What I Would Tell My Posterity

            I visited my youngest daughter last week to meet my newest grandchild. I do not remember what I said, but my daughter came back with this statement: “I am proud that I can tell my children that I never voted for Trump!” I tried to defend Trump by pointing out that he has accomplished a lot of good things. She replied, “He has done a few good things, but not many.”

I was a little shocked at her passion because I was not aware that she was a “Never Trumper.” I inflamed her passion even more when I said that she would be either voting for Trump or socialism in the 2020 presidential election. She replied, “Then I guess that I will be voting for socialism.”

            I wanted to preserve the relationship, so I slowly backed out of the conversation. However, her statements have been on my mind for over a week for several reasons. The first reason is that my oldest daughter once said something about socialism being good in some ways. The second reason is that my oldest son questioned me a month ago about whether I would vote for Trump again. The third reason is that three of my grandchildren asked me this summer if I like Trump, and I could tell that they had heard negative things about him. I hope that this post will share some light on why socialism is a bad thing as well as why I support Trump.


            I first want to make plain that I would never hold Donald Trump up to my children, grandchildren, or anyone else as a good role model. The best description that I can give of him is that he is a crude street fighter as well as a brilliant businessman. He makes some mean statements at times, and his past behavior seems to be questionable. However, people who meet him in person say that he is a nice man. In his defense, however, I must say that I would not hold Obama, either Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy, or Eisenhower up as role models. Some of them were good presidents and others were lousy, but none of them lived saintly lives. There are a lot of other people that I would suggest as good examples, but none of the presidents in my lifetime.


            I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 with some anxiety because I did not know what I would get for my vote. I liked what he was promising to do, but all politicians make promises that they do not keep. I am pleased to say that he has kept many of his campaign promises, and I will discuss some of his accomplishments later. However, I did not vote FOR him as much as I voted AGAINST Hillary Clinton. I felt certain that she would take us further down the road to destruction by following the same practices that Barack Obama used. 

I was most concerned about who Clinton would appoint as justices on the Supreme Court and as judges in the other federal courts of the land. I am proud to say that Trump has appointed more than 150 judges, including 2 Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, 43 judges for the U.S. Courts of Appeal, and 105 judges for U.S. District Courts. These judges believe that the Constitution means what it says and not what judges think it should say.

            I next want to discuss socialism. I have a difficult time believing that any of my children are unaware of the dangers of this great evil. They are all intelligent people who can surely see the terrible conditions in Venezuela that were caused by this evil economic system. I fear that they are being deceived by the tactics of the evil one. Bernie Sanders claims that his kind of socialism is different than that of Venezuela or Germany or the numerous other nations that have tried it and brought disaster to their people. Sanders is either lying or plain stupid. Democratic Socialism is just a new name for the old socialism. 

Any member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – or any Christian – should be able to recognize that socialism is the exact opposite of the teachings of Jesus Christ. In fact, it is Satan’s counterfeit for the Lord’s law of consecration. In the April 1966 General Conference, Elder Marion G. Romney made the following statement.

As to the fruits of socialism, we all have our own opinions. I myself have watched its growth in our own country and observed it in operation in many other lands. But I have yet to see or hear of its freeing the hearts of men of selfishness and greed or of its bringing peace, plenty, or freedom. These things it will never bring, nor will it do away with idleness and promote ‘industry, thrift and self-respect,’ for it is founded, in theory and in practice, on force, the principle of the evil one” (Conference Report, April 1966, p. 98; emphasis added).

            Capitalism has brought more freedom and prosperity to the world than any other economic program. It has its weaknesses, but it is the best thing that mankind has yet found. If we allow socialism to control our economic system, we will be among the most miserable of people. We must hold onto capitalism and the free market until the Savior returns or until the law of consecration has been established once again. 


            Last, I would like to share some of the campaign promises that Donald Trump made and kept. These are in addition to the fact that he has donated all his paychecks to strengthen our nation. Some presidents – such as Obama – leave the White House much richer than when they enter it. Trump is losing money as he stands between Americans and those who wish to destroy the nation. Democrats, liberals, and progressives all liked Donald Trump until he was elected as President of the United States, but they fight against him now because he is exposing evil. Here is a list of what may be considered as the Top Ten Campaign Promises Kept. 

10. Impose a 10% repatriation tax to bring jobs back to America.

9. Withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

8. Withdraw from the disastrous Paris Climate Accord.

7. Bring North Korea to the table and rein them in.

6. Stop over-regulation and jump-start the economy.

5. Reverse Obama’s executive orders.

4. Pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

3. Give tax cuts to middle-class Americans.

2. Change strategy and defeat ISIS.

1. Recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the U.S. embassy.

            You will notice that there is nothing on this list about securing the southern border and reining in illegal immigration. This was the main campaign promise that brought supporters flocking to Trump, but it has yet to be achieved. Trump has fought the clowns in Congress on both sides of the aisle on this issue and continues to wage this battle. A secure barrier along the border is being built but slowly.

There is much division in our nation over immigration issues. Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have entered our nation while Congress forsook their oaths and responsibilities. There should be little doubt that the United States has the right and the responsibility to secure its borders and to choose who should enter the country. 

Numerous presidents promised to secure the border but never did. Members of Congress have spoken in the past about the need to secure the border. Yet, they fight against doing so simply because Trump is willing to complete the task. They were willing to say the words when they knew that no action would be taken. Now we know that they were lying. 

I am pleased with another issue raised by Trump – birthright citizenship. We should never allow babies to become citizens of the United States simply because their mothers entered or lived here illegally. I hope that Trump is successful in taking this issue to the Supreme Court.

There are many other issues that should be brought to light and corrected, but it will take time. I will vote for Trump in 2020 because I believe that he is the best candidate running and because he has proven that he keeps campaign promises. I hope that he gets four more years to correct more of the problems that were kicked down the road by other presidents.