Tag: Lankford

Trump is Unbelievable! The facts won’t allow us to believe his promises about the border and the budget

Biden and Trump both have records to run on… or to hide from. God has given each of us a brain and a conscience to evaluate their actions as a former or current president. I will analyze Biden’s record in upcoming posts, but in my writings today and tomorrow, I will address Trump’s promises and practice in two areas: the Border and the Budget.

The Border

Ever since his escalator descent when he began his first presidential campaign in 2015, the southern border has been one of Trump’s principal issues. A major thrust of his solution to the “immigration crisis” was his promise to build a wall along the two-thousand-mile border between Mexico and the United States. In fact, the phrase “Build the wall… Build the wall” became the standard chant at MAGA rallies. Last night, Trump promised that he would complete the wall, although he had already “finished most of it”.

Fact # 1 – During his previous four-year presidential administration, Trump built a whopping 52 miles of new wall (according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection report). He had the full authority of the White House and a Republican controlled Congress, yet he only constructed fifty-two miles of new wall. We should evaluate people, and especially presidential candidates, by their “fruits”, that is, by their actions (or in this case, inaction). Given this fact, it is incredible that anyone would believe Trump’s words about the border.

Fact # 2 – Earlier this year, the conservative Republican Senator James Lankford was the main author of a tough immigration bill in the Senate. It included everything that Republicans wanted in immigration legislation. Republicans were in favor of the bill… until they weren’t. What happened? Trump urged Republican officials to vote against the legislation. Trump did not want to solve the “immigration crisis”; he wanted the crisis to continue as a political issue for his campaign. This was pure hypocrisy.

In my post tomorrow, I will analyze Trump’s promises about the budget and the national debt. Meanwhile, seek the truth, follow the truth, live the truth. Do not believe lies, whoever they come from.

The State of the Union address last night and the Republican response: Facts and Fiction

Last night, President Biden gave his State of the Union address. Before (and during?) his speech, Democrats were anxious that the president would make many gaffes, would come across as out of touch, and would appear a bit senile. Nevertheless, he surpassed the expectations of his friends and foes alike. He was coherent, fiery, and passionate. His frequent ad libs were on target. He even joked about his age.

In these addresses, presidents highlight their successes. Biden did this with a long litany of achievements, and his fellow Democrats roared their approval. Most of his affirmations were factually accurate, although some were misleading (example, taxes paid by corporations. See Fact checking Biden’s State of the Union | CNN Politics for the evidence that overwhelmingly confirms (and occasionally challenges) the accuracy of his statements.

Biden also tackled immigration, one of his weakest issues. He advocated for the immigration bill passed by the Senate and waiting for a vote in the House. It is a bipartisan bill, largely written by conservative Republican Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma. What are the facts?

  1. Is it the toughest immigration bill of our generation? Yes.
  2. Did Republicans originally support it? Yes.
  3. Is it supported by the union of Border Patrol officers? Yes.
  4. Did former President Trump communicate with Republican congressional representatives to not vote on the bill?
  5. Is this because immigration is his best campaign issue and not a challenge to be resolved? Yes.
  6. Is calling it a crisis and not voting on it in Congress hypocrisy? Yes.
  7. Let’s have the vote!

The Republican response was delivered by Katie Britt, a Senator from Alabama. It was good to see an elected official from a younger generation. Although she was too dramatic for my taste, I agree with her statement that people are only as good as their word. Is our word honest, accurate, full of integrity? Sadly, her few affirmations did not match the truth. She said, “We have the worst inflation in 40 years” (present tense). That is false. Although inflation rose to 9.1% in June 2022, it is now 3.1%. Instead of criticizing Biden on this issue, she should have given him credit. On the topic of immigration, she conveniently forgot to mention that Trump had promised he would “build the wall and make Mexico pay for it”. Of course, the former president did not keep either promise.

The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, was sitting behind the President and was in clear view the entire evening. He has been roundly criticized for not applauding enough. Although I strongly disagree with him on some issues (for example, not bringing the Senate foreign aid bill up for a vote in the House), last night he did urge members of his own party to show respect for the office of the presidency. He applauded when he agreed with Biden and respectfully kept quiet when he did not.

We the people have the responsibility to seek and speak “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. Although our political preferences do shape what we see, if we work hard enough, we can overcome our biases, and reach some common ground of truth. For the sake of future generations, let’s seek those truths.