Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again Hardcover Donald Trump (2016)
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A NEW GAME IN TOWN
CONTRARY TO THE JOKES, I don’t think the White House needs any bright neon signs on the roof. No need to add additional wings or to sell the air rights.
I do, however, think we need to bring some business acumen to the White House.
The one thing you can be certain about is that, unlike the Obama administration, I stand up for this country, proudly and loudly. I continue to be exactly what I have been—the greatest cheerleader for America—the America that won rather than constantly lost.
As has become evident throughout my life, I am not afraid to look my opponents right in the eyes and say exactly what I believe.
I never worry about being politically correct. I don’t need to read the polls to make my decisions.
And I don’t see any reason to change my approach.
The issues facing our country are too important for anything less than an honest assessment of where we are and what needs to be done.
We are unique among the nations of the world, and we should be leading, not following.
Winning, not losing.
We have an amazing history. America is the greatest country that has ever existed on the Earth, and yet for some reason our leaders are reluctant to press our advantage.
I’ve successfully built one of the most respected brands in the world by representing it in everything that I do. I realized a long time ago that if I’m not proud of what I’m selling, then there is no reason for anybody else to feel that pride.
I put my own name on my buildings and on my products, and I stand behind them. People have come to expect top quality from anything that carries my name.
There is nothing in this world in which I take more pride than the United States of America. I will always be its best defender, and the best salesperson and cheerleader we’ve ever had.
America is the leader of the free world—we’ve earned the right to boast and make it clear that we are ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to defend this country as well as liberty anywhere in the world.
Our national anthem gets it right: This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s time we lived that message and let the world know we’re willing to back it up.
Making America Great Again means standing by our word. We’ve watched President Obama draw a line in the sand, then another line in the sand, then no line at all. We’ve become an embarrassment to ourselves and to our history.
When your allies don’t trust you and your enemies don’t fear you, you have zero credibility in the world. Right now, our allies don’t know what to believe about us, or how, or if, to value our word. President Obama has been talking into the wind for a long time.
We’ve seen Putin ignore him. We’ve seen just about every faction warring in Syria pay no attention to him. We’ve seen the Chinese taking tremendous advantage of our trade policies. We’ve seen the Iranians leave the conference table where we were negotiating a nuclear treaty (where a “new era” of cooperation is proclaimed), and then a few weeks later the Ayatollah is threatening again to destroy Israel—and laughing at the US.
Closer to home, only blocks away from the White House, Congress is preparing to decide whether or not to shut the government down. This happens almost every other year.
We need a leader who is going to restore the respect this country enjoyed in the past. I’m criticized for not issuing elaborate, detailed policy statements. What good are detailed plans if your country doesn’t have the credibility to carry them out—but I issue them anyway.
Let’s go back to the basics, back to the America our citizens embraced, because we were recognized as the major force for progress and peace.
Many of the lessons I’ve learned in business are applicable to our current situation. The most important lesson is this—Stand behind your word, and make sure your word stands up. People who have done business with me will tell you that I never say something unless I mean it.
I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I don’t make threats without following through. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you can bully me. My business partners and employees know that my word is as good as any contract—and that better go for the other side’s word as well.
I stand behind my commitments, and our commitments as a nation.
I stand—without question—behind the Constitution at home, and I stand, without question, behind our allies abroad.
No friendly country, and no allied leader, should question our ironclad support again.
No enemy, and no enemy leader, should misinterpret our resolve to fight to the death—their death.
We won’t need the president of Israel to come to our shores and explain to Congress what we used to stand for.
Making America Great Again means never taking another step backward. Yes, we’ll take inspiration from the heroism of our past, but we’re only going to charge ahead now. When I played sports growing up, there was a saying in the locker room: If you take the first step backward, you might as well just keep going.
To put it another way: If you can accept losing, then you’ve already lost.
There have been times in business when it has made sense to change strategy or even walk away from a deal. You must never be afraid to walk away from a bad deal.
