Donald Trump in Crippled America, by Donald J. Trump
On Foreign Policy:
Opening gates to Syrian refugees invites in ISIS
We're going to open the gates to refugees from places like Syria, which is like extending a personal invitation to ISIS members to come live here and try to destroy our country from within. This is America today, the shining city on a hill, which
other countries used to admire and try to be like.So what can be done about it? How do we start winning again? To start with, we need a government that is committed to winning and has experience in winning.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 2-3
Nov 3, 2015
On Principles & Values:
I give people what they need and don't get: The Truth
Why do you think people tune in [when I'm on TV]? The fact is I give people what they need and deserve to hear--exactly what they don't get from politicians--and that is The Truth.
Our country is a mess right now and we don't have time to pretend otherwise. We don't have time to waste on being politically correct.
You listen to the politicians and it's as if they are speaking from a script titled "How Boring Can I Possibly Be?" They're so afraid of tripping on their own words, terrified that they're going to say something unscripted and go off message--that's the
phrase they use, "go off message"--that they are verbally paralyzed. They'll do anything they can to avoid answering a question--and the media plays the game with them.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 8
Nov 3, 2015
On Government Reform:
Mutually profitable 2-way relationship with the media
The cost of a full-page ad in the New York Times can be more than $100,000. But when they write a story about one of my deals, it doesn't cost me a cent, and I get more important publicity.
I have a mutually profitable two-way relationship with the media--we give each other what we need. And now I am using that relationship to talk about the future of America.
Many people believe I do well with the press. Maybe I do, sometimes, but anyone who believes I can use the media is absolutely wrong. Nobody can use the press.
It's too big, too widespread.
If I do something wrong or make a mistake, they report it accurately. I've got no problem with that. The mistake bothers me, not the reporting.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 11
Nov 3, 2015
On Immigration:
351,000 criminal illegal aliens in our prisons
In 2011, the Government Accountability Office reported that there were three million arrests that could be attributed to the incarcerated alien population, including tens of thousands of violent criminals.
There were 351,000 criminal illegal aliens in our prisons--that number does not include the crime of crossing our borders. It costs us more than a billion dollars a year just to keep these people in prison.
I understand that the vast majority of these people are honest, decent, hardworking people who came here to improve their own lives and their children's lives. Nonetheless, illegal immigration has to stop.
A country that can't protect its borders isn't a country. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system places the needs of other nations ahead of our own. There is a word to describe people who do that: fools.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 21-2
Nov 3, 2015
On Immigration:
Building 1,000-mile wall is possible, if we make commitment
Nobody can build a wall like me. I will build a great wall on our southern border. It's probably about 1,000 miles we will need to secure with the new wall. There are people who say it can't be done, that it's not possible to build a wall 1,000
miles long. Except beginning more than 2,000 years ago the Chinese built a wall that eventually stretched almost 13,000 miles that could never be breached.
It was a combination of massive walls, impassible trenches and ditches, and rugged natural terrain, as well as an estimated 25,000 watchtowers. Believe me, our wall- building technology has improved a lot in 2,000 years.
What we don't have that the Chinese had is the commitment to do it. They understood the danger of leaving their border unprotected and they did something about it. We talk about it and do nothing.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 23-4
Nov 3, 2015
On Immigration:
Cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities
We have to cut off federal grants to sanctuary cities--those places that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement and actually abet criminal behavior--we have to end them. I repeat, we either are a nation of laws or we're not.
We also need to do what is necessary to enforce our visa regulations. People get a visa and come here legally, and when that visa expires, many stay here illegally. If they get caught, nothing happens to them. That's got to change.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 27
Nov 3, 2015
On Foreign Policy:
Ignore career diplomats who insist on nuance
The career diplomats who got us into many foreign policy messes say I have no experience in foreign policy. They think that successful diplomacy requires years of experience and an understanding of all the nuances that have been carefully considered
before reaching a conclusion. Only then do these pin-striped bureaucrats CONSIDER taking action. Look at the state of the world right now. It's a terrible mess, and that's putting it kindly. There has never been a more dangerous time.
