Here are 10 reasons to be thankful - really - for incoming President Donald J. Trump | Opinion

I really don’t like Donald Trump. He’s a horrifying example of manhood for my children to look up to. His economic policies on trade and immigration could be disastrous if he actually goes through with them. He is an ethics black hole, lowering the standards of everyone and everything around him.

But in the spirit of the season, there are at least 10 reasons to be thankful, regardless of my feels:

1. Convincing Americans that we don’t need to constantly be at war to be safe. With Trump’s isolationist-lite foreign policy and Marco Rubio’s establishment ballast, America might just have four years of peace.
2. Convincing the Republican Party that working people might be just as important as business and billionaires. Trump isn’t trustworthy, but he knows what is in his interest. Regular people might benefit from his presidency.
3. The deliciousness of unleashing the brilliant Elon Musk, a man whose fortune comes from government subsidies, on cutting the government. He might even cut some of his own subsidies.
4. Appointing Scott Bessent, a relatively normal pick, for the most important job in his government for my 401(k) – treasury secretary. It is just a bonus that the guy is a George Soros-protege. DOW 100,000!
5. Being uncharacteristically professional during the transition so far. I hope he notices that going without putting constant petty fights in the headlines makes him more popular.
6. Appointing the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and sending abortion policy back to the states, despite the fact that I have learned America is a more pro-choice country than I thought.
7. Winning an electoral victory that has made important American institutions such as Walmart and The Los Angeles Times reconsider whether they want to take sides in the culture war. Neutrality is good business.
8. Having an agenda to take down America’s one-sided liberal universities a peg or two, hopefully making them think about the need for an intellectual diversity that reflects the nation they serve.
9. Promising to fulfill Ronald Reagan’s promise to shut down Jimmy Carter’s failed Department of Education.
10. Teaching Democrats that a healthy democracy needs undemocratic features such as the filibuster to put checks on the craziest ideas.

A bonus reason to be thankful to The Donald:

Provoking America’s most backward state, California, into making its destructive policies a national issue.

This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Here are 10 reasons to be thankful - really - for incoming President Donald J. Trump | Opinion."

David Mastio

Opinion Contributor,

The Kansas City Star

David Mastio, a former deputy editorial page editor for the liberal USA TODAY and the conservative Washington Times, has worked in opinion journalism as a commentary editor, editorial writer and columnist for 30 years. He was also a speechwriter for the George W. Bush administration.