Casey Pops Predictions : A Look Back at 2018 and Key Predictions for 2019

A LOOK BACK AT CASEY POPS' 2018 PREDICTIONS. My predictions for 2018 seem to have been pretty much on target. Here's a quick review. • 1. THE DEMOCRATS WILL BE MUCH WEAKER BY 2018 YEAR-END AND THE GOP WILL RETAIN ITS MAJORITY IN CONGRESS. That's a halfer. The GOP kept the Senate and added to their majority, but the Democrats took back the House. 2. THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WILL CHANGE ITS PROGDEM AGENDA OR DIE IN 2018. Another halfer. The MSM suffered from Fake news in 2018, and CNN's ratings fell to new lows. President Trump encouraged the media to be more objective and give him credit for his successes, but he had to continue to use Twitter to get his messages about his agenda and its successes out to America and his supporters. 3. OBAMACARE WILL BE REPEALED, BUT NOT REPLACED ENBLOC. That is a full-pointer. The Senate, thanks to the negative vote of the late Senator John McCain failed to repeal Obamacare officially by one vote. But, the Trump administration, through regulations and executive orders, put Obamacare on life support. 4. TRUMP WILL GET A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH ON THE RUSSIA DOSSIER FROM MUELLER. A definite halfer. So far, there is NO EVIDENCE that there was any "collusion" between the Trump campaign and the Russians -- and that said, "collusion" is not a crime. But, Mueller will not give up as long as his ProgDem handlers and the Department of Justice are supporting him. It is a pitifully illegal and unconstitutional example of a political cabal hunting for anything that could destroy President Trump. 5. HILLARY AND THE DNC WILL BE UNDER MULTIPLE FBI / DOJ INVESTIGATIONS. A full point here. President Trump's House and Senate allies applied increasing pressure as they pried loose from the DOJ and FBI enormous blocks of evidence about the full extent of the illegal political witch hunt to prevent Donald Trump from taking office and then to destroy him after he was elected. The cabal was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democrat Party National Committee in order to enable Christopher Steele and his FBI / DOJ contacts to smear and ruin President Trump and his presidency. 6. TAX CUTS WILL SPEARHEAD THE TRUMP ECONOMIC GROWTH PLAN. Got that right -- a full point. 7. TRUMP WILL DO A DEAL FOR DACA "DREAMERS" IN EXCHANGE FOR A WALL AND A BIGGER BORDER SECURITY BUDGET, WHILE DOUBLING DOWN ON DEPORTING ILLEGALS WHO ARE CRIMINALS. Another halfer. President Trump's ICE and DHS teams are rounding up illegal alien criminals as fast as they can. Sanctuary cities are not helping, but the 2018 record of arrests of illegal criminals is one for the President and his team to be proud of. As for the "deal," we're still waiting for Nancy to get back from the beach in Hawaii and get serious about securing the southern border. 8. TRUMP'S MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE IN AMERICA IS HIS SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ITS VALUES. A full point here. President Trump's White House meetings Christian pastors and his support for First Amendment religious liberties, is working. The newly-conservative majority on the Supreme Court has supported him in cases about refusing to make a wedding cake, and he has canceled Obama regulations that discriminate against those with sincerely-held religious convictions. 9. MRS. MERKEL, GERMANY AND EUROPE WILL REMAIN JOINED AT THE HIP. I give this a full point because while Merkel is weaker now than she was before the September election, she is still the face and checkbook of the EU. French President Macron's fall from grace with his voters means that there is no European leader who can replace her -- or indeed the next German Chancellor. 10. TRUMP WILL FORCE CHINA TO CONFRONT NORTH KOREA OR FACE WIDE SANCTIONS. I take this as a full point because President Trump has certainly forced China to curtail its banking facilities for North Korea, as well as reducing the Chinese sale of petroleum products badly needed by the North. And, while no sanctions have been placed on China, the trade dispute between China and the US has placed higher tariffs on Chinese exports. But, President Trump said this week that the trade tariff dispute negotiations are going well, so we may soon see a lowering of tariffs, already begun by China in 2018 after the President applied pressure in the form of higher tariffs for the export-dependent Chinese economy. 