The so-called insiders within the Washington ruling class are the people who got us into trouble. So why should we continue to pay attention to them?
Here's what I know--what we are doing now isn't working.
And years ago, when I was just starting out in business, I figured out a pretty simple approach that has always worked well for me: "When you're digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole, stop digging."
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 31-2
Nov 3, 2015
On Homeland Security:
Building up military is cheap when you consider alternative
Building up our military is cheap when you consider the alternative. We're buying peace and we're locking in our national security. Right now we are in bad shape militarily.
We're decreasing the size of our forces and we're not giving them the best equipment. Recruiting the best people has s fallen off, and we can't get the people we have trained to the level they need to be.
There are a lot of questions about the state of our nuclear weapons. When I read reports of what is going on, I'm shocked.It's no wonder nobody respects us. It's no surprise that we never win. Spending money on our military is also smart business.
Who do people think build our airplanes and ships, and all the equipment that our troops should have? American workers, that's who.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 33
Nov 3, 2015
On War & Peace:
We should have demanded a deal with Kuwait to liberate them
When Kuwait was attacked by Saddam Hussein, all the wealthy Kuwaitis ran to Paris. They didn't just rent suites--they took up whole buildings, entire hotels. They lived like kings while their country was occupied. Who did they turn to for help?
Who else? Uncle Sucker. That's us. We spent billions of dollars sending our army to win back Kuwait. Our people were killed and wounded, but the Iraqis went back to their country.
About two months after the war, several Kuwaitis came up to my office.
They told me, "We want to invest outside the United States." We had just handed them back their country! They were watching TV in the best hotel rooms in Paris while our kids were fighting for them. And they didn't want to invest in this country?
How stupid are we? Why didn't the United States make a deal with them that outlined that how they would pay for us to get their country back for them? They would have paid anything if just asked.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 34-5
Nov 3, 2015
On War & Peace:
Blunder to announce withdrawal timetable from Afghanistan
Unfortunately, it may require boots on the ground to fight the Islamic State. I don't think it's necessary to broadcast our strategy. (In fact, one of the most ridiculous policy blunders President Obama has committed was to announce our timetable
for withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.) If military advisers recommend it, we should commit a limited--but sufficient--number of troops to fight on the ground.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 37
Nov 3, 2015
On Free Trade:
Chinese are savvy businesspeople: our enemy who need us
There are people who wish I wouldn't refer to China as our enemy. But that's exactly what they are. They have destroyed entire industries by utilizing low-wage workers, cost us tens of thousands of jobs, spied on our businesses,
stolen our technology, and have manipulated and devalued their currency, which makes importing our goods more expensive--and sometimes, impossible.
I know from my own experience that this is a difficult problem. The Chinese are very savvy businesspeople, and they have great advantages over our manufacturers.
I've had several Trump-brand products made there.
Remember: The Chinese need us as much as we need them. Maybe even more.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 43-5
Nov 3, 2015
On Education:
Dept. of Education runs top-down one-size-fits-all system
A lot of people believe the Department of Education should just be eliminated. Get rid of it. If we don't eliminate it completely, we certainly need to cut its power and reach. Education has to be run locally.
Common Core, No Child Left Behind, and Race to the Top are all programs that take decisions away from parents and local school boards.
These programs allow the progressives in the Department of Education to indoctrinate, not educate, our kids. What they are doing does not fit the American model of governance.
I am totally against these programs and the Department of Education. It's a disaster. We cannot continue to fail our children--the very future of this nation.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 50-1
Nov 3, 2015
On Education:
Let schools compete: charters, vouchers, and magnets
Competition is why I'm very much in favor of school choice. Let schools compete for kids. I guarantee that if you forced schools to get better or close because parents didn't want to enroll their kids there, they would get better. Those schools that
weren't good enough to attract students would close, and that's a good thing.For two decades I've been urging politicians to open the schoolhouse doors and let parents decide which schools are best for their children. Professional educators look to
claim that doing so would be the end of good public schools. Better charter or magnet schools would drain the top kids out of that system, or hurt the morale of those left behind. Suddenly, the excellence that comes from competition is being criticized.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 53-4
Nov 3, 2015
On Jobs:
Teachers unions are obstacles to improving schools
In our educational system, one huge obstacle is the strength of the teacher unions. Teacher unions don't want school choice because it means a potential reduction in union-protected jobs. Thanks to strong contracts negotiated by the New York City teacher
union, it's become almost impossible to discipline a teacher, much less actually fire one.When there is a legitimate complaint against a teacher in the New York system, rather than having a quick hearing to determine the validity
of the complaint, teachers are assigned to an area known as "the rubber room" while they wait for their hearing.
