It is quite usual to hear, in every country, region and continent, that the President of the United States is misogynistic, racist and a dictator. The majority of the media-which have never forgiven him for winning the Presidency from their chosen candidate-have done a good job of branding him with all the above-mentioned attributes.

People from all over the world, who believe that media like CNN and The New York Times are as trustworthy, objective and with integrity as they once were, know nothing of the President’s economic achievements, what they mean for the whole World economy, and his real good and bad sides.

Slowly, however, the US citizens at least, are starting to understand that these news outlets are distorting the truth to serve their political purposes. This explains the decline in viewership of the CNN for example, who has been regularly lagging behind Fox News for quite some time now, according to audience data.

However, is there any truth in the claims of the media and the Democratic Party? Let’s analyze these claims one by one. A misogynist, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is someone, usually a man, who hates women or believes that men are much better than women are. Naturally, it stands to reason, that such a person would never elevate women to positions of power. Yet, the President has made Nikki Haley, an Indian-American woman, the UN Ambassador. His campaign manager was Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to run a successful US Presidential campaign. She now serves as Counselor to the President. The Press Secretary, the Education Secretary, Transportation Secretary, the Secretary of Homeland Security, The US Treasurer and many others are also women. Many would counter argue that he has said mean things about women, referring to the Billy Bush tape, but the problem with the left is that they focus too much on words and too little on action. The President’s actions show that he is hardly a misogynist. Yet, the media continues to spread this lie and many take it as a fact.

Secondly, and according to the Cambridge Dictionary, a racist is someone who believes that other races are not as good as their own and therefore treats them unfairly. Again, the facts prove to the contrary of the media’s claims. Ben Carson, an African-American, is a member of the Cabinet. So is, Elaine Chao, an Asian-American woman and Nikki Haley, already mentioned above. Furthermore, Donald Trump has never shied away from opportunities honoring Martin Luther King Jr., recently signing a proclamation honoring Martin Luther King Day. Also, in 1989, he was given the Ellis Island Award for contributing to the conditions of inner city black youths. In 1990, he insisted in accepting Jews and members of the African-American community to his country club. Even today, many clubs in Palm Beach discriminate against these communities. If the President was racist or a misogynist, then why no one spoke up before he decided to run for President? If he is racist for saying that people need to stop coming illegally in the country, then so is Bill Clinton for saying the same thing when he was President. If he is racist, why does the niece of Martin Luther King support him? If he is racist, then why has the unemployment rate for the African-American community fallen to 6.8%, the lowest ever on record for the United States? All these facts show that this debate of racism is just futile, because it is producing nothing but gossip and filling the programming hours of the news media.

Lastly, the most absurd claims are those that make him up to be a dictator. It is hardly believable that at a time when most media outlets are against the President, speak whatever they like every day, create cartoons that mock the President and his family, America is transforming into a dictatorship. Clearly, most of these people have never lived in a dictatorship and do not appreciate what it means lacking the right of the freedom of speech. Using words like racist, sexist and dictator without stop and for everything, makes them lose their value. This inflation of usage is the true damage that is being done to political and non-political discourse throughout the US and beyond. That is why this topic is important to be discussed on both sides of the Atlantic. Nowadays, if someone does not agree with you, and he lacks the arguments, you are branded a racist. Discourse and debate has shifted from the things that count and really matter, to meaningless things that are presented by the opinion-makers as the opposite of what they truly are.

So, why is all these fake news being presented at people? Surely, it is a matter of political and economic interests. The media and the Democratic Party are using these insults as cover to hide from the American people and the World the economic successes of this administration. As Bill Clinton once said, it is the economy, stupid. Because, what can be more important than the prosperity and wellbeing of the citizens of a country? Donald Trump had an agenda. He was elected because the people liked what he was promising them. It is that simple. Now he is doing exactly what he was elected to do. That is making Washington uncomfortable, because it is not used to politicians keeping their promises. His rivals recognize the danger he poses to them and their survival. Staying true to conservative ideology, President Trump wants to reinforce the individual and make him independent and free to pursue his own path. A strong, responsible citizen, free and able to think, create and challenge the status quo leads to a strong nation and a strong economy. As an entrepreneur himself, Trump understands and respects this.

