OPINION:
Some of President Trump’s loyal supporters are suffering from first-term flashbacks. They wonder whether the commander in chief might be veering off course.
On Monday, the president met with Syrian strongman Ahmed al-Sharaa. Less than a year ago, the U.S. government was willing to pay $10 million for this man’s head on a platter over his role in killing American soldiers.
Since Mr. al-Sharaa took power, Syrian religious minorities have faced brutal reprisals. Either the former regional chief of al Qaeda isn’t doing enough to protect them or he quietly endorses the violence.
At a White House event, Mr. Trump explained why he was going easy on Mr. al-Sharaa. “We took the sanctions off at the request of Turkey, at the request of, actually, Israel, at the request of a few different countries. We took the sanctions off to give him a chance.”
Despite what “a few different countries” say, America shouldn’t be drawn into some “global coalition” that picks sides among warring terrorist factions in distant lands. That said, Mr. Trump’s famous “golden escalator” speech announcing his first campaign in 2015, as well as his 2024 announcement, mentioned defeating the Islamic State group. So, he is being consistent.
Others are troubled by the military adventurism in Venezuela. It seems as if the generals can’t resist the urge to launch $150,000 Hellfire missiles at small, drug-smuggling boats.
To his credit, the president has frustrated defense contractors eager for an invasion of Caracas. Mr. Trump’s actions are limited to what he said he would do in campaign speeches: restrain the influx of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs into the country.
That would improve American lives, and it’s among the reasons voters flocked to Mr. Trump in 2024. On the other hand, the administration’s 50-year mortgage proposal is a notable step backward. Reducing monthly loan payments by making them last a lifetime is the opposite of what Washington should be doing.
Homeownership should be the goal, which is why Mr. Trump was on the right track when he badgered the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates. His instinct to repeal the red tape that inflates construction costs and open federal lands out West to increase the housing supply was also correct, but there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of progress on these fronts.
Strangely, however, Mr. Trump is ignoring demands from the base that he curb the 400,000 student visas that the State Department issues each year. China collects 85,000 of these — far more than we give to every nation in Europe combined.
“You don’t want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country, destroy our entire university and college system. I don’t want to do that,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Laura Ingraham.
With a few notable exceptions, America’s universities and colleges are run by America-hating leftists who exploit foreign students — they pay full tuition — to fund diversity, equity and inclusion schemes. Forcing these institutions to focus on serving Americans certainly seems like an “America First” move, but Mr. Trump disagrees.
“Don’t forget, MAGA was my idea,” Mr. Trump said. “I know what MAGA wants better than anyone else, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive.”
This president has earned trust, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt for him to lend more energy and political capital to the economy. Americans need to feel better about where things are headed if he wants the rest of his agenda to survive the midterms.
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