Well, when it comes to Donald Trump, one thing seems pretty clear: one bad idea deserves another.
And this time, it’s a whopper. As in, let’s have another debt ceiling showdown circa 2011-2013 style.
How stupid.
From Bloomberg back in January:
“Donald Trump is egging on Republicans already intent on using the federal debt limit as leverage to extract concessions from Democrats, potentially pushing the country further toward the brink of default as the former president seeks to reassert his grip on the GOP.
The former president has been posting exhortations on social media for Republicans to “be tough” and not “give in” as the US approaches running out of cash later this year, asserting the party “can get back almost everything” Democrats won legislatively under President Joe Biden.”
Since January, there has been little reporting if Trump has changed his mind on this issue.
I asked a former Senior Trump White House official what Trump might think about the issues these days. He said that “Trump loves a showdown that he can win or look like he should get a win for championing. However, he needs to be careful, as Republicans could very well get blamed if America does default. Does Trump want to get blamed for any of that? Heck no.”
What Is Donald Trump Thinking?
While I consider myself a fiscal conservative and hate the fact that America has created a debt of $31 Trillion- in fact, we spend $6 Trillion alone on just fighting COVID-19, more than we spend on World War II beating Hitler and Imperial Japan – debt ceiling showdowns need to be a thing of the past.
As in, they need to never, ever happen again.
One of the things that make America a superpower is an economy that is second to none and that no one ever doubts we will pay our debts.
While many pundits love to say China could someday surpass the U.S., the simple fact is that Beijing looks like it has peaked. You can’t have monster growth rates when your demographics are a dumpster fire and will grow really old collectively before you grow rich.
That means, barring some sort of economic or military suicide run, America could retain its global hegemon status for decades to come. Why throw that away?
If the GOP is smart they will ignore Donald Trump’s advice on this one. Conservatives should remember it was sequestration from the last debt ceiling crisis that damaged the U.S. military for years.
Bottomline: playing chicken with the U.S. economy is no way to try and score political points with the American people. It’s just stupid.
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About the author: Harry J. Kazianis (@Grecianformula) serves as President and CEO of Rogue States Project, a bipartisan national security think tank. He has held senior positions at the Center for the National Interest, the Heritage Foundation, the Potomac Foundation, and many other think tanks and academic institutions focused on defense issues. He served on the Russia task force for U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Ted Cruz, and in a similar task force in the John Hay Initiative. His ideas have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, CNN, CNBC, and many other outlets across the political spectrum. He holds a graduate degree in International Relations from Harvard University and is the author of The Tao of A2/AD, a study of Chinese military modernization. Kazianis also has a background in defense journalism, having served as Editor-In-Chief at The Diplomat and Executive Editor for the National Interest.
