Let me preface this piece with a couple of caveats.
- I think Donald Trump will go down in history as the worst President ever
- I find Trump to be boorish, a bully, a liar, and an inarticulate, uninformed charlatan
- I hope with all that I know is right with America that the voters say to him in 2020, “Mr. Trump, You’re Fired!”
- I have not lost my mind.
With that said, let me get to the point.
In threatening to close the southern border, Mr. Trump is correct. A crisis often calls for drastic action. A crisis not of just illegal border crossings, but severe economic and humanitarian issues in Central America.
We face a humanitarian crisis of significant, if not historic, proportions. The crisis is directed and condoned by the corrupt and greedy governments of Central America, i.e., El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala. Assisted by the government of Mexico by facilitating the passage of these desperate caravans across their territory.
There is no right answer here. It is not the risk of terrorists we need fear. Not the overblown, exaggerated, culture of fear of crimes perpetrated by immigrants propagated by Trump and his zealot supporters. That is as sinister a false flag as anything coming out of this administration, which is saying much.
But by leaving the borders open, we are luring the desperate with false hopes. This administration has little concern for humanitarian issues. This administration ignored its own citizens in Puerto Rico, what hope do immigrants, illegal or otherwise, have here?
In cutting foreign aid to these countries, Mr. Trump is adding fuel to the very fire he wishes to extinguish. Countries give foreign assistance because it is in their best interest to do so. While some see it as sharing our wealth and spreading goodwill if foreign aid worked against our interests we would not offer it.
Close the border, Mr. Trump. See just what the economic implications to the southern states turn out to be.
Stop foreign aid, Mr. Trump, and see what effect it has on the stability and economies of those countries.
Use your self- aggrandized deal-making skills to convince Mexico and others it is in their best interest to protect our best interest.
The nightmare you have created by focusing on a wall that will take years to build, have a questionable effect, and cost billions of dollars is a sideshow to real statesmanship and your obligation to serve America’s best interest.
Close the border, Mr. Trump. Even you cannot make this worse.
Take the money you save by withholding foreign aid and use it to improve the immigration and border control system. Use it to regain the advantage that has always made America Great, the benefit of immigration and immigrants significant contribution to this nation.
Do that, and you can go back to playing golf while the nation burns.