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2/ All politicians claim to be "for the people". I've donated $5 each to seven (so far) 2020 presidential candidates, and all fo them stress how they are "for the people". there is nothing that gets more applause with the least meaning. 
3/ The president doesn't run the economy. Presidents deserve no credit for a booming economy (and little blame for economic problems). All the economic trends have been steady since the Obama administration.
4/ Our population is greater than ever before, hence the most jobs. Labor participation rate is still down, though. FactingCheckingRob rates this as "technically correct"
5/ To be fair, the Trump/Republican tax bill did fix some broken ways corporations were taxed, but the benefits are small, probably wiped out in the long run by the small increases in government debt.
6/ If there is one thing that's been bipartisan action it's the way both parties have been disrupting each other's nominees for the past few administrations. Trump is just reaping what Republicans sowed under Obama.
7/ This reform has been necessary, and is only the first step to further prison reform. Not everything Trump does is craptastic.
8/ There is no "urgent" crisis at the border. Yes, there is a crisis in Central America causing people to flee, but there's nothing particularly different happening at the border. Illegal immigration crossing the border is at historic lows, not highs.
9/ Or if you think the crisis is drugs, the don't cross where a wall helps, but through ports of entry. That recent record drug bust is an example: through a port of entry, not across where a wall would stop it.
10/ Do "walls work". Well, yes, they stop border crossings in the places there were put now. But "border crossings" aren't immigration. And while walls in cities stop crossings, it doesn't mean walls in countryside will.
11/ "Walls work" is back into "technically correct" territory: it doesn't mean Trump's plans will do anything. BTW: I accept the premise that some improvements in walls might improve some things, but Turmp has made no such detailed plan to show this. It's just rhetoric.
12/ Immigration, illegal or otherwise, doesn't do any of these things. If you are unskilled labor, then yes, an influx of unskilled labor will compete for your jobs, but the effect is small. I've mentioned this before on his previous speech:
13/ The Democrats saying "abolish ICE" are stupid. There's a lot of good things ICE does. ICE's problems is that they enforce immigration laws that even the Democrats voted for. Lawmakers need to change those laws.
14/ I mean, Trump's targeting of immigrant children is a horror show, but it was only a small change on a bad immigration situation that's been in place during the Obama administration, too.
15/ So let's talk trade. Few except Trump's most ignorant base agrees with him on this. Not even the Republican party agrees with him. His trade policies have only hurt the country, cost jobs, raised prices, lowered our standard of living.
16/ Trump's new NAFTA is just for show making little difference.
17/ "Infrastructure" is always a bipartisan campaign promise that everyone agrees is a good idea, but doesn't happen because it's actually a bad idea. Libertarians are against it.
cato.org/publications/c…
cato.org/publications/c…
18/ No, he didn't say this. There's context here. This is the sort of thing when the opponent says it, you desperately avoid considering exculpatory context because it's just too perfect.
19/ He's simultaneously saying we've spent too much on defense and not enough. We are spending too much to defend NATO, but yet, we haven't been spending enough. Great, so NATO spends $100 billion more, so does that mean we can spend $100 billion less? No, of course not, lulz.
20/ Nobody but his die hard supporters believe this. Luckily, there's not enough evidence either way, so it's something he can just claim without me being able to cite something that would refute it. "If not me, aliens would've invaded by now".
21/ Okay, I liked this part of his speech. This is pretty good: Venezuela is a good example of the evils of socialism. On the other hand, the chant of "U S A . U S A" in response was a downer.
22/ This would be good. But it's rhetoric. Obama made the same promise, and Trump isn't doing much on this, either. We aren't getting out of Afghanistan, Iraq, even Syria any time son.
23/ This was the BEST part of his speech. I'm going to cherish this. Humor of this quality is rare in politics. I laughed out loud even though I promised myself I wouldn't.
"The only thing that can stop it [economic miracle] ...are ridiculous partisan investigations".
"The only thing that can stop it [economic miracle] ...are ridiculous partisan investigations".
24/24 Anyway, blame @innismir for this tweet thread.
25/24 Ooops. I forgot this bit. The US is indeed the #1 produce of oil in the world, but almost entirely from investments made by companies during the Bush administration. Also, not sure we are a net exporter of energy.