And they wait.
They sit in empty classrooms or converted closets and do nothing--but still get paid their whole salary. Some teachers spend several years waiting. No wonder they call it the rubber room--the whole concept is insane.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 55
Nov 3, 2015
On Education:
No federal government profit from student loans
A four-year degree today can be expensive enough to create six-figure debt. We can't forgive these loans, but we should take steps to help students.The big problem is the federal government.
There is no reason the federal government should profit from student loans. This only makes an already difficult problem worse.
The Federal Student Loan Program turned a $41.3 billion profit in 2013.
These student loans are probably one of the only things that the government shouldn't make money from, and yet it does.
And do you think this has anything to do with why schools continue to raise their tuition every year? Those loans should be viewed as an investment in America's future.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 58-9
Nov 3, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
We have 2 trillion barrels of oil; enough for 283 years
Among all the gifts that God gave to America was an abundant supply of natural energy. According to the Department of Energy, the natural gas reserves we have in the ground could supply our energy needs for centuries.
Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, have estimated we might have two trillion barrels of recoverable oil, enough to last the next 285 years.
Technology has changed so much in the last few years that a Goldman-Sachs study has estimated that by 2017 or 2019, we could overtake both Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's largest oil producer.
The oil is there for the taking;
we just have to take it.
I've never understood why, with all of our own reserves, we've allowed this country to be held hostage by OPEC, the cartel of oil- producing countries, some of which are hostile to America.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 63
Nov 3, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
Green energy is just an expensive feel-good for tree-huggers
There has been a big push to develop alternative forms of energy--so-called green energy--from renewable sources. That's a big mistake. To begin with, the whole push for renewable energy is being driven by the wrong motivation, the mistaken belief that
global climate change is being caused by carbon emissions. If you don't buy that--and I don't--then what we have is really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves.The most popular source of green energy is solar
as several decades after installing solar panels to get your money back. That's not exactly what I would call a good investment. Even if that number is only half right, what kind of investment do you want to make that takes 20 years before you break even
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 65
Nov 3, 2015
On Health Care:
Insurance companies love a lack of competition
I have thousands of employees. If I'm negotiating for health insurance for my people in New York or California of Texas, I usually have one bidder in each state.
Competition brings down prices, and the way the law is now, it discourages real competition between insurance companies for customers. They have virtual monopolies within the states.
That makes no sense. It's very stupid and unfair for us. You know who loves a lack of competition? Those insurance companies, who are making a fortune because they control the politicians.
They've paid for them with their contributions, and it's a good investment from their perspectives. For our country, not so much. They give money to almost all the politicians.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 75
Nov 3, 2015
On Principles & Values:
Our flag represents equality, hope, fairness, & courage
I own a house in Palm Beach, Florida. It's called Mar-a-Lago. It has 128 rooms. The land it sits on is reportedly the most valuable 20 acres of land in Florida. After I bought it, I wanted people to know how proud and grateful I am to be an American, so
I decided to flay an American flag in front of my house, an American flag that no one would miss. So I raised an extra-large flag, 15 feet by 25 feet on an 80-foot-high flagpole.The city of Palm Beach decided my flag was too big.
They claimed it exceeded zoning regulations. When I politely informed them I had no intention of taking down my American flag, they began fining me $250 a day until I removed it. Those fines added up to $120,000 by the time we had worked out a deal with
the city.
As we all know, the flag is much more than a red, white, and blue cloth rectangle. It is a symbol to me, to you, and to people around the world. It represents equality, hope, and fairness. It represents courage and sacrifice.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.102-3
Nov 3, 2015
On Homeland Security:
VA is one of the most incompetently-run agencies
The Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA) is probably the most incompetently run agency in the United States government. And that's saying something. The problem is that there are too many political people involved within its operation.
