At a rally held the night before his Inauguration Day, Donald Trump predictably peddled a variety of false claims, but of particular interest was the Republican’s assertion that he and his team are poised to “inherit disasters.”
The rhetoric was certainly familiar. As the new year got underway, the president-elect published a related message to his social media platform, describing the United States as “a disaster” and a country that’s in the process of “breaking down.” About a week later, he held a rambling press conference in which he described his own country as “a horrible place.”
Vice President-elect JD Vance, of course, has read from the same script, recently telling Fox News that President Joe Biden has left the incoming Republican administration with “a dumpster fire.”
There’s a whole lot of evidence to the contrary. The New York Times recently published an analysis pointing to reality.
For the first time since that transition 24 years ago, there will be no American troops at war overseas on Inauguration Day. New data reported in the past few days indicate that murders are way down, illegal immigration at the southern border has fallen even below where it was when Mr. Trump left office and roaring stock markets finished their best two years in a quarter-century. Jobs are up, wages are rising and the economy is growing as fast as it did during Mr. Trump’s presidency. Unemployment is as low as it was just before the Covid-19 pandemic and near its historic best. Domestic energy production is higher than it has ever been.
That’s a hearty list, and fortunately for Americans, we can keep going, pointing to lower inflation, a stronger manufacturing sector, a reduction in overdose deaths, a shrinking uninsured rate, a smaller budget deficit than when Trump left office the first time, and even data from abroad showing stronger international support for the United States.
What’s more, since the Times’ analysis was first published, the Biden administration has even helped negotiate an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, removing an enormous challenge from the incoming White House’s to-do list.
The challenge for Trump isn’t cleaning up a mess; the challenge for Trump is trying to keep intact the gift the retiring Democrat has left for his successor.
A Reuters report published last week added that when it comes to the economy, all the Republican has to do is keep three words in mind: “[D]on’t break anything.”
Stepping back, there’s no great mystery as to why Trump is whining about his inheritance: He wants the public to believe he’s facing daunting challenges, reality be damned, and the more he struggles after taking office, the more he’ll want to blame Biden. Indeed, he’s done this before.
Less than a month into his first term, Trump whined to reporters for a while about the conditions he inherited from Barack Obama. “To be honest, I inherited a mess — it’s a mess — at home and abroad. A mess,” he said in February 2017, before adding: “We’re going to take care of it all. I just want to let you know I inherited a mess.” On CBS’ “Late Show,” host Stephen Colbert joked soon after, in a message to Trump, “No, you inherited a fortune. We elected a mess.” The Republican’s whining wasn’t just unseemly, it was also bizarre. As we discussed at the time, Trump had no idea how good he had it: He took office at a time of low unemployment, steady economic growth, the lowest uninsured rate on record, low crime, low inflation, a modest deficit, a rising stock market, and a country that was broadly respected around the world. The incessant “mess” nonsense notwithstanding, Trump should’ve thanked Obama, not blamed him. Eight years later, he should be expressing similar gratitude to Biden. If the Republican wanted to see a president who actually left his successor disasters to clean up, Trump should look in the mirror.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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