COUNTERPOINT: Put him on Mount Rushmore
When the history of the first quarter of the 21st century is written, there will be one towering political figure above all the rest - President Donald J. Trump.
That’s why I believe he belongs on Mount Rushmore.
Not because the Washington establishment approves; it never will. Not because CNN or The New York Times says so; they never would. Not because the elite cocktail crowd in Georgetown or Manhattan likes it; they don’t.
Because he fundamentally changed the direction of the United States of America.
How many presidents can honestly say that?
Trump didn’t simply win elections. He shattered an entire political order. For decades, Republicans promised to secure the border. President Joe Biden said he needed Congress to do it.
Trump did it, in three months.
They talked about putting American workers first. Instead, they shipped our jobs overseas in their never-ending lust for cheap labor. Trump made it the centerpiece of his movement. And delivered as manufacturing jobs came roaring back.
They complained about unfair trade deals. Trump confronted them. And changed it all.
They warned about China while cashing checks from corporations profiting from cheap labor overseas. Trump took on Beijing head-on.
He transformed the Republican Party from a country-club organization built around donor dinners and consultant talking points into a populist movement built around forgotten Americans who had been ignored for generations.
Coal miners. Factory workers. Truck drivers. Farmers. Secretaries. Small-business owners. Police officers. Parents. The people who actually build this country.
The political elites laughed. Then they lost. Twice.
Take the issue of the southern border and the record of presidential failure going back to Ronald Reagan.
In December 2023, the Border Patrol recorded 249,785 illegal border crossings. In May of this year? Just 9,998. Problem solved.
And even after years of investigations, impeachments, prosecutions, media attacks and predictions that “this time it’s over,” Trump kept coming back because millions of Americans believed somebody was finally fighting for them instead of managing their decline.
That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because leadership matters.
George Washington created the presidency. Thomas Jefferson expanded America. Abraham Lincoln saved the Union. Theodore Roosevelt projected American strength.
Donald Trump redefined American politics.
Whether his critics like it or not, the political landscape will never look the same again.
Today’s Republican Party isn’t Mitt Romney’s party. It isn’t the Bush family’s party. It’s the America First Party.
Trump built that.
His influence reaches far beyond one administration or one election cycle. Republican candidates nationwide now campaign on border security, energy independence, fair trade, manufacturing, higher wages and putting American citizens first because Trump proved those issues resonated with millions of voters.
The monument doesn’t celebrate perfection. It celebrates presidents whose leadership permanently altered the American story. By that standard, Trump’s record deserves to be in the conversation.
His opponents can stomp their feet. Cable news hosts can roll their eyes. Editorial boards can huff and puff. None of that changes reality.
History has a funny way of rewarding leaders who challenged the establishment, survived relentless opposition and left the country politically transformed. Love him or hate him, America is a different nation because of Trump.
That is the test history applies.
And if Mount Rushmore honors presidents who reshaped the republic, then Donald Trump has earned his place on that monument.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
John Fredericks is the host of “The John Fredericks Media Network.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
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