Editorial counterpoint: Why Donald Trump is the president we need

In response to "Biden can reunite and restart America" (editorial, Oct. 11), here is why President Donald Trump should be re-elected, by issue:

"The big difference between success and failure in the presidency," President John F. Kennedy said in 1962, "is the difference between a bill being defeated in Congress and the country getting wiped out in a nuclear attack."

In his first term, Trump has scored great successes in his conduct of foreign policy. He persuaded our European NATO allies to increase by $100 billion their spending for security. Trump is also the first U.S. president to recognize the city of Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel — a long overdue step supporting our nation's closest ally in the Middle East.

Trump negotiated a deal establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. These historic, unprecedented agreements promise to encourage other Mideast nations to normalize relations with Israel. This is the greatest peace agreement since President Jimmy Carter's treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1978. Truly, thanks to Trump, peace is finally breaking out in the Middle East.

Trump also made a wise decision to withdraw from President Barack Obama's flawed nuclear agreement with Iran. This agreement simply delayed Iran's development of nuclear weapons and did not end Iran's future nuclear ambitions. Iran is unquestionably the most destabilizing nation in the Middle East. Trump's trade sanctions against Iran for its subversion and use of terrorism has revitalized our traditional alliances in the Middle East.

Trump finally stood up to the tyrant Bashar al-Assad of Syria who used chemical weapons and sarin gas, killed 200,000 civilians in Syria and created the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. In April 2017, Trump targeted a Syrian airfield with cruise missiles and killed much of ISIS's leadership. This bold leadership stands in stark contrast to Obama's weakness in declaring a "red line" but declining to enforce it even after Assad used chemical weapons against his own people.

Trump's increase in national military spending has dramatically expanded U.S. military capacity and increased defense appropriations in two stages in 2017 and 2018 to $1.5 trillion. Trump's leadership has been critical to meeting the significant increases in military spending by both China and Russia and providing a much needed pay raise for U.S. military personnel.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis, the unemployment rate was at 3.6%, the lowest in over 50 years. The unemployment rate for Hispanics and African Americans in 2019 reached their lowest levels since record keeping began.

We need Trump more than ever to bring our economy back from the unforeseeable setback of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump's appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts have been unquestionably outstanding. Both Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were first in their respective law school classes, at Yale and Notre Dame. The U.S. Supreme Court is long overdue to review its decisions from an era of liberal, left-of-center justices whose goal was to legislate from the bench in ways not intended by the authors of the U.S. Constitution. Trump's federal court nominees are constitutional originalists committed to the language of the Constitution as intended by the Founding Fathers. Over time, the adherence by the Supreme Court to the language and spirit of the U.S. Constitution will result in renewing our national unity of purpose.

Trump's style of governance is at variance with that of past U.S. presidents. Trump can be uncouth, bombastic, blunt and unconventional. He often communicates by Twitter. Unfortunately, those who dislike this president because of his style or antics are wrongfully placing style ahead of policy and substance.

It is the policy that counts in the conduct of the presidency and Trump is absolutely right on policy. Today our nation is stronger than ever against our adversary, China. We now have a president who stands up to China, unlike Presidents Bill Clinton and Obama who gave China great deals on trade policy and provided them with great economic advantages to the detriment of American jobs and industries.

For our times, Donald Trump is a great president.