OPINION:
It’s been 10 years since Donald Trump descended the now-infamous golden escalator to announce to the world his intention to run for president.
Mr. Trump, who had long flirted with the idea of becoming commander in chief, was met with an array of reactions. From surprise to alarm — and even laughs — the notion that the bombastic billionaire and reality TV star could ever occupy the White House seemed strange to some.
However, as time passed, it became clear that Mr. Trump was not only resonating with a large proportion of Americans, but also that he would defy all odds to become the Republican presidential candidate — and inevitably win.
Even with alarm raging within the Republican Party over Mr. Trump’s true convictions, some began to argue that, despite misgivings over his ideals, conservatives needed to support him above all else due to the reality that the 2016 presidential victor would likely make a number of Supreme Court appointments.
It quickly became apparent that Mr. Trump was the only option Republicans had to ensure the court was shaped to protect their values. This contention caught fire among Mr. Trump’s supporters — and even some detractors — as the most compelling reason to opt for him.
CNN noted at the time that even some of Mr. Trump’s staunchest prominent Republican critics came to the conclusion that he would “at least nominate more conservative justices than Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.”
For Mr. Trump’s part, the then-candidate realized the importance of the Supreme Court to winning over the conservative base. Thus, he took the uncommon step of specifically naming the judges he would consider nominating to the court, a move aimed at tempering concerns over his conservative chops and whether he would govern in a way amenable to Republicans.
Still, many dismissed these efforts, pointed to Mr. Trump’s ambiguous political leanings and declared that conviction was more important than victory. Some of these critics dismissed the Supreme Court argument as inept and short-sighted.
But a look over the past nine years shows there’s a solid case to be made that Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory, via his Supreme Court nominees Amy Coney Barrett, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Neil M. Gorsuch, has reshaped America in ways previously unimaginable. And it’s impossible to overemphasize how much these decisions have bolstered the Republican cause.
Undoubtedly, America would look radically different had Mrs. Clinton been granted the opportunity to appoint three liberal justices, particularly in terms of religious liberty, abortion and the First Amendment.
Let’s start with the most remarkable accomplishment: the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion across America. For decades, the pro-life movement desperately tried to work toward this goal, arguing that abortion claims the lives of the unborn and should be rendered morally and legally intolerable.
While many have long held these beliefs, it seemed almost impossible to topple an industry that had become intertwined with the Democratic Party’s political megaplex. And yet the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022 did just that, sending abortion back to the states.
Mrs. Clinton, who has called abortion “sacrosanct,” would have certainly offered up justices who would have defended the practice.
The pro-life victories continue, too. Last month, the high court’s Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic ruling delivered what NPR called a “back-door blow to Planned Parenthood” by affirming South Carolina’s right to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to the controversial organization.
On the religious liberty front, 2022’s Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case brought back common sense by affirming that former high school football coach Joe Kennedy indeed had the right to pray on the 50-yard line after public school games.
Mr. Kennedy, who had been fired for praying after games, faced a years-long legal battle that never should have happened. Under a high court partially shaped by Mr. Trump, he was victorious. Yet, once again, there might have been a very different determination had Mrs. Clinton been in office.
Bear in mind that such First Amendment cases have become increasingly important — and volatile — in the current social dynamic, as activists have pushed ceaselessly to impose their ideology on the masses.
Another example of a victory in this arena surrounds graphic artist and web designer Lorie Smith, whose 303 Creative v. Elenis case in 2023 once again proved the importance of Supreme Court justices who comprehend the original scope and weight of free speech and religious liberty protections.
Ms. Smith took on a Colorado law that would have forced her to create designs and content she believed would violate her religious ideals. In a landmark ruling, she won and solidified freedoms not only for herself but for all Americans.
“It really was a great victory for the First Amendment, for free speech, and for all Americans for precisely this point — that it doesn’t … just protect Lori,” Jonathan Scruggs, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and a lawyer who represented Ms. Smith, told me at the time. “It applies to the LGBT web designer. It applies to the Muslim artists, the Jewish artists. It applies to everyone, and that’s exactly the point.”
And, finally, on the parental rights front, Mr. Trump’s judicial picks have helped once again make common sense common again by solidifying the rights of mothers and fathers to shield their children from content they find objectionable.
The Supreme Court found in Mahmoud v. Taylor that Maryland parents who took on their school district’s refusal to allow them to opt their elementary school kids out of LGBTQ-themed books were in the right. It was found that such actions place a burden on religious exercise and that parents should have the right to be notified and opt their kids out when warranted.
These cases only scratch the surface of what the Supreme Court has decided over the past few years. There’s no denying Mr. Trump’s 2016 election was pivotal for conservatives and First Amendment enthusiasts to see such stunning and sweeping victories.
This, of course, doesn’t diminish concerns or disagreements over Mr. Trump’s rhetoric or beliefs on various issues, but it does bolster those who argued that the Supreme Court appointments were essential to right some of the wrongs being imposed by lower American courts.
Only the future will tell what happens next, but Mr. Trump’s influence has been undeniable.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Mr. Hallowell is the author of four books.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.