Trump Signals Business about the Future and Asks Generals to Help Rebuild America

John Glenn. American Astronaut. 1921-2016. Rest in Peace. In Memoriam Saturday. • • • The Trump beat goes on. The President-Elect is filling out his Cabinet and, at the same time, giving clues about how he intends to deal with business and the job mess. • • • JOBS AND BUSINESS. TheHill reports that Trump is finding a novel way to push his economic agenda : "take on American businesses directly. Previous Presidents exerted a light touch with businesses, tackling industries as a whole while discussing policy in overarching tones." But, those who follow Trump closely know that "lightly" rarely figures in his vocabulary or actions. Trump built his reputation in business, and has shown a current political interest, in diving into specifics with individual companies -- witness the Carrier deal that prevented the closure of an Indiana plant and jobs moving to Mexico. The Trump tactic was to talk publicly long enough to set the problem and opportunity firmly in the public's mind, then, quietly do a deal that made both the company and Trump look good while saving jobs and the plant. In the Carrier case, Trump then declared victory by holding a rally at the Carrier plant. And later, Trump ripped Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers 1999, on Twitter for his attack on the deal : "Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!" and later "If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues." So, everybody was happy except the Steelworkers Union and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- and, hey, anything that makes those three squeal has got to be good. • Then, with Carrier a done deal, on Tuesday, Trump openly attacked airplane manufacturer Boeing, saying he wanted to cancel a contract for the company to build a new Air Force One. What??? Cancel a presidential perk??? Unheard of. Trump tweeted : “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future Presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Trump later told reporters : “I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.” Trump's tweet and comments created a news cycle, giving MSM's TV talking heads a subject that Trump wanted them to talk about. Boeing initially saw its stock dip following Trump’s tweet and released a statement saying it only had a contract for $170 million -- not the $4 billion mentioned by the President-Elect. That is not the point. The point is that Trump is watching businesses who are federal contractors and he will calll them out on overruns and grossly padded costs. That is how government contractors are supposed to be monitored, and it speaks volumes that Trump had to remind everyone about their functions -- provide services and products at a reasonable cost to taxpayers under contracts that are tracked for fair dealing and quality of result. • And just to provide an example of what any US President could do if motivated to support American business and bring in jobs, Trump surprised everyone with a stunning success -- a $50 billion investment in the US promised by Masayoshi Son, who announced plans to invest $50 billion in the US economy and generate 50,000 jobs. Best of all, Son said that the planned Trump administration deregulation is the reason for the massive commitment : "I just came to celebrate his [Trump's] new job. Because he said he would do a lot of deregulation, I said, 'This is great, the US will become great again.'" Son, one of the most famous business people in Japan, is not widely known in America. He is a maverick nonconformist who delights in shaking up the establishment and who has always prized innovation and speed, traits not often associated with the Japanese business establsihment. The New York Times published a piece about Son the day before he visited Trump, reporting that : "Mr. Son revels in confrontation, a trait that sets him apart in harmony-obsessed Japan. Twice, he has threatened to set fire to himself or the offices of Japanese telecommunications regulators -- the first time in a dispute over access to fiber-optic cable, the second in a fight over internet censorship. He apologized in the second instance, in 2010, calling the threat an inappropriate joke." Like Trump, Son is an intuitive decision-maker. He has had his share of difficulties, but has also made brilliant visionary investments. And now, consider this -- he has enlisted the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia to provide half of the $50 billion package he plans to invest in the US. Again, while the Son deal is to be applauded, Trump is making a key point -- businesses make decisions at the margin, where tax rates and regulatory expense and delay really do influence outcomes. It would be foolish to argue that Trump’s planned moves on taxes and regulation will not influence foreign investors. For everyone but liberal academics and journalists, it is common sense. The Trump message is clear -- come invest in America, foreign businesses, and you will find the environment friendly and profitable. • • • GENERALS AND CIVILIAN SERVICE. General Douglas MacArthur famously said during his Farewell Address to Congress in 1951, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." • But, one thing is sure -- General MacArthur would have a job in the Trump administration, if he wanted it. American Thinker published an article on Thursday about famous Generals providing enormously important services after their retirement from the military. Two outstanding Americans of the 20th century served as both military and civilian leaders, who did much tocreate the construct of western democracies in the 20th century, changing the course of history. The American Thinker article highlights Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall : "The major force in the Pacific during World War II was General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, a Medal of Honor recipient, and the Military Governor of postwar Japan who brought that country out of feudalism into the 20th century world. His astute handling of immediate postwar Japan and guidance of that country in developing a constitution has given us a powerful democratic ally in the defense of the Pacific as well as a significant trading partner in this modern era of global commerce. The other major military figure was General of the Army George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff during World War II and subsequently Secretary of State and the author of the “Marshall Plan” that helped to bring Western Europe out of the devastation of World War II and establish the democrat counterpart to the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts." • The current Democrat hair-pulling about Trump's selection of retired Generals