Guest Commentary: He's not what he seems; it's time to turn the page

By PHIL FORVE 
Retired agribusiness executive

My mother used to say, “Fool me once, the shame is on you. Fool me twice, the shame is on me!”

She meant that I should trust people to do right by me, but if they show themselves to be unworthy of trust, if they are frauds, I shouldn’t let them take advantage of me a second time.

It’s my view that this approach is very appropriate as we approach the critical presidential election of Nov. 5, 2024.

The first time Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, a lot of Americans believed he was a successful businessman. They thought they knew him from his reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” and appreciated his decisiveness.

They thought, why not have a successful businessman run America like a business? So they voted for him, despite indications of various character flaws, including his locker room talk about women, multiple bankruptcies and lack of respect for American Gold Star families.

Then, after four years in office with just one major piece of legislation — the Jobs and tax Act of 2018, which cut taxes for the rich at the expense of small business and the middle class, helping fuel an $8 trillion surge in the national debt — Trump was outpolled by more than 7 million votes and more than 70 electoral votes in 2020. Key contributors included his mismanagement of the COVID epidemic and the resulting economic fallout.

Remember being told by then President Trump in March 2020 that COVID would “magically disappear” in April, “as the weather warmed?” He did not level with the American people about the dangers of the virus, how easily it spread, and how we might reduce the negative impact of the pandemic.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans died as a result. Many more are suffering from long COVID today.

Later, in November 2020, he did not level with Americans about knowing he had lost a free and fair election to Joe Biden. He kept that to close confidantes.

A riot at the U.S. Capitol ensued. We watched it unfold on TV and so did he — from the comfort of the White House, without making any timely motion to intercede.

Policemen died, and many of his supporters went to jail because they believed his lies. We is still lying about his election loss and we are still recovering.

Now Donald Trump is running for president again. This time, he is telling us that he will fill his cabinet and important government positions with men and women pledging personal loyalty to him. The Constitution will take a back seat.

He has told us who he really is and what he really plans to do. He promises to seek retribution from his perceived political enemies and the free press.

American voters must pay attention this time and reject this man who wants to be a dictator like Victor Orban of Hungary, whom he openly admires.

Orban has dismantled the free press, the judiciary, and the opposition political parties in favor of one man rule. So, how is that working for Hungarians?

Well, they have an economy that is half the size of just one U.S. company — Apple — and an inflation rate of 20% with little in the way of economic growth.

Compare that to the U.S., where we still enjoy a democracy with a Republican House and Democratic Senate and president. We have 3.5% inflation and real GDP growth running about 5% — yes, economic growth running well above the rate of inflation, despite the Federal Reserve doing all it can to cool the economy with ever-rising interest rates.

More people are working in America today than at any time in our history and wages are rising faster than inflation. Simply put, we have the strongest economy in the world.

Thanks to bipartisan legislation passed during the first two years of the Biden presidency, when Democrats controlled the House and the Senate was split 50-50, we now have major infrastructure projects underway, U.S. manufacturing in high technology and clean energy are adding high-paying jobs to fuel rapid expansion, the price of life-sustaining medications is being reined in. In addition, we have a president who’s working on behalf of all Americans, not just the ones who voted for him.

I read a lot about Joe Biden’s age.

Our choice should not be based on age, as the two leading candidates are just three years apart. It should be based on character and competence.

Donald Trump has shown himself to be lacking in both of these characteristics. Thus, his candidacy should be rejected.

Once again, expect lots of noise about a “rigged election.”

Donald Trump couldn’t even accept the voting when “The Apprentice” failed to win an Emmy! “It was rigged against me,” he said.

A sound defeat for Donald Trump will spell victory for our democracy. A sound defeat for Donald Trump will say more about us and our awareness as American voters, and our refusal to be fooled twice.

Our system of self-governance has served this country, and led the world, for almost 250 years. Rejecting Donald Trump will be a victory for the American people!

McMinnville resident Phil Forve, holder of a degree in international economics from the University of California at Davis, spent 41 years in agriculture and food production with Cargill before retiring as a vice president. He continues to serve as a consultant to corporate executives. He's had the opportunity to vote in 13 presidential elections, and has supported the Republican candidate in 10 of them.