Donald Trump: Libertarian?

Sunday, July 7, 2019
Fort Lauderdale, FL

In a recent Quora article by Gabriel Guzman, the author suggests just how widely popular Donald Trump is with his Republican constituency https://www.quora.com/What-do-most-Republicans-think-of-Donald-Trump and provides statistical support demonstrating evidence which concludes Trump promotes wholesome values, is considered honest, and a good role model for children.

With talk of the 2020 Presidential election starting up in earnest this is a good time to examine whether Donald Trump has been a better “Libertarian” than most people believe. Most Libertarians find Trump policies to be antithetical to their beliefs:

· Close down the borders.

· End abortion.

· Intervene in foreign countries.

· Maintain the limits on drugs for the most part.

· Allow eminent domain.

· Use strong arm tactics including torture to fight terrorism.

In a NY Times Editorial, Paul Krugman also provides excellent commentary which spotlights how “libertarian ideology isn’t a real force within the G.O.P.; it’s more of a cover story for the party’s actual agenda.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/opinion/trump-shutdown.html The point is that while Trump does support a lot of free trade principles, he still supports numerous social restrictions that violate Libertarian philosophy. In his article, appearing earlier this year in Being Libertarian, Danny Chabino provides an interesting argument in defense of his position that Trump is the most Libertarian US President of the last 50 years. While not an endorsement of Trump it serves to call attention to the fact that several more Libertarian leaning policies have been implemented since Trump’s election to office. Please read the very short article found on the link below, and refer often to Being Libertarian for several excellent and thought provoking pieces. https://beinglibertarian.com/trump-most-libertarian-president/

Our next Liberty Happy Hour comes up on Friday, July 19 at which time interesting and thought provoking exchange of ideas like these are welcomed. We look forward to meeting Libertarians from across Broward County and encourage you to visit our web site https://broward.lpf.org often for access to information about upcoming events.