However, the bureaucrats and the left want the citizens to be reliable on them, because otherwise they lose their power. This is the reason why Trump frightens them and why they are fighting him with all they can. This phenomenon is important to be understood because it is a worldwide occurrence. It is a quest for accountability and transparency of the governments to the people that elect them. At its core that what Donald Trump’s election meant. People were tired of shadowy donors that believe their interests are more important than the citizens’ will; they were weary of political dynasties and behind-the-scenes deals. People were exhausted of a sluggish economy that was leaving them worse off than their parents. At the same time, the government was telling them to get used to this growth, to give up hope that they could do better and to be dependent on the government as the only way of surviving.

Donald Trump presents the opposite of this phenomenon. And he has the economy on his side. Many get involved on the debate as to whose merit it is that the stock market is soaring. Yet, the stock market is not the economy, although they are closely linked. Economics and finance are about expectations about the future and the current fundamentals of the economy.

So, let us start analyzing them. The unemployment rate is at 4.1%, the lowest it has been in about two decades. Of course, its decline began under President Obama, because the economy was in recovery and expanding. That is the usual cycle of the economy. However, about unemployment, there is one parameter that most people do not consider in their analysis: the participation rate-the number of people either working or looking for a job. The unemployment rate is the percentage of those people that are unemployed, but with respect to the members that are in the labor force. The labor force includes individuals that are employed and those that are not employed but looking for a job. What happens with those that cannot find a job and give up? They are not included in the labor force anymore, yet they are unemployed, living on government support. The number of Americans not in the labor force when Barack Obama took office on January 2009 was 80529000. When he left office, the number was 95102000. It increased by 18.09% during his two terms as President. The last time the participation rate was this low, was in the 1970s. Therefore, during his administration, a major reason why the unemployment rate dropped was because the participation rate also dropped, i.e. people gave up looking for a job. In September of 2017, roughly 9 months after Trump took office, the participation rate increased to 63.1 percent, the highest in 42 months.

Another measure to be looked at is the U-6 unemployment rate, considered by many to be the real rate. While the official one counts people as unemployed after 30 days of leaving work, the U-6 considers people that have stopped working for 1 year. After 8 months of Trump’s Presidency, this indicator fell by more than 1 percentage point, to 8.3%, the lowest level since June 2007.

Furthermore, wages are also going up. During the first year of the new administration, the average hourly earnings increased by 2.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the official statistics, the national debt decreased by $100 billion during the first 100 days of Trump’s first term. By comparison, during President Obama’s first 100 days, it grew by $560 billion. It is true that after Trump’s first 100 days, the debt grew; however, the rate of growth was less than half the average during the previous administration.

For the first time after 8 years, the GDP grew by more than 3%, something that officials of the Obama era, including the former President himself, had said that it was impossible. In the second quarter of 2017, the economy grew by 3.1%, something that was repeated during the third quarter as well, reaching the strongest growth since 2005.

In addition, the number of people on food stamp, a form of assistance helping low-income families, fell by over 2 million people, meaning less people were dependent on them since they had found a job.

Business and consumer confidence alike rose during 2017 to records not seen since 2001. The optimism of manufacturers reached the highest levels in 20 years. According to Pew Research Center, public confidence in job growth reached the highest point ever since Pew had started keeping track. The Fed claimed that US household wealth increased by $1.7 trillion in the second quarter of 2017, to a record level.

Due to the tax cuts, 164 companies gave bonuses to more than 2 million workers. Nancy Pelosi, the Chief Democrat in the House, stated that $1000 bonuses are crumbs, forgetting that she said even $40 make a difference in 2011 when it was her party governing. These companies are not only providing bonuses for their employees, but many of them are also raising their minimum wage. This is one of the cases that has implications in Europe as well. To remain competitive, European countries have or are considering decreasing taxes as well.

The recent stock market decrease has nothing to do with the economy. It is a correction due to an overvaluation of stocks that was bound to happen. The main reason for its occurrence is that the market had not priced in inflation rising this fast and the fed probably hiking rates more times than expected, a further sign of a stronger economy.

To conclude, the first year of the Trump presidency has been a constant battle between fact and fiction. The media has been fighting a wrong battle and instead of being the paladin of truth, it has become its greatest distorter. This is a becoming a problem with worldwide consequences, that has started in the US and is spreading everywhere. Yet, facts cannot be changed, only hidden for a while. That is why the economy and the prosperity of the American people remain the President’s greatest defense.

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