God Bless President Trump!

The other day a good friend saw me at a coffee shop was concerned that President Trump had been re-elected. As I suggest to everyone, if you want to understand what Trump is all about, just look at Chapter Two of, “The Art of the Deal,” online. The pdf version is free. If the democrats had simply read this chapter in 2016, they would have totally figured out what motivates and guides Trump in his life and work. It is obvious that he still follows these points even to this day.

In a nutshell, President Trump wants a legacy and he wants to be regarded in the future as the best President ever. He will take every opportunity to make the US economy the most powerful in the world. He will work to promote peace through positive action and few enemies will dare to threaten the USA under his administration. He will work to secure our borders in the US and deal with the negative elements that poured into the US in the last four years. He will require all persons living in the US permanently to live here legally. He will leave education policy up to US states and territories and remove most obstacles to federal funding for education. There is really nothing to fear under Trump.

Here is an important point that all leaders in the legislature and Governor Leon Guerrero should pay attention to very closely. President Trump views negotiation as the cornerstone of all business and government life. If our leaders were smart, they would seek to make some deals with Trump on a number of critical areas we need help with. We also need to look at the lessons learned in the CNMI for guidance and a roadmap to Guam’s future.

First, Guam should ask President Trump to appoint a special representative to work on Guam’s critical interests. This person could help shepherd a commonwealth act through the US Congress for Guam. This was the role that Ambassador F. Hadyn Williams took with the CNMI Commonwealth. If President Ford had been re-elected, Williams would have likely been assigned to the Guam case and helped us too. The Guam Secret Study makes this clear. Trump would view a Guam Commonwealth as a major achievement.

Second, the Guam Legislature should appoint themselves to a Guam Constitutional Convention and update the Congress approved document to reflect our current government structure. Also, the amending clause would need to be corrected. The document should be re-submitted to Congress as soon as possible and make a concurrent process with the commonwealth effort. This could be done.

Finally, Guam often acts like Dorothy in the land of oz. We have on a pair of ruby slippers and we can get whatever we reasonably want from the federal government. But we need to click our political heels and say the right words to get things. Why don’t we try to ask for a regional National Public Health Service Hospital that can serve Guam and the region? We only have to ask in the right way.

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Ron McNinch is a professor of public administration and criminal justice at the University of Guam, and an elected member of the Guam Education Board. He is a resident expert in local politics and elections. He is a resident of Mangilao, Guam.