11. TRUMP AND MIDEAST ALLIES WILL REJECT NUCLEAR DEAL AND ISOLATE IRAN. A solid one point. The only part of this initiative that President Trump is still dealing with is Europe's dangerously self-defeating desire fight the US position on Iran and provide Iran with alternative banking facilities and with export markets for its petroleum. • So -- 6 full points and 5 half points, for a total of 8 1/2 out of 11. Maybe I can do better for 2019. • • • WHAT'S AHEAD FOR 2019? Here are a few key things I see coming our way. (1) THE WALL. The continuing wave of Central American caravans and the Democrat refusal to do anything helpful will bring down Democrats down from their post-mid-term January peak and give President Trump a big advantage in the early period of the 2020 presidential race. He will get a deal with Nancy Pelosi to build his "fence" -- wall -- and she will get protection for her Obama Dreamers. President Trump's favorability rating will bounce above 50% and he will lead the presidential polls by 5% over the best of the Democrat challengers by the end of 2019. (2) THE FEDERAL RESERVE. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell will keep his seat at the Fed but he will find the 'right' words to wriggle out of his overly-ambitious "normalizing" of the prime interest rate. I expect only one more raise in it at about mid-year and only if a hands-off position by the Fed allows US and world markets to stabilize and get over Powell's bad calls in 2108. (3) THE CLINTONS. The Department of Justice will finally move on two of the key outstanding corruption cases negatively hanging over American justice. The Clinton Foundation will be indicted for tax fraud and its principals -- Bill and Hillary Clinton -- will be named as co-defendants. Hillary's secret server and its hiding of the "pay-for-play" schemes that benefitted the Foundation will finally get a serious judicial review. And, Hillary will find herself enmeshed in a wide-ranging DOJ investigation of the FBI's Christopher Steele Russia Dossier and FISA, with her role as employer of Steele playing a key role in the investigation. Expect no decision in either case during 2019 - they will drag on for 2 to 3 years. (4) MUELLER AND IMPEACHMENT. Special Counsel Robert Mueller will file his report with the DOJ, finding no "collusion" but accusing President Trump of business-related misconduct. This will produce Articles of Impeachment in the Democrat-controlled House as Speaker Nancy Pelosi is forced to bow to the radical left side of her caucus, but the Senate will not vote to impeach the President. The repercussion of the Democrat attempt to impeach will serve to increase the President's popularity among both Republicans and independents, once more leaving the Democrats with political egg on their faces. (5) BREXIT. British Prime Minister Theresa May will get a positive Brexit vote from Parliament and the United Kingdom will be out of the European Union by the end of March. (6) FRANCE. France will be the unruly child in Europe in 2019. Citizens will continue to protest and President Macron will be forced to give in to their demands about fuel costs and a second increase in minimum wages, as well as a rethinking of his retirement reform. This will put an end for the foreseeable future to any idea he has of becoming Chancellor Merkel's successor as EU de facto leader. (7) NORTH KOREA. North Korea and South Korea will make great progress in re-unifying the Korean peninsula, but without a political merger. South Korea will greatly help President Trump in bringing NK back to the denuclearization table, and there will be an outline deal in place by the end of 2019. (8) CHINA TRADE. President Trump will complete his trade negotiations with China and there will be trade peace and much lower tariffs between the two countries by year end. (9) THE MIDDLE EAST. The Middle East will be slightly less violent in 2019, with Iran quietly pulling out of Yemen and giving Russia the lead in Syria because of the widening of domestic protests against the Ayatollahs use of state money for continuing foreign terrorism while Iranians become poorer and poorer. President Trump's decision to pull 2,000 US troops out of Syria will prove to be the right decision, as Trump's strategy shows that the US can be effective without being on the ground in Syria. President Trump has already said it will be a timed and careful withdrawal with others left in place to carry on, and as always, the President will keep his word. The US will begin its troop drawdown from Afghanistan and the Afghan government and the Taliban will reach a co-existence governing agreement. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel will become the front line of defense in the region, fully supported by the US, keeping Iran and Hezbollah out of the predominantly Sunni region that the US sees as its key to influence in the Middle East. • • • DEAR READERS, President Trump tweeted his New Year's wish : "Happy new year to everyone, including the haters and the fake news media! 2019 will be a fantastic year for those not suffering from Trump derangement syndrome. Just calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country!” • We are with you, Big Guy, we are with you !! • AND, starting today, you can FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER at casey-pops (@caseypopsblog) -- hope to see you there and read your tweets soon !!