Great Again

How to Fix Our Crippled America

Donald J. Trump

• Publisher: Threshold Editions
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781501137983
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Civisme et citoyenneté

In this book (previously published as Crippled America ), we're going to look at the state of the world right now. It's a terrible mess, and that's putting it mildly. There has never been a more dangerous time. The politicians and special interests in Washington, DC are directly responsible for the mess we are in. So why should we continue listening to them? It's time to bring America back to its rightful owners—the American people. I'm not going to play the same game politicians have been playing for decades—all talk, no action, while special interests and lobbyists dictate our laws. I am shaking up the establishment on both sides of the political aisle because I can't be bought. I want to bring America back, to make it great and prosperous again, and to be sure we are respected by our allies and feared by our adversaries. It's time for action. Americans are fed up with politics as usual. And they should be! In this book, I outline my vision to make America great again, including: how to fix our failing economy; how to reform health care so it is more efficient, cost-effective, and doesn't alienate both doctors and patients; how to rebuild our military and start winning wars—instead of watching our enemies take over—while keeping our promises to our great veterans; how to ensure that our education system offers the resources that allow our students to compete internationally, so tomorrow's jobseekers have the tools they need to succeed; and how to immediately bring jobs back to America by closing our doors to illegal immigrants, and pressuring businesses to produce their goods at home. This book is my blueprint for how to Make America Great Again. It's not hard. We just need someone with the courage to say what needs to be said.

1

WINNING AGAIN

AMERICA NEEDS TO START winning again.

Nobody likes a loser and nobody likes to be bullied. Yet, here we stand today, the greatest superpower on Earth, and everyone is eating our lunch. That’s not winning.

We have a president who tries to get tough and draw a line in the sand, but when that line gets crossed, there are no repercussions.

And when we try to negotiate with foreign countries? We don’t stand up. We don’t threaten to walk away. And, more important, we don’t walk away. We make concession after concession. That’s not winning.

If I ran my business that way, I’d fire myself.

Take one of the worst agreements in our history—the nuclear “treaty” with Iran—which John Kerry negotiated and President Obama rammed through and around Congress. (Or, rather, he convinced his party to support it and filibuster any debate or vote on it.) This is probably the most important treaty of our time, and our very stupid leaders in Washington, DC, couldn’t even bring themselves to hold a discussion and vote on it.

Ronald Reagan said, “Trust but verify”—but in this case we aren’t following either piece of advice. How can we trust a man like the Ayatollah Khamenei? Just a month before we approved the treaty, he reiterated that his country was pledged to destroy and eliminate Israel, our most important ally and longtime partner in preserving some semblance of stability in the region. And as for verification, we don’t even know what side-deals the International Atomic Energy Agency has struck with Iran. Or if we do know, they haven’t been made public.

That’s not winning—that’s criminal negligence, in my view.

Then when every Senate Republican criticized this deal (and some of the Democrats did as well), the president compared his critics to our adversaries.

In other words, he sells out his friends and allies, and then defends his treaty by comparing his critics to our enemies.

That’s what we call successful diplomacy?

Now we’re going to open the gates to refugees from places like Syria, which is like extending a personal invitation to ISIS members to come live here and try to destroy our country from within.

This is America today, the shining city on a hill, which other countries used to admire and try to be like.

So what can be done about it? How do we start winning again?

To start with, we need a government that is committed to winning and has experience in winning. This book is about how we do that.

In early September 2015, I spoke at a major rally in Washington, DC. I told them that we need a military that will be so strong that we won’t have to use it. And then I asked, “Are you listening, President Obama?” Almost everyone in the crowd cheered, but I understand why some of them were skeptical. Americans are used to hearing the same old promises from the same tired politicians who never produce any results, let alone any victories. I should know. For years I gave money—lots of money—to candidates from both parties who made personal pleas for my support for their campaigns. They promised to change things with new ideas and bring government back to its original, more limited purpose of protecting our country and putting our people first.

Candidate after candidate made all kinds of pledges like this, and very little, if anything, was done. How many of those problems have been solved? Nothing seemed to move forward in Washington.

Look at Congress, which has an understandably negative reputation among Americans.

And why not? They do nothing.

They can’t even pass an annual budget. They constantly bicker, which means that they just throw all our problems and our huge debt on to our children and possibly our grandchildren.

This has to stop.

Finally, I realized that America doesn’t need more “all-talk, no-action” politicians running things. It needs smart businesspeople who understand how to manage. We don’t need more political rhetoric—we need more common sense. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”—but if it is broke, let’s stop talking about it and fix it.

I know how to fix it.

A lot of people were encouraging me to speak out, and I realized that with my well-known success story and record of building residential and office buildings and developing public spaces—all the while accumulating personal wealth—I could inspire people to help create the most massive turnaround in American history.

Of course, there were doubters. Between journalists who sell newspapers by creating controversy, and established politicians eager to preserve the status quo that in turn preserves their jobs, there were many “experts” predicting my demise. They’ve been reading the “polls.” They’ve been listening to all the lobbyists and special interests saying “Trump is a threat to our well-being.” They’ve even been saying I was a bully or that I was prejudiced or that I hated women or hated Hispanics. Some of them even said—and this is the cardinal sin in politics—I was willing to take on even the richest people in America with all their tax benefits.

I have proven everybody wrong.

EVERYBODY!

Suddenly, those same newspapers and “experts” were only talking about my ideas. And even as I’ve had to respond to some of the toughest and dumbest questions from supposedly nonpartisan journalists, people continue to listen to me and support my ideas—and guess what? Women are flocking to my message because they’re just as tired as men are about how little is being accomplished in Washington.

Likewise, Hispanics are climbing on board because they’ve heard—from Hispanic employees who’ve actually worked for me and know me as a boss and leader—that Donald Trump builds businesses.

