Newt Gingrich. Trump’s America: The Truth about Our Nation’s Great Comeback. Center Street, 2018. See here to purchase the book.
Newt Gingrich was the Republican Speaker of the House during the
1990’s and a Republican Presidential candidate in 2012. He has written
numerous books. Trump’s America is a defense of President Donald Trump.
Here are some thoughts:
A. A glaring omission in this book is that Gingrich, as far as I can
recall, rarely comments on the non-interventionist aspects of Trump’s
foreign policy. Trump ran for President denouncing the Iraq War as a
mistake. Gingrich, by contrast, categorizes certain critics of the Iraq
War as members of the anti-American left. While Trump does change his
positions regularly, a salient aspect of his foreign policy approach, to
which he has returned more than once, includes non-interventionism in
Syria and a cooperative relationship between the U.S. and such nations
as Russia and North Korea. But Gingrich chooses to highlight the more
bellicose aspects of Trump’s foreign policy, such as Trump’s opposition
to America’s nuclear agreement with Iran. Moreover, when people mention
Trump’s averse relationship to the “Deep State,” they usually mean the
national security apparatus: the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, etc. But
Gingrich, in criticizing the “swamp,” focuses more on domestic
bureaucratic regulators and agencies. One might think that Gingrich’s
Republican establishment views color his glowing presentation of Trump’s
policies, when part of Trump’s appeal is that he is a non-establishment
Republican. This is largely accurate, but not entirely, for Gingrich
defends Trump’s protectionist policies and admits error in his own
initial support for NAFTA.
B. Gingrich supports treatment rather than incarceration for opioid
addicts as well as endorses criminal justice reform. This may differ
from the conventional “tough on criminals,” “lock them up” stance of
conservatives, but the Republican Party in general has become more open
to criminal justice reform over the past decade. Gingrich, however, goes
so far as to criticize the stern anti-drug policy of then Attorney
General Jeff Sessions, which is noteworthy in light of the predominantly
pro-Trump tone of this book.
C. Gingrich includes a chapter that criticizes the left’s opposition
to free speech. Such opposition includes safe spaces, the disruption of
conservative speakers on campuses, and the firing of people who express
politically incorrect views. Gingrich points to Trump’s offensive
comments as examples of his defense of free speech. Gingrich admits that
Trump sometimes goes too far, yet he applauds Trump’s refreshing candor
and how Trump highlights concrete examples of where liberal policies
have hurt people (e.g., illegal immigrant gangs). Gingrich also offers
an informative presentation of left-wing stances on speech: the view
that words actually do hurt people and thus should be regulated. Free
speech is a difficult issue. Gingrich may be correct that conservatives
should be allowed to freely express their views, but he should not be
surprised when liberals lash back. Free speech works both ways. The
challenge is finding a way for different views to co-exist peacefully
and respectfully. And the question, then, is whether Trump advances that
goal through his rhetoric. Part of Trump’s appeal, of course, is that
he challenges the sanitized, banal nature of conventional political
discourse and speaks his mind. But is there a way to allow different
views to co-exist peacefully, outside of that sanitized, banal approach
to political discourse, with all its rules of civility and decorum?
Gingrich did not really address these issues.
D. Gingrich defends Trump’s tax policy. While Trump’s tax cuts may
not look like much for the middle class, he argues, those who
economically struggle will appreciate the extra money and will put it to
good use. This is fine, but Gingrich also argues that middle class
people should take some responsibility for their health care costs.
Taxes are bad, but premiums and deductibles are not so bad?
E. In his chapter on immigration, Gingrich favors immigrants
assimilating after they come to the U.S. This stands out to me because,
when one listens to certain white nationalists, one can get the
impression that they are in favor of non-whites keeping to themselves
and preserving their own culture, just so long as they allow whites to
do the same. Gingrich, of course, is not a white nationalist, but white
nationalists have supported Trump in the past. I just wonder how they
hold their views together. Like Gingrich, they argue that a society that
is overly heterogeneous can be problematic. Yet, unlike Gingrich, they
tend to endorse separatism among races and ethnicities.
F. Overall, the book is an intelligent conservative defense of
President Trump’s policies and critique of the policies of Trump’s
predecessor, President Barack Obama. Gingrich provides arguments and
research for his claims—-about the pitfalls of net neutrality,
Obamacare, the TPP, and the Iran nuclear agreement; the hindering affect
of taxes and regulations on American businesses and innovation; the
failure of the Paris climate accord to significantly affect climate
change; the success of welfare reform in increasing the income of
recipients and reducing dependency; the American Bar Association’s
liberal bias, and the attacks by President Obama on for-profit
vocational schools. Gingrich largely depicts Trump as a successful
President. Trump’s economic policies have created 3 per cent growth in
GDP, after the media proclaimed this would never happen. Trump has also
placed conservative judges in the judiciary at an unprecedented pace. In
addition, Gingrich critiques the Mueller investigation, presenting
examples of what Gingrich believes to be its abuses. This book is
one-sided, of course, and people can come back at Gingrich’s arguments
with arguments to the contrary. But, as a defense of Trump, this book
raises important considerations.
I checked this book out from the library. My review is honest.