Is Donald Trump a Democrat?

I’m going to take a break from restaurant reviews and talk about something close to me. An argument recently broke out on a friends Facebook page. It centered on whether Donald Trump is really conservative or not. I had gone through this before when Trump first announced. I did a lot of research into it and could not find any actual evidence that he was a closet liberal or even remotely Democrat. There were lots of opinions on that matter and unstable lunatics like Glen Beck have certainly piled on since then. Now that this is come around again I figured it’s time to settle the issue once and for all.

Most of the attacks claiming that Trump is or was a Democrat come from the Jeb Bush campaign or from Glen Beck. On CNN Trump did talk about the fact that he was once a Democrat. He states that back then everyone in New York City was a Democrat. That’s how things worked in New York City. He states that once Reagan ran for President he became a Republican. Trump supported Reagan in 1980 and 1984.

Many people get confused because Trump’s hated for the Bush family is palpable and well justified. He doesn’t hate the Bush family because he’s a Democrat he hates them because he’s a real conservative. Consider that George H.W. Bush flushed out every Reagan staff member and appointee that he could when he became President. The Bush family is establishment Rockefeller Republican and they hated Reagan because Reagan was the exact opposite. Trump correctly called Bush’s Iraq war a mistake and it was. It completely destabilized the Middle East as his father once noted, that was why Bush stopped when he did in the first Iraq war. Apparently his son didn’t listen.

I’ve heard and read the conspiracy theory that Trump is a Democrat plant so that Clinton will win the White House. If you believe this you’re an idiot. Even the website “Info Wars” is not buying this line and they’re conspiracy central.

Then there is this CNN interview piece. Here is the direct quote. “In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat,” Trump told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a 2004 interview. “It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn’t be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats. …But certainly we had some very good economies under Democrats, as well as Republicans. But we’ve had some pretty bad disaster under the Republicans.” Note the sentence I highlighted. If he was a Democrat he would not have said that. Period, end of story. I also believe he is wrong here and I tend to believe he would walk this comment back if confronted with it.

I’ll go through the issues and what Trump has said about them, I’ll do this rapid fire because there’s a lot to get through. This was partially sourced from the website www.ontheissues.org.

• He wants to defund Planned Parenthood (October 2015)
• He would ban late abortions; exceptions for rape, incest or health. (June 2015)
• He is pro-life after years of being pro-choice because of personal stories he’s heard from his employees. (April 2011)
• He wants to cut the EPA and the Department of Education. (October 2015)
• He warned about an impending implosion of the financial sector in 2006.
• He single handedly made political correctness a campaign issue.
• He single handedly made illegal immigration a campaign issue.
• He supports the death penalty (July 2000)
• He supports tough anti-crime policies; not criminals’ rights. (July 2000)
• He supports medical marijuana; otherwise decide state by state. (October 2015)
• He has never drunk alcohol, smokes, and does not do drugs. (February 2011)
• He wants to eliminate Common Core (October 2015)
• He believes that climate change is a hoax. (June 2015)
• He has said that jobs will slump until oil is cheap again. (Dec 2011)
• He supports drilling for oil and gas.
• He supports letting Russia take care of ISIS and Germany defending Ukraine. (November 2015)
• He does not want the U.S. training rebels in Syria it does not know or control. (October 2015)
• He feels it is better to have Mideast strongmen than Mideast chaos. (October 2015)
• He believes that diplomacy and respect are crucial to our relationship with Russia. (September 2015)
• He wants more sanctions on Iran; more support of Israel. (June 2015)
• He believes that China is our enemy and that they are bilking us for billions. (December 2011)
• He thinks TPP is a horrible deal (November 2015)
• He would restrict free trade to keep jobs in US. (October 2015)
• He supports a 20% tax on all imported goods. (December 2011)
• He wants to repatriate jobs that China has been stealing. (December 2011)
• He wants to renegotiate tougher and fairer trade agreements. (July 2000)
• He believes that Super PACs are a disaster. (October 2015)
• He thinks gun-free zones are target practice for the mentally ill (October 2015)
• He thinks gun ownership makes the U.S. safer, not more dangerous. (October 2015)
• He believes that mental health is more important than gun control. (October 2015)
• He believes laws are ineffective in preventing gun violence. (October 2015)
• He wants to replace Obamacare with Health Savings Accounts. (October 2015)
• He is for vaccines but in smaller quantities to avoid autism. (September 2015)
• He believes insurance companies have total control over politicians. (August 2015)
• He believes Obama Care is a catastrophe that must be repealed and replaced. (June 2015)
• He wants to increase insurance competition across state lines. (December 2011)
• He made a statement in July of 2000 that we must have universal health care but he has stated multiple times that he no longer believes this.
• He wants to ship millions back to Mexico like Eisenhower did. (November 2015)
• He blieves that walls on borders work as they do in Israel. (November 2015)
• He believes that illegal immigration hurts us economically. (November 2015)
• He believes Mexico will pay for the wall. (November 2015)
• He thinks Syrian refugees are a Trojan horse. (October 2015)
• He has stated that we’re only country dumb enough for birthright citizenship. (September 2015)
• He believes illegal immigrants populate many criminal gangs. (September 2015)
• He believes this is a country where we speak English, not Spanish. (September 2015)
• He believes that the Mexican government is intentionally sending criminals across the border. (August 2015)
• He believes building a wall on the border will save money. (July 2015)
• He believes half of “undocumented” residents in America are criminals. (June 2015)
• He believes anchor babies were never the intent of the 14th Amendment. (December 2011)
• He would invite foreigners graduating from college to stay in US. (December 2011)
• He wants triple-layered fence & Predator drones on Mexican border. (December 2011)
• He would limit new immigration; focus on people already here. (December 1999)
• He would not raise minimum wage; it makes us non-competitive. (November 2015)
• He has relevant experience by creating jobs and assets. (November 2015)
• He feels that the real unemployment rate is 20%; not 5.6%. (June 2015)
• He believes raising business taxes causes businesses to move jobs overseas. (December 2011)
• He feels that foreign companies are taking jobs from US. (December 1999)
• He would negotiate “until American is great again”. (October 2015)
• He wants to win as a Republican, will not run as Independent. (December 2015)
• He believes that the USA is the greatest force for freedom world has ever known. (December 2011)
• He feels that Assad is a bad guy but his replacement could be worse. (November 2015)
• He would let Russia make handle Syria; feels it’s a quagmire for the U.S… (November 2015)
• He would strengthen the military but act defensively. (October 2015)
• He believes that radical violent Islam that must be feared, not Islam itself. (September 2015)
• He is pro-military but opposed invading Iraq in 2003. (September 2015)
• He opposed Iraq war in 2004 and predicted Mideast destabilization. (August 2015)
• He believes that the Iran deal was disgraceful (August 2015)
• He would bomb the oil fields in Iraq to take on ISIS. (June 2015 and this was in fact done in November of 2015)
• He wants boots on the ground to fight ISIS. (June 2015)
• He would take $1.5 trillion in oil from Iraq to pay for U.S. victims. (March 2013)
• He feels Iraq should pick up the tab for their liberation. (December 2011)
• He would stop Iran’s nuclear programs by any and all means necessary. (December 2011)
Some of his core principles:

