media.

According to the Danish press, the Democrats, on the other hand, have excelled at delivering good presidents. Who wouldn’t want to have a beer with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama? Clinton even signed off on repealing the law separating investment and savings banking, known as the Glass-Steagall Act. As a result, there was no impediment to the 2008 global financial crisis putting an end to the savings and pensions of many Americans.

Unlike Trump’s courtly remarks in a bar 15 years ago, Clinton’s sexual misconduct was ignored without similar shame in Denmark.

We loved Obama even more. We felt he was one of ours because he was popular in a cool way. However, during his administration and without protest, he deported more than 3 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally back to their home countries; and he never delivered on his promises to pull the U.S. out of various ongoing wars around the world. However, he introduced his health care law, which of course appealed to the Danes, as it is similar to the system we have in Denmark — at least on the surface.

In 2016, Trump, a Republican, took office, an outsider with machismo who seemed to be fueled by personal conflict. The fact that he took office as a result of Hillary Clinton’s defeat was unbearable, and sharpened the tone people took about Trump. According to the Danes, Hillary Clinton was one of the good ones. The Danes immediately had a bout of Trump-phobia. According to the press, one could expect that this eccentric Republican president would lead the country to major disaster in the future.

There would be a breakdown with regard to climate change because Trump did not agree with the Paris climate accord, an agreement which Congress had never approved. Trump meant new wars, which would occur because if nothing else, Trump dared to demand that U.S. allies contribute to their own defense or at least allocate 2% of their gross domestic product toward it; the U.S. spends 4.3%. To top it all off, Trump facilitated the construction of a wall at the southern U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration.

Journalists have made it a priority to misrepresent data in order to bully Trump in a boneheaded way, something which has contributed to an almost unprecedented level of polarization in politics. The journalists have whipped people into a frenzy. Moreover, this happens to the leader of our most important ally. We have never been presented with balanced news about Trump.

Here are some facts:

— Trump lowered corporate taxes from 35% to 22%, the same level of corporate tax in Denmark. People said this would only benefit the rich. The consequence, however, has been that U.S. companies have taken billions of dollars from foreign companies and invested in the U.S. For the first time in recent history, more than 1 million new industrial jobs have been created.

— Trump has reduced illegal immigration, which, for the first time, has caused unskilled labor salaries to rise, as unskilled laborers no longer have to compete against immigrants in the U.S. illegally to the same extent.

— Under the Trump administration, Spanish speakers and African Americans experienced a massive drop in unemployment until the COVID-19 crisis began.

— Finally, Trump has challenged China by demanding that it abolish rules that have led to the theft of U.S. technology and done so in order for the U.S. to gain access to the Chinese market. He has also imposed the same restrictions on purchases by Chinese companies that the United States is subject to in China. American success has prompted Europeans to make the same demands from China.

The U.S. does not have the highest number of deaths per million people from COVID-19. The U.S. has 445 deaths per million, Spain has 608, England has 608 and Italy has 480, to name a few.

After all is said and done, Trump has provided an alternative to the establishment in Washington, where it is traditional for politicians to take care of each other and ensure that politicians are personally enriched.

We regard Trump as an inevitable and necessary counterpoint to the political establishment supported by the Democrats. Trump’s victories were driven by Democratic nepotism and contrary activism. Democrats were their own worst enemy in the 2016 election.

The uncompromising style of Trump and Democratic activists have strengthened the polarization between political fronts; not only between Republicans and Democrats, but also internally within the Democratic Party.

Only the shameless can lead in an era of shame. That includes a semi-senile Joe Biden (the Democrats’ presumptive nominee), who at once seems keen on throwing the compass overboard and letting himself be guided by the chaotic winds of disgrace and the activists. This is not a good situation. What does our press have in mind? Will they tell us that Trump is the dumbest?

Is the press really the clown in the circus ring?