to serve in his Cabinet is fakery on two fronts. First, Obama appointed 6 Generals to key administration posts. GW Bush, 4. So far, Trump has appointed 3. But, the more important point countering the Democrat fretting is that two of the most noteworthy individuals who have combined military and civilian careers for the betterment of the world were just as successful in civilian as in military service to their country. For the hysterical Progressives, like Senator Gilliland of New York, who has already said she will vote against James Mattis for Secretary of Defense, a short history lesson rather than emotional political blithering would serve to enlighten them. • • • A GENERAL FOR HOMELAND SECURITY. President-Elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine General John Kelly, whose last command included oversight of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, to run the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly confirmed his appointment to reporter Jennifer Griffin, saying : "I have been asked, and would consider it an honor." Kelly, who joined the Marine Corps in 1970, retired earlier this year, ending with a final, three-year post as head of US Southern Command, on which was focused some of the more heated debate over the Obama administration's ultimately failed pledge to close Guantanamo. Kelly served three tours in Iraq. Highly respected, sometimes outspoken, and known as a fierce and loyal commander, Kelly will take over the nation's newest federal agency, with responsibilities from airport security and terrorism to immigration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service. DHS was formed after 9/11 in an effort to get the US government better-positioned to prevent and respond to future attacks. If confirmed by the Senate, Kelly would be the fifth person to lead DHS. • Immigration enforcement is a familiar issue for Kelly. Southern Command, based in South Florida, regularly works with DHS on missions to identify and dismantle immigrant smuggling networks. And it has partnered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an operation targeting human smuggling into the US and helped with the rescue of children arriving alone at US borders. DHS has had trouble establishing an identity -- trying to balance its ties with the military with its role as a civilian law enforcement agency. Customs and Border Protection -- which includes the Border Patrol -- and the Coast Guard routinely work with Southern Command to coordinate drug smuggling investigations in the Caribbean. If immigration enforcement follows Trump's campaign promises, DHS will need to beef up the screening of immigrants allowed to come into the US, and find additional resources to track down and deport people living in America illegally. It will also need to find housing areas for these immigrants while they're await deportation -- all tasks Kelly is familiar with. • At Southern Command, Kelly was often blunt about his need for more resources to fight the drug trade that sweeps into the US from South America. During a 2014 hearing, he told the Senate Armed Services Committee he didn't have the ships or surveillance assets to stop more than 20% of the drugs leaving Colombia for the US. He said he often had "very good clarity" on the drug traffickers, but much of the time "'I simply sit and watch it go by." • The most contentious issue Kelly faced, however, was the Obama push to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and proposals to bring detainees to a facility in the US if they could not be returned to other nations. Members of Congress stridently opposed any move to close Guantanamo, arguing it is the ideal location for terror suspects gathered up in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, while the Pentagon was criticized for not moving more quickly to release detainees to other countries. Those decisions largely rested with the Defense Secretary, but Kelly absorbed some of that congressional anger even though his job was simply to carry out the transportation of the detainee after the decision was made. He also raised concerns about the costs of moving the detention center to the US, including the expanse of security that would be needed for the facility. • In his final Pentagon press conference in January, Kelly spoke openly about the loss of his son, Robert, who was killed in action in Afghanistan -- a topic he did not often raise in public. "To lose a child is -- I can't imagine anything worse than that....when you lose one in combat -- in my opinion -- there's a pride that goes with it, that he didn't have to be there doing what he was doing. He wanted to be there. He volunteered." Kelly said he gets "occasional letters from gold star families who are asking, 'Was it worth it?' And I always go back with this: "It doesn't matter. That's not our question to ask as parents. That young person thought it was worth it, and that's the only opinion that counts." • • • DEAR READERS, there are few Generals in the history of the United States as eloquent as Douglas MacArthur. On May 12, 1962, General MacArthur addressed the Corps at West Point for the last time. He was accepting the Thayer Award. Since 1958, the West Point Association of Graduates has presented the SYLVANUS THAYER AWARD to an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, “DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.” Only eight retired Generals have received the Thayer Award. As we watch President-Elect Trump name retired military leaders to undertake tasks critical to the rebuilding of America, let us remember General MacArthur's words : "Your guidepost stands out like a ten-fold beacon in the night : Duty, Honor, Country....You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country. This does not mean that you are war mongers. On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: 'Only the dead have seen the end of war.' The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished, tone and tint. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen vainly, but with thirsty ears, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory, always I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country. Today marks my final roll call with you, but I want you to know that when I cross the river my last conscious thoughts will be of The Corps, and The Corps, and The Corps. I bid you farewell." • If Trump's general officer recruits, now asked to lead in civilian roles, do half as well as General MacArthur in being guided by duty, honor and country, America will be blessed by their service. And, let us not forget America's first President, George Washington -- General and President. Historians agree that the United States would have failed without his military AND presidential leadership.