Donald Trump hit two home runs this week. The first, right after the horrific truck attack in Nice, was his statement in a media interview in which he said that if elected, he would ask Congress to declare war to combat global terrorism. The second was his inspired choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to join the GOP ticket.
Before I get to Pence, let me pause for a moment to consider Trump’s declaration of war.
For over a year, I have advocated for a Washington wake-up call in which the President and Congress would pass a formal declaration of war against ISIS and all other Islamic jihadist terrorist groups. These groups have declared war on us. We have yet to respond.
After the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris slow last year, French President Francois Hollande declared war on ISIS. It was an act of courage. But France had to act alone.
France has been an American ally for about 250 years. It is a key member of NATO. But President Obama never stood shoulder to shoulder with Hollande and asked for a declaration of war on ISIS. Nor did he employ American influence to get NATO to declare war.
Why is this critical? I believe a declaration of war would show energy, urgency, determination, and leadership—not only to unite Americans, but also to send a global message to terrorists.
I recently interviewed former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz, as well as retired four-star General Jack Keane. All of them wholeheartedly supported a U.S. declaration of war. And they added that with such a declaration, the U.S. must be prepared to destroy ISIS in its sheltered havens in Iraq and Syria.
So when Donald Trump made it clear that this is, in fact, “a war,” deserving of a declaration of war, he stood out. No one else did. Not Congress. Not Obama. Certainly not Clinton.
Trump’s second home run was his selection of Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate. Over the years, as the leader of the conservative House Republican Study Committee and later as the third member of the House Republican leadership team, he has remained steadfast as a genuine and consistent conservative.
On economic policy, Pence has stuck to the key element of growth. He is a budget hawk who voted against President George W. Bush’s fiscally bloated No Child Left Behind education bill and the hugely pricey Medicare prescription drug bill. He has said he would not support recent middle-class entitlements. He has been consistent.
A little over a decade ago, Pence was named Human Events Conservative of the Year. I interviewed him and wrote about him later. Pence described himself as a “radical supply-sider” whose primary goal is to combine supply-side tax cuts with tight spending restraint to grow the economy and balance the budget.
A few years ago, Pence spoke at the Detroit Economic Club. He called for solid monetary reform, tax breaks, access to American energy, regulatory reform, and trade. New York Sun editor Seth Lipsky reminds us that Trump has advocated for a stable and reliable dollar, including a standard that backs it. Pence advocates for the same things.
In Indiana, which has been hit rigid by manufacturing losses, job losses and falling wages, Gov. Pence has combined tax cuts with spending restraint to boost the Hoosier economy. In that critical respect, he would be a great spokesman in the industrial Rust Belt, which includes Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. All of those states have been similarly hard-hit, but they are states where polls suggest Trump could win in November. Pence is helping him do that.
In helping to unite the GOP, Pence is a churchgoing evangelical family man. He believes that “the sanctity of human life is a central axiom of Western civilization.” In that respect, he will be an critical bridge to social conservatives. And he could soften the opposition of the Never Trump movement.
And Pence is well-versed in the ways of Washington. He has sturdy ties to Speaker Paul Ryan and is well-regarded by GOP leaders in both the Senate and House.
In the end, he will be a tough, unyielding spokesman for Trump. Pence is a fighter. He will be content to attack Clinton’s terrible record.
So this was the week we learned that the Trump-Pence card would seek to declare and fight war to destroy ISIS. We learned that the GOP card is pro-growth, ready for tax cuts and deregulation. And we learned that the card will be aligned with customary and social conservatives. With those credentials, Trump-Pence is positioned to win states in November that no Republican has won in decades.
It was also a week when Clinton’s polls were like stocks looking for bottom. Trump-Pence wins for GOP.
