Five years in, it is clear America is ready to turn the page on the Trump-Biden presidency. Yes, you read that right. It wasn’t a typo. The two most recent occupants of the White House may come from opposite political parties and possess different demeanors. Unfortunately, the failures of their presidencies share too much in common.
Both fell short reining in a global pandemic. Both struggled to pass their legislative agenda through a Congress controlled by their own party. Both failed to bridge the partisan divide. Both came to office with lofty promises. Both of their barks were worse than their bites.
Don’t take my word for it. I recently traveled to New Hampshire to meet first in the nation primary voters. According to any measurable statistic, Granite Staters are ready for something new. A survey from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics showed 68 percent of voters think the country is on the wrong track.
Yes, they voted for President Biden by eight percentage points a year ago. Yet today, his approval ratings are upside down, and 52 percent of New Hampshire Democrats are unsure if they even want him to run again. Nationally, the picture is even bleaker Biden, with a recent survey from USA Today/Suffolk University showing his approval at a meager 38 percent.
As a conservative Republican, I supported many, if not most, of Trump’s policies. He cut taxes, he rolled back regulations and he appointed all-star justices to the Supreme Court. Anyone who cares about those bedrock principles should stand up and applaud those accomplishments. I certainly do.
Trump lost my support not by what he did, but what he said. As the lieutenant governor of Georgia, I had a front row seat to the conspiracy theories around last year’s election. Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate since 1992 to lose Georgia not because of Hugo Chavez or rigged voting machines. He lost because he didn’t take his message to the swing and suburban voters who control the keys to victory. He had an impressive record to talk about with those voters. He just chose not to do it.
Let’s be honest: his opponent was hardly formidable. Joe Biden became president because his advisors kept him hidden in his basement. It made for an effective campaign strategy, but now we are all paying the price.
The first nine months of the Biden presidency have been marred by incompetence, ineptitude, and a growing crisis of confidence. Inflation just hit a 31-year high, and Biden’s only solution is artificially pumping more taxpayer money onto the fire. His hostility toward domestic producers and capitulation to the extreme environmental left has imperiled American energy independence and driven gas and home heating prices ever higher. Heading into the Christmas season, the words “supply chain” are suddenly a kitchen table issue disrupting everyday life. Meanwhile, terrorists run Afghanistan and our 20 years of hard work were thrown out the window overnight.
Not since the presidency of Jimmy Carter has the country been stuck in this kind of rut. It’s time for a change, and the Republican Party – the conservative party – needs to lead the way.
We know our conservative solutions work around Americans’ kitchen tables. We need to re-touch our messaging and packaging and let voters know that we are ready to govern once again. Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin’s victory in blue Virginia offered a road map that we should replicate nationally. Focus on the future, not the past. Offer solutions to the issues on voters’ minds. Communicate clearly, and let undecided voters know it is acceptable to pull the lever for a conservative.
Let’s hope we do, because the stakes are high. Our nation cannot afford four more years of the Trump-Biden catastrophe.
Geoff Duncan is the lieutenant governor of Georgia.