Let's focus on the big event of this week, President Trump's State of the Union address. He will rightly set out the incredible economic progress we're seeing: the lowest unemployment in half a century, the best manufacturing performance in a quarter century and wages rising strongly after decades of stagnation.
The last two years have been a crystal-clear case study of the difference it makes when you have a pro-enterprise president and a tax-cutting, deregulating agenda. On Tuesday, the president will also restate his commitment to border security and fixing America's broken immigration system, a problem that's been allowed by both parties to fester for years. We'll soon see if Democrats are capable of being reasonable and constructive. Don't hold your breath.
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In fact, the Democrats are racing off to the left. But that gives President Trump a big strategic opportunity in this State of the Union.
However crazy their new policies may be, the Democrats' lurch to the left is a response to people's real anxieties. Republicans can bloviate all they like about how the new left-wing populism is not the answer. But frankly, the old establishment conservatism isn't the answer, either. That's why Donald Trump won in 2016. So, Mr. President, if you want to win again in 2020, Tuesday is the moment to get out there with a positive populism of your own. Speak to the majority in the country looking for practical, non-ideological solutions to the problems faced by working Americans.
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First must be health care. Mr. President, the main reason it will be Nancy Pelosi's beady eyes staring at the back of your head on Tuesday is health care. Republicans lost the House last year because they made a mess of health care, simple as that. In 2016, you understood what Americans wanted on health care far better than any of the establishment Republicans or conservative ideologues. You said the following during an interview during your campaign:
"Everybody's got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, "No, no, the lower 25 percent that can't afford private. But -- I am going to take care of everybody. I don't care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're taken care of now."
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Yes. That's the right answer. People just want to know they'll be taken care of. That doesn't mean government-run health care. But it does mean government-guaranteed health care. It's not the same thing.
Mr. President, we know the Democrats' brand of populism will set the country back. On Tuesday, show the country how your version can move America forward.
So make a commitment to universal health care -- universal free-market health care. Take the issue of universal coverage away from the Democrats and leave them defending government-run, close-down-the-private sector "Medicare for All." See how far that gets them in 2020
Next on the list: jobs. Help American workers fight the threat of automation by guaranteeing re-training for every worker who needs it. Boost your National Council for the American Worker, a fantastic effort led by Ivanka Trump which helps prepare Americans for the needs of the future workforce.
The third top priority is infrastructure. Everyone in Congress says they agree on it. Challenge them to deliver it. Let's make sure that by 2030, America, not China, will have the world's most modern systems for transportation, communication and energy.
Finally, pledge to rebuild America's struggling neighborhoods, too - urban, suburban and rural. Use your White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council and your new opportunity zones as vehicles for a real transformation that helps exactly the people who backed you in 2016
And five: Keep draining that Swamp. Ban foreign government lobbying and challenge Congress to outlaw conflict donors. No more donations by big business to the exact same lawmakers who regulate them.
Mr. President, we know the Democrats' brand of populism will set the country back. On Tuesday, show the country how your version can move America forward.
Adapted from Steve Hilton's monologue from "The Next Revolution" on February 3, 2019.
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