A very Trump Thanksgiving

OPINION:

As Americans gather with relatives and friends Thursday, it’s a time to count our blessings. The holiday tradition may have evolved in the four centuries since the Pilgrims first shared a meal with an Indian tribe in Massachusetts, but the core theme of gratitude remains.

YouGov recently surveyed Americans about their Thanksgiving plans, and about a third said they couldn’t help themselves and would bring up politics at the table. Whichever side of the political fence they land on, they will have President Trump to thank for the animated discussion.

No president in our lifetime, perhaps any lifetime, has been as controversial — and entertaining. His deeds have had a significant impact, but are Americans better off as a result? Although not fully mended from the one-two punch of the COVID-19 panic and the spending binge of the past four years, economic indicators are perking up.

Walmart offers a Thanksgiving feast for a family of 10, complete with turkey and fresh cranberries, for less than $40. Before Mr. Trump moved back into the Oval Office, the humble egg was a luxury item with a price tag more suitable for exotic fare imported from faraway lands.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta predicts that gross domestic product will expand at a healthy 4.2%, which contradicts the doomsayers who suggested the Make America Great Again agenda would drag the economy into a 1930s-style depression.

Expect left-leaning commentary to bring up Mr. Trump’s supposedly reckless cuts, but official figures undermine this narrative. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest budgetary review, overall outlays increased $275 billion this fiscal year.

There’s a bit of a wink and a nod involved in citing that number because the fiscal time frame includes the final months of Mr. Trump’s predecessor. Remove those, and expenditures did decline, but only by $41 billion — a drop in the bucket filled with $1.8 trillion in annual red ink.

Such meager reductions hardly justify the hysterical opposition the administration’s reform efforts have drawn, but even some conservatives are ungrateful for the lack of progress toward balance. They need a little perspective because a tiny cut is a landmark achievement in a town where the budget always fattens.

In this and in many other policy areas, our republic is on a stronger footing.

Homeschooling and classical education have become more mainstream. Parents now have choices that didn’t exist when they were growing up. Even the liberal Brookings Institution, in an August report, had to concede that alternatives to public schools are on the rise.

A generation ago, only one state, Vermont, allowed anyone to protect themself with a pistol without first applying to the government for permission. Now, constitutional carry is the law in 29 states, meaning more than half the country treats this fundamental right with the respect it deserves.

It’s equally important to celebrate when arms are laid down by nations that agree to stop killing each other over arbitrary geographical boundaries. After many failed attempts, the administration’s drive to end the war in Ukraine seems to finally be paying off. “Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Our forefathers thanked God for their survival after a perilous journey across the Atlantic. They had tamed the harsh wilderness and created a lasting colony. We ought to be thankful their vision has survived and thrived for 250 years. Now it’s greater than ever.