Someone should explain that principle to President Obama and John Kerry.
It’s only by being willing to say “enough” that you gather strength and force your adversaries to modify their behavior.
I understand that you can’t be totally rigid in negotiations. But on our core principles and core strengths, there can be no backing up or retreat. That’s why we need to rebuild our military, so that no one will have any doubt about our strength or our intentions. If we are challenged, we will meet that challenge, and other leaders and other countries will think seriously before they doubt us again.
My own style of conducting business is straightforward. I think big. I aim very high, and then I keep pushing and pushing toward that goal—and beyond it. In the end I may not get everything I want—I understand that—but I never compromise on the basic goals I set out for.
Making America Great Again means convincing the smartest and the best people to come to Washington and join in putting our country first. The truth is that politicians have given government a bad name. It’s a shame. The best people don’t want to get involved in a bureaucracy where nothing ever seems to get done.
Who can blame them?
The kinds of people we need in government are executives who know how to get things done. These are the types of workers and executives who already are, or who will become, stars in any industry. There are also many workers in our civil service who are waiting for good leaders to inspire them.
Years ago these types of people wanted to be in government because they had faith that government was there to help people and that they could contribute to our nation by doing a good job. They believed in the service part of public service.
Now those inside the Washington circles are demoralized. Those outside don’t want to go there. So many people go to Washington aiming to change it only to see themselves changed instead. And not for the better.
Ambitious government workers can’t break through the red tape, and that drives them to leave government to go into private industry. You end up with mostly careerist “lifers” doing the day-to-day work.
It’s a terrible cycle. The government is filled with good people who are stymied in trying to get things done, and because nothing gets done, the best people outside Washington don’t want to go into government, so nothing ever gets done or improves.
We need to create an exciting atmosphere and put good people in the right position to Make America Great Again. One reason we rarely have difficulty recruiting the people we want for the Trump Organization is that they know they are going to play a key role in an aggressive company that exists to make big things happen. It is an exciting place to work.
People want to have a stake in that type of organization. They know they are going to be respected and judged on their accomplishments. They know that life in my company is never going to be boring and that they are going to be well rewarded for their hard work and share in the success.
Really talented outsiders will relish the thought of becoming part of the future. Of course, due to necessary budget controls, there will be fewer employees in the government overall. This just means the competition will be even fiercer to become one of the best.
Making America Great Again means restoring law and order, both on the street and in our courtrooms. Our police officers are doing an incredible job keeping us as safe as possible, but the job is getting harder for them because they aren’t getting the support they need. Like our military, they must have whatever equipment they need to protect themselves and all our honest, hardworking citizens.
Government must be on their side instead of coddling criminals.
Obviously that means putting judges on the bench who will uphold the law rather than look for loopholes or try to make law.
We need to appoint justices—not just on the Supreme Court, but throughout the entire federal system—who will leave lawmaking to the legislators, as specified in the Constitution. The next president may well have the opportunity to appoint two or more Supreme Court justices. These appointments could determine the direction of the court for several decades. We need the right caliber of judge sitting in the highest courts.
Making America Great Again begins at home. It means restoring a sense of dignity to the White House, and to our country in general. The president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. The president is the spokesperson for democracy and liberty. Isn’t it time we brought back the pomp and circumstance, and the sense of awe for that office that we all once held?
That means everyone working in the administration should look and act professionally at all times—especially the president. The way you dress and the way you act is an important way of showing respect for the people you are representing and the people you are dealing with. Impressions matter.
Making America Great Again means taking our country back from the big-money interests. We have a country where the big problems can’t be solved by consensus because the small-minded lobbyists and special interests are clogging the halls of Congress with their “special access.”
Everyone talks about listening to the voice of the people. But how can you hear that voice when no one represents that voice? I am listening.
Let’s restore trust and pride in our country by Making America Great Again.