JIM “PAPPY” MOORE: Levers of Power: Trump’s Moves Are Working
By Jim “Pappy” Moore
My majors were History and Political Science. Two majors, related. 72 semester hours of History and Political Science. Then on to Law School, with 84 semester hours of mostly American History for the preceding 200 years. I’ll stack up my knowledge of American History against anyone’s.
Trump has done something never done before in my lifetime. He has achieved more in his first year than any president has. Certainly, his first term laid a predicate for his success in this term, but it is far more than that. If Trump had won in 2020 and gone on to his second term in 2021, I do not believe he would have been nearly as effective as he has been in this his second term beginning in 2025.
Trump has had the preceding four years of Biden to reflect on what should be done, in what order, and how it should be done. He has had time to think about all the problems which got worse under Biden. He has gotten to take in the economic disasters of Biden and Democrat rule. He has been able to see how America has not been getting a fair deal on trade internationally. In short, he has had four years to study the American economy without being able to do anything about it. This allowed him time and opportunity to develop his plans.
His first eight months of his second term have been truly incredible. For the past 4 decades I have complained about the bad Balance of Trades of the United States. We import far more than we export. Part of this is because we weigh down our own manufacturers with endless oppressive regulations where bureaucrats who don’t know doodley-squat about running a business or producing anything micromanage businesses who do know doodley-squat about producing items for sale to consumers. We make it costly for OUR manufacturers to make things, then we allow their foreign competitors to make the same things in their countries without any laws against child labor, or sweat shops, or exposure to potentially problem chemicals and such. In summary, we buy the stuff made with cheap labor in hell holes like China, and we let them sell their products here, but we can’t compete with them with our stuff made here because it costs too much to make them.
This Trade Imbalance is bad, bad, bad for America. It means we have to outsource our needs for things like prescription drugs, and tractors, and cars, and computers, and all sorts of goods. And to make it all worse, we face terrible tariffs other countries place on our goods so that they can keep us from selling our goods to their consumers. Cover your ears, because I have “bitched” about this injustice for many decades. It’s wrong that we do not put tariffs on other countries which are reciprocal to those they place on us. Until NOW.
When Trump announced he was placing reciprocal tariffs on the goods of other countries selling their goods in the United States, I did full body flips like I haven’t done since the 1970s. Metaphorically speaking. At last we were leveling the playing field for our manufacturers.
The past forty years have seen so much of America’s manufacturing lost to foreign countries all because we priced our goods out of the market with regulations and because we allowed other countries to effectively keep our goods overpriced for their countries. Trump fixed that with reciprocal tariffs. Who do you think benefits from such actions? American workers, that’s who. Jobs are created. Jobs are kept. New money is flowing into the USA and less money is flowing out of the USA. Thus far, Trump’s tariffs have achieved much in economic benefits.
Companies which have moved business manufacturing overseas are lining up and pledging their money to create manufacturing here in the U.S. of A. Big money. Trillion$ of dollars. That money will stimulate economies here, create jobs here, and that money will roll over many times, instead of being sent to India, or China, or Mexico, or Canada, or shipping, or other places.
This process is just beginning. If The Fed will stop taking care of international bankers and start taking care of business and home buyers here in America, there will be an economic boom of great proportions. Give homeowners a 4% rate to buy a home and watch what it does for construction and sale of homes.
There is much more to Trump’s success this first year, but this aspect is a topic all to itself.
Copyright 2025, Jim “Pappy” Moore. All rights reserved.
You joking right!!!!!!!!!Lolll
No, I’m not joking, Henry.
If I were joking I’d say “did you hear about the pig with three legs?’
Thanks for reading. I never expect everyone to agree with me. In fact, I always expect people to disagree with me. See that comment by Dale? We’ve been best friends since 1958. I never, ever expect everyone to agree with me. I write opinions. My opinions. And everyone else is entitled to their opinions. I just happen to write mine down every week for the past 20 years and publish them.
Again. Thanks for reading.
Jim
I have only seen one president live, Jimmy Carter, years after his term ended he came to Nacogdoches to speak and I attended. I have always thought I could have helped him win a second term if he had only taken my advice in handling the Iran hostage crisis. I would have gone quiet to Iran, consulted my Pentagon and moved carriers, submarines and bombers into position and sent one message…give them all back in 24 hours or there will be bombs, missiles and all destruction falling on Iran and we will not have mercy. Then go quiet and wait. But then, I know I don’t need to be president. Donald Trump is really an open book. He inherited millions from his father and his history in business includes bankruptcies (4 or 6) involving casinos lavishly arrayed. Trump has one talent that I can see, that of conning people. America is a complex country, lots of money and military might and a relatively small population. The people are mostly spoiled and want possessions, etc. Like it or not we are a part of a global economy that I do not fully grasp. When trouble comes to Trump he always points the finger at others. Trump will fail in time.
Dale, old friend, you and I have disagreed on many things, starting with whether we wanted Mickey Mantle or Roger Maris to win the new home run season title back in 1961. We still do, and politics is one such area. Trump and the two parties is one such area. We agree to disagree and we look forward to our next lunch together. Of course, I agree with your strategy on Iran and hostages. I’m a “we’ll bomb you back into the Stone Age guy.”
We’ll just have to disagree on Trump. I think his leadership has been exemplary, irrespective of what may or may not have happened in his business life.