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OPINION:
In the coming years, historians will hold debates and offer their opinions about which president of the early 21st century had the most impact.
Left-wing academic elites and biased mainstream media outlets will point to President Barack Obama, our country’s first African American president — who campaigned on the slogans of hope and change — as the biggest difference maker. But they would be wrong.
Perhaps the most important indicator of the leader who was the most consequential change agent of his or her time is how establishment powers reacted to them. While Mr. Obama the individual certainly represented change, he did absolutely nothing to change how a broken Washington operates and has little to show in the way of legislative accomplishments that will be long remembered for making a significant difference in people’s lives.
The establishment embraced Mr. Obama and in return, he didn’t rock the boat. At the end of the day, Mr. Obama was a Democrat machine politician no different in substance than other well-known liberals like Sen. Ted Kennedy or President Biden. The establishment’s unhinged reaction to former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been breathtaking in both its scope and determination. He singlehandedly caused the entire deep-rooted power structure in the United States to blow a gasket.
Mr. Trump is a citizen-politician unlike any the country has ever seen. He’s not beholden to any special interest. He has little time for professional career politicians and hates the faceless bureaucracy — also known as the deep state. He loathes the corrupt mainstream media and has no respect for the so-called intellectual elitists of academia. He makes decisions based on his love for our country and what he thinks is right. Mr. Trump is guided by common sense and his drive to get things done.
For this, Mr. Trump has been under nonstop attack by those who feel threatened by him since the day he came down the golden escalator in Trump Tower in June 2015. In fact, Mr. Trump puts so much fear into our political establishment that they have broken our nation’s rules, precedents and traditions — regardless of the consequences — to try to destroy him. They ought to be called the “Trump Rules.”
Trump Rule 1. The party in power can launch Justice Department and FBI investigations and spy on a candidate based on false opposition research paid for by his political opponents as long as the target is Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 2. Congress can impeach a duly elected president of the United States without an investigation or due process as long as it’s Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 3. Mainstream media journalists can receive, accept and keep Pulitzer Prizes for “outstanding” reporting about a story that didn’t actually happen — the Russia hoax — as long as the effort was designed to hurt Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 4. A House speaker can set up an illegitimate select committee with unchecked power that’s comprised of seven partisan Democrats, two Trump-hating Republicans and zero Trump-defending Republicans as long as the goal is to stop Mr. Trump from running for president again.
Trump Rule 5. The massive power of the Department of Justice and FBI can be used to conduct an unprecedented raid of the home of a former president and potential future political opponent as long his last name is Trump.
Trump Rule 6: The mainstream media is allowed to transform itself into an unabashed activist arm of the Democrat Party because their goal is to “get” Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 7: Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, the left can continue to push unchecked universal absentee voting as if there were never any concerns about the practice as long as it can help defeat Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 8: Former senior government officials can sign a letter dismissing Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation — turn out to be 100% wrong — and continue life as if it never happened as long as the lie was perpetrated to get rid of Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 9: It’s acceptable to falsely label a duly elected president as a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic Russian agent and face zero accountability as long as the person being smeared is Mr. Trump.
Trump Rule 10: Hunter Biden — under Justice Department investigation — can fly on Air Force One with Mr. Biden the same week the White House claims it’s completely independent of the Justice Department because double standards are ignored as long as you’re on the side that hates Mr. Trump.
It’s been seven years since Mr. Trump decided to get involved in politics to help get his country back on the right track. His term in office was marked by a record-breaking vibrant economy, American energy independence, three constitutionally-aligned Supreme Court justices, peace through strength abroad and a long list of accomplishments that previous administrations said could never happen. In return for doing it his way, the establishment decided to change the rules in the middle of the game to try to derail the ultimate political outsider, but to no avail.
So, when it comes to deciding the most impactful president of the early 21st century, it’s important to study how the entrenched establishment treated the builder from New York who wouldn’t be intimidated.
• David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United and served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President.