• Never forgives people who deceive him. (October 2015)
• Build your reputation as “responsible, professional & loyal”. (April 2010)
• Never give up; look at the solution, not the problem. (January 2008)
• To negotiate well, prepare and know as much as possible. (January 2008)
• In the best negotiations, everyone wins. (January 2008)
• Failure is not permanent. (January 2008)
• Tell people you’re successful or they won’t know it. (March 2004)
• Good management requires hiring good people. (March 2004)
• Stay focused on big picture. (March 2004)
• Surround yourself with people you can trust. (March 2004)

I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound like a Democrat or liberal to me. There are ten reasons why I support Donald Trump.

1. Donald Trump is immune to special interest lobbying. He has not accepted any special interest money. No other candidate can make this claim. He has asked Super PACs to return all money to their donors.

2. Donald Trump knows how to negotiate; he’s done it his entire life. Nobody builds an international business empire the size of Mr. Trump’s without being able to win at the negotiating table. He’s proven this in his real estate deals in New York City and with the old Post office building in Washington D.C.

3. Donald Trump is the consummate executive. The President of the United States is the Chief Executive Officer of our nation. We don’t need a policy expert or a legislator, we need someone who knows how to run an organization, to delegate authority and responsibility and hold those people accountable. Mr. Trump is the only candidate who has a proven record as a successful executive on a large scale.

4. Donald Trump is honest. Mr. Trump is a man who tells the truth. He may not always say it in the most politically correct way but our country has had enough smooth liars and political correctness.

5. Donald Trump is decisive. We hear about his having business interests that filed for bankruptcy. In each case he looked at the situation as it was, and then he cut his losses within the legal confines of the law. We need someone who will look at government programs realistically and if they are failures; will end the wasteful Washington spending.

6. Donald Trump is courageous. Mr. Trump has been viciously attacked by the Washington establishment, the Republican Party and the media. He has not budged one inch. He is willing to take charge and lead.

7. Donald Trump listens. At Trump Presidential events the audience often gets to actually speak to him without being screened, and he responds without a teleprompter. In fact he has never used a teleprompter at any of his events and does not use a prepared script.

8. Donald Trump understands that a nation without borders, language and laws is not a nation. He is not against immigration, he is against illegal immigration. Period.

9. Donald Trump has actually read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and is willing to defend its provisions. He is not afraid to speak about Christian persecution, and protecting gun rights.

10. Donald Trump loves this country and says so unapologetically. Like Ronald Reagan in 1980 he wants to make America great again.
People can decide for themselves but I know a few core things.

Donald Trump is not a fascist. Most people that say this are either a GOP establishment tool or a Democrat and they have no idea what a fascist is. Donald Trump is not a Nazi. My mother grew up in World War II Germany. She knows what a Nazi is. The rest of you can just sit down and shut the hell up because you have no idea. You read it in a book and think you know what you’re talking about. You don’t. Donald Trump is not a Democrat. If you believe this turn off Glen Beck, he’s a lunatic. Do the homework, do the research yourself. Stop believing what people are trying to spoon feed you and decide for yourself after looking at all the available information.