The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • April 21, 2017 Apparently Jeb Bush won the presidency after all. The United States is at deep odds with Russia, has bombed Syria and is demoniz- ing its leader Assad, has abandoned any notion of labeling China as a currency manipulator, is pondering a first strike against North Korea and has a presiden- tial administration whose most powerful advisers are Wall Street bankers. The first three months of the Donald Trump presidency seem to be exactly what we would have gotten from a Jeb Bush presidency. The threats of protectionism are gone, the foreign policy seems to be right out of the establishment playbook, the nationalistic advisers like Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn are either gone or demoted and the border wall is on the back burner. Not surprisingly, all of these develop- ments are being misinterpreted by both Trump's original core supporters and the establishment Republicans who formed the "Never Trump" movement. The left and the media are especially mixed up but that's par for the course. Trump has brilliantly and decisively responded to the events of the moment while dealing with the collapsing world he inherited from his hands-off predecessor, Barack Obama. His actions of the first three months have nothing to do with abandoning the ideology that got him elected and everything to do with manag- ing a world that is threatening to crack up. Events always dictate responses and Trump has responded in a manner that conjures up memories of Ronald Reagan. The world Trump inherited is one that presumed America is all talk and no action. Syria used chemical weapons in 2013 in defiance of Obama's "red line" but paid no price as Obama was bluffing. North Korea's sociopath leader saw a United States that kept imposing toothless sanctions but never deterred his nuclear program. China never faced consequences for trade abuses or propping up North Korea, despite American bluster. Trump needed to do a reset of this world order and he needed to do it immediately because the world is heading toward crisis. By striking Syria, Trump not only pun- ished Assad for again using chemical weapons but put North Korea and the rest of the world on notice that the United States is again willing to use force when needed. This is not a repudiation of Trump's "America First" nationalism but a reassertion of America's willingness to stop the world from going to hell. Obama's high-minded passivity led us to the brinks Trump is at. Trump's reaction is all about the hand he was dealt by the inept Obama. Some of Trump's supporters are calling him a sellout. Pundits like Ann Coulter are apoplectic while Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage and the Breitbart crowd are wring- ing their hands in fear that the neo-cons are still running things. They need to take a bottle of chill pills. Trump is not Bush. He's Trump. We are not going to invade Syria and we are not going to engage in nation building. The recent massive bomb- ing of tunnels in Afghanistan is an attempt to accelerate our getting out of there, not staying. The decision to not sanction China for currency manipulation is Trump's way of pressuring China to support what needs to be done in North Korea. For decades, American trade policy essentially consisted of us trading freely while the rest of the world walked all over us. Trump is ending this. Does anyone seriously think he didn't get major conces- sions from China in exchange for the cur- rency manipulation gambit? If China doesn't help on North Korea, there will be trade consequences. No president in the last 40 years has stood up to China like this. Similarly wrong are the spoil-sport cry- baby Never Trumpers. They guaranteed us that Trump was going to be a half-cocked, jingoistic nut who was going to roll over to the Russians, kill the economy with tariffs and trade wars, and turn public policy over to a half-deranged loony from a web- site. They have been wrong about every- thing. Trump's response to every world event so far has been precisely the one they would have called for. Yet do they admit Trump is acting so competently and forcefully? Do they praise the exiling of Bannon? Do they acknowledge that Trump's team of Tillerson, McMaster and Mattis has been brilliant? Nope. They can't bring themselves to say anything positive about Trump even when he does the very things they would have endorsed. The core Trump crowd who was with him from the beginning needs patience. Trump is redefining America by putting our national interest first but while also protecting those interests with pragma- tism and assertion. This is not going to be another Bush presidency. The struggle to move forward on domestic policy isn't because of Trump but because the so- called House Freedom Caucus isn't willing to work with Trump. This is a major rea- son for the demotion of Bannon — his inability to manage his own crowd. I was as big a skeptic of Trump one year ago. But any evaluation of his presidency with an open mind leads to the conclusion that we have a leader determined to restore American greatness while letting the world know we are not to be pushed around. The reaction to Trump's reset is eerily reminiscent of the last time America put its interests first while alter- ing the past order. It was 1981 when Reagan began changing the world. He, too, was underestimated by his party's establish- ment while occasionally disappointing his impatient base. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE America has a strong leader again Last week's question In a nonbinding referendum, 72 percent of the voters this month voted against increas- ing the wheel tax to $60. Do you think the County Board and county executive will follow the advice? I already paid the $30 wheel tax because I renewed my vehicle license plates in March. I would go along with the increased wheel tax if the $60 would go only for roads and for public transportation. At least we would be putting money toward our roads and everyone would benefit from it. I see it as being a once-a-year contri- bution. I'm in a wheelchair and I see the $60 as fair for the benefits I get from public transit. — Dennis Whalen Milwaukee This week's question What do you think about the threat North Korea poses to the United States? Has President Donald Trump been strong or destabilizing in his dealings with the authoritarian Communist regime? Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Call 744-6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@ conleynet.com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy Trump's moves are misinterpreted by his supporters and foes OPINION

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