Donald Trump builds buildings.

Donald Trump develops magnificent golf courses.

Donald Trump makes investments that create jobs.

And Donald Trump creates jobs for legal immigrants and all Americans.

Even the most jaded journalists are realizing that Donald Trump is for real and that the people are responding to someone who is completely different from every other politician.

No one is paying me to say these things. I am paying my own way, and I’m not beholden to any special interests and lobbyists.

I’m not playing by the usual status-quo rules.

I’m not a politician taking polls to see what I should “believe” or be saying.

I am telling it like it is and going to the heart of what I think will make America great again.

I’m not a diplomat who wants everybody else to be happy. I’m a practical businessman who has learned that when you believe in something, you never stop, you never quit, and if you get knocked down, you climb right back up and keep fighting until you win. That’s been my strategy all my life, and I’ve been very successful following it.

Winning matters. Being the best matters.

I’m going to keep fighting for our country until our country is great again.

Too many people think the American dream is dead, but we can bring it back bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. But we must start now.

We need to ensure America starts winning once again.

2

OUR “UNBIASED” POLITICAL MEDIA

FOR A LONG TIME I’ve been the man the media loves to hate.

It hasn’t taken me long to learn how truly dishonest the political media can be. At the first Republican debate, Fox journalist Megyn Kelly was clearly out to get me. And of course, at the second debate, virtually everyone was attacking me because most of their poll numbers were sinking while mine were surging.

I’m perhaps a controversial person. I say what’s on my mind. I don’t wait to hear what a pollster has to say because I don’t use pollsters. The media loves my candor. They know I’m not going to dodge or ignore their questions. I have no problem telling it like it is. These presidential debates would normally have attracted a couple million viewers, but the first night we had 24 million tune in, and the second debate drew a similar number. These were the largest audiences in Fox News’ and CNN’s history—bigger than the NBA Finals, the World Series, and most NFL telecasts.

Why do you think people tuned in? To hear the nasty questions? To watch a bunch of politicians trying to pretend they are outsiders (like I truly am) so they can be more successful? The fact is I give people what they need and deserve to hear—exactly what they don’t get from politicians—and that is The Truth. Our country is a mess right now and we don’t have time to pretend otherwise. We don’t have time to waste on being politically correct.

You listen to the politicians and it’s as if they are speaking from a script titled “How Boring Can I Possibly Be?” Watching some of these people being interviewed is about as exciting as watching paint dry. They’re so afraid of tripping on their own words, terrified that they’re going to say something unscripted and go off message—that’s the phrase they use, “go off message”—that they are verbally paralyzed. They’ll do anything they can to avoid answering a question—and the media plays the game with them.

The object of this game is to appear thoughtful while still looking like a regular guy (or gal) who would be fun to have a beer with. The pollsters tell them how to be everything to everybody without alienating anyone. These same politicians who boldly promise they are going to stand up to our enemies won’t even give direct answers to reporters. I don’t play that game, because I’m a very successful businessman and my mind-set is that this country needs to bring itself back from the depths of all our problems and the $19 trillion we owe.

At the first debate, I responded to Megyn Kelly’s adversarial question by telling her, “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I’ve been challenged by so many people, and I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either. This country is in big trouble. We don’t win anymore. We lose to China. We lose to Mexico both in trade and at the border. We lose to Russia and Iran and Saudi Arabia.”

I’m not bragging when I say that I’m a winner. I have experience in winning. That’s what we call leadership. That means that people will follow me and be inspired by what I do. How do I know? I’ve been a leader my whole life. Thousands of my employees know that I’ll deliver and help them deliver. Sometimes I can be self-effacing, injecting a little humor, having some fun, and kidding around. We have a good time. What I say is what I say, and everyone that knows me really appreciates it.

With the problems we’re facing, these debates have become “Trump versus The Others.” The attacks are coming at me from all directions, because they all know I am the only one talking about really changing this country and making America great again. The moderators read some quote of mine (or misinterpret a quote of mine) and then ask someone else to comment. Do I have the right temperament? Would I run the country like a business? When did I “actually become a Republican?” These exchanges make great TV. Sadly, they’re almost like watching a sporting event.

And guess what? Few, if any, of these questions get to the heart of what is wrong with our country and what really matters to Americans. It’s all very personal, because politicians (and their journalist cronies) know that the public doesn’t want to hear the details of our nuclear sellout to Iran or what we’re going to do about all the federal red ink bleeding the American taxpayer dry these days. The personal exchanges between me and the others become the big story of the debate and the focus of news coverage for weeks. You’d like to think that Fox News and CNN could do better. For the record, I think CNN and Fox treated me badly. Still, you’d think a major news network would take their responsibilities more seriously and use these debates to help the public determine who has the best plan to make our country great again.

But they missed that opportunity.

The whole debate format has worked out fine for me. The American people are smart and figured out pretty quickly what the real motives are for turning up the personal attacks against me. And I get more minutes, more front-page coverage, more requests for interviews than anyone else—and most important for America—the opportunity to speak directly to the people.

There are many reporters whom I have a lot of respect for, especially in the financial media. When the financial journalists interview you they know what they’re doing, and they ask direct questions that can provide important information to their viewers. There’s money at stake and they don’t play the same silly “gotcha” games as the political media do. They can’t afford to.

I don’t mind being attacked. I use the media the way the media uses me—to attract attention. Once I have that attention, it’s up to me to use it to my advantage. I learned a long time ago that if you’re not afraid to be outspoken, the media will write about you or beg you to come on their shows. If you do things a little differently, if you say outrageous things and fight back, they love you. So sometimes I make outrageous comments and give them what they want—viewers and readers—in order to mak...