The risk with Trump is that he is a pragmatist; he does not stand on principle. Pragmatism is at the bottom of the philosophical barrel because it rejects principle on principle. Pragmatism calls for doing whatever is “practical” in a given situation based on the “expediency of the moment”. Especially in the long run, this is absolutely not practical. As Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute says, Trump is a pragmatist with a capital “P”. He might get away with this as a businessman, but it could potentially be disastrous with him as the President of the United States. His “impracticalness” is made clear when he is talking about Israel in the linked article below.
Israel is the only semi-free country in the Middle East. (There are no truly free countries in the entire world!) All of the other countries in the Middle East are dictatorships. This is sufficient reason for us to support and be an ally of Israel. We need to promote individual rights where ever they exist–on principle. Americans take them for granted, but they are tenuous and being eroded everyday not only here in the U.S. but in the world. We need to be a staunch ally of Israel on principle because we support and believe in individual rights, period.
Trump brags about his ability as a negotiator. In business two or more equal and independent parties negotiate a deal with which they will not agree unless the upside is greater than the downside and in which being a party to the deal is better than not being included.
The situation in politics is fundamentally different than in business. Business is all about bilateral contracts where both parties must agree, or there is no deal. Politics is about brute physical force; it is about the power of the gun. Economic power is the power of creative ability, the ability to create wealth and values. Political power is brute physical force, or threat of force, which is the power of destruction, not of creation. “Sign here, or I will blow your brains out.” To equivocate between these two could be a fatal mistake. They are absolutely not the same.
If you negotiate between a murderer and his potential victim, what is there to negotiate? The murderer is clearly evil. You cannot treat both parties as if they have equal validity. If you support individual rights on principle, then you must in clear terms tell the murderer that if he acts, or even threatens to act, you will destroy him, period.
The potential victim has a right to his own life which means that he also has a right to self-defense. The murderer does not have a “right” to kill him. This is the situation in the Middle East where Islamic theocracies have plainly stated that their goal is to destroy (murder) Israel, the little Satan. They have also clearly stated that they wish to destroy the United States, the great Satan. We should take them at their word and destroy, or at least neutralize, them.
It looks at this time like Trump will become our President. Hopefully, he will have a Vice-President like a Ted Cruz or even a Rand Paul who will council him to act on principle.
TRUMP: AS PRESIDENT, I CAN’T TAKE ISRAEL’S SIDE
Cruz, Rubio explode on GOP kingpin: ‘Have you ever negotiated with terrorists?’
http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/dump-on-trump-night-debate-means-war-on-gop-kingpin/
Glick: Trump, the EU Crackup, and Israel
What accounts for the billionaire populist’s success?
http://www.truthrevolt.org/commentary/glick-trump-eu-crackup-and-israel
This is a short but excellent article by Dr Michael Hurd. The Trump phenomenon is a reaction by angry Americans who have been betrayed by their politicians. We really do need to take our country back because the politicians will certainly not give it back to us. Our Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of rights, freedom, and independence. Most of them lost almost everything–except their honor. We need to take our country back very soon. The price (in blood?) will get steeper by the day, and it is questionable whether or not Americans today have the courage and resolve to pay the necessary price.
https://drhurd.com/2016/01/28/the-gop-establishment-got-exactly-what-it-deserved/