Understanding Trump

by Newt Gingrich

  Post-Post Postscript—(Written after the surprise election of 2016; the chapter above was written several months prior to the event.) The election of Trump was so absurd to them and didn’t fit their worldview by such a large margin that they failed to find instructions in their textbook on how to react. It was exactly as on Candid Camera; imagine the characteristic look on someone’s face after they pull a trick on him, and the person is at a loss about how to react.

  Or, more interestingly, imagine the looks and reaction of someone who thought he was happily married making an unscheduled return home and hears his wife squealing in bed with a (huge) doorman.

  Pretty much everything forecasters, subforecasters, superforecasters, political “scientists,” psychologists, intellectuals, campaigners, “consultants,” big data scientists, everything they know was instantly shown to be a hoax. So my mischievous dream of putting a rat inside someone’s shirt (as expressed in The Black Swan) suddenly came true.

  NOTE: this piece can be reproduced, translated, and published by anyone under the condition that it is in its entirety and mentions that it is extracted from Skin in the Game.

  Publications banned from republishing my work without explicit written permission: Huffington Post (all languages).

  APPENDIX II

  SELECTED SPEECHES OF DONALD J. TRUMP

  Inaugural Address of President Donald J. Trump January 20, 2017

  Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.

  We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.

  Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.

  We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.

  Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.

  Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another—but we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the American people.

  For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

  Washington flourished—but the people did not share in its wealth.

  Politicians prospered—but the jobs left, and the factories closed.

  The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

  Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

  That all changes—starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.

  It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America.

  This is your day. This is your celebration.

  And this, the United States of America, is your country.

  What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

  January 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

  The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

  Everyone is listening to you now.

  You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before.

  At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.

  Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.

  These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public.

  But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.

  This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

  We are one nation—and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.

  The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

  For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry;

  Subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military;

  We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own;

  And spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

  We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.

  One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.

  The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world.

  But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.

  We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.

  From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.

  From this moment on, it’s going to be America first.

  Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.

  We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.

  I will fight for you with every breath in my body—and I will never, ever let you down.

  America will start winning again, winning like never before.

  We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

  We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation.

  We will get our people off of welfare and back to work—rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.

  We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American.

  We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world—but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

  We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow.

  We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones—and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.

  At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.

  When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

  The Bible tells us, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”

  We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.

  When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

  There should be no fear—we are protected, and we will always be protected.

  We will be protecte
d by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God.

  Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger.

  In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving.

  We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action—constantly complaining but never doing anything about it.

  The time for empty talk is over.

  Now arrives the hour of action.

  Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America.

  We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

  We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries, and technologies of tomorrow.

  A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.

  It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag.

  And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.

  So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words:

  You will never be ignored again.

  Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

  Together, we will make America strong again.

  We will make America wealthy again.

  We will make America proud again.

  We will make America safe again.

  And, yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you, God Bless you, and God bless America.

  Remarks by President Trump in a Joint Session of Congress February 28, 2017

  Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and citizens of America:

  Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation’s path towards civil rights and the work that still remains to be done. Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.

  Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty, and justice in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. A new chapter of American greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation. And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp.

  What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit. Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead. All the nations of the world—friend or foe—will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.

  In nine years, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding—250 years since the day we declared our independence. It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?

  I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future. For too long, we’ve watched our middle class shrink as we’ve exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. We’ve financed and built one global project after another, but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and so many other places throughout our land.

  We’ve defended the borders of other nations while leaving our own borders wide open for anyone to cross and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate. And we’ve spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.

  Then, in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds—families who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns.

  But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake, and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand: that America must put its own citizens first. Because only then can we truly make America great again.

  Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve. Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our very, very beautiful land. Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and, ultimately, stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety, and opportunity. Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American people.

  It’s been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the nation on the progress I’ve made in keeping those promises.

  Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart, and many others have announced that they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States, and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.

  The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on November 8, a record. We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of a fantastic—and it is a fantastic—new F-35 jet fighter, and we’ll be saving billions more on contracts all across our government. We have placed a hiring freeze on nonmilitary and nonessential federal workers.

  We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive-branch officials and a lifetime ban—thank you—and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.

  We have undertaken a historic effort to massively reduce job-crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every government agency. And we’re imposing a new rule which mandates that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. We’re going to stop the regulations that threaten the future and livelihood of our great coal miners.

  We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs. And I’ve issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel.

  We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership. And with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets, and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams.

  To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a task force on reducing violent crime. I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, along with the Department of State and the director of National Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the criminal cartels that have spread all across our nation. We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth, and we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted.

  At the same time, my administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and bor
der security. By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. We want all Americans to succeed, but that can’t happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law at our borders.

  For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along our southern border. As we speak tonight, we are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak, and as I promised throughout the campaign.

  To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this one question: What would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income, or their loved one because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?

  Our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the United States. We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism. According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home—from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon, and, yes, even the World Trade Center.

  We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany, and all over the world. It is not compassionate, but reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values. We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America. We cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists.

  That is why my administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep out those who will do us harm.