The taxpayers pay more than $150 billion a year for the VA, and what do we get for that? Right now, the VA is being run by people who don't know what they're doing.
They're getting more money from the government than ever before and yet the care gets worse. The list of men and women waiting for care is growing and their wait times are longer. How can the VA possibly be so inefficient?
We need to put people in charge who know how to run big operations. We have to get the best managers and give them the power, the money, and the tools to get the job done. We owe our veterans nothing less.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.106-7
Nov 3, 2015
On Gun Control:
Make concealed-carry permits valid across all states
I have a concealed-carry permit that allows me to carry a concealed weapon. I took the time and the effort to get that permit because the constitutional right to defend yourself doesn't stop at the end of your driveway.
That doesn't apply just to me either. It applies to all our driveways or front doors.That's why I'm very much in favor of making all concealed-carry permits valid in every state.
Every state has its own driving test that residents have to pass before becoming licensed to drive. Those tests are different in many states, but once a state licenses you to drive, every other state recognizes that license as valid.
If we can do that for driving--which is a privilege, not a right--then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege. That seems logical to me.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.110
Nov 3, 2015
On Technology:
Crumbling infrastructure costs $200B in reduced productivity
This country's infrastructure is falling apart. According to engineers, one out of every nine bridges in this country is structurally deficient, approximately a quarter of them are already functionally obsolete, and almost a third of them have exceeded
their design lives.Our infrastructure is terrible, and it's only getting worse and more expensive to fix. It's already costing the American people and estimated $200 billion a year in reduced productivity. That number is increasing annually.
Instead of being at the office or in the factory getting work done, Americans waste countless hours every day sitting in traffic jams or waiting for stalled trains. We depend on our truckers to deliver the goods we need, and they end up wasting
an unbelievable amount of time because our highway system is falling apart.
I wonder, why can't we get these problems fixed? The answer is that the people we put in charge don't know how to fix them.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.120-2
Nov 3, 2015
On Families & Children:
Happiest people have great families & God in their lives
The happiest people I know are those people who have great families and real values. I've seen it. I know it. People who have a loving spouse and have children they really love are happy people. Religion also plays a very large factor in happiness.
People who have God in their lives receive a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction from their faith.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.128
Nov 3, 2015
On Principles & Values:
I love God, and I love having a relationship with Him
The first church I belonged to was the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens. I went there every Sunday for Bible class. The church had a strong influence on me. Later I went to Reverend Norman Vincent Peale's Marble Collegiate Church when
I was in New York, and joined Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. I learned a lot from Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the classic "The Power of Positive Thinking."I think people are shocked when they find out that
I am a Christian, that I am a religious person. They see me with all the surroundings of wealth so they sometimes don't associate that with being religious. That's not accurate. I go to church, I love God, and I love having a relationship with Him.
I've said it before--I think the Bible is the most important book ever written--not even close. I've had a good relationship with the church over the years--God is in my life every day. I don't go to church every Sunday, but I do go as often as I can.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.130-1
Nov 3, 2015
On Principles & Values:
Who in the world is offended by "Merry Christmas"?
What offends me is the way our religious beliefs are being treated in public. There are restrictions on what you can say and what you can't say, as well as what you can put up in a public area. The belief in the lessons of the Bible has had a lot to do
with our growth and success. That's our tradition, and for more than 200 years it has worked very well. For years you'd have beautiful mangers in public spaces and nobody complained about it. Now? Mary and the baby Jesus are seldom shown. Even the
word "Christmas" has somehow become controversial. Who in the world could be offended by someone saying "Merry Christmas"?! That greeting isn't critical of any other religion, and it isn't being disrespectful to those who practice another religion. It's
a wonderful tradition.
The same people who demand respect for their beliefs often don't show respect for the beliefs of others. It seems like every week there is a negative ruling on some issue having to do with Christianity. I think it's outrageous.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.131-2
Nov 3, 2015
On Corporations:
Any business of any size will pay no more than 15% tax
My approach to tax policy will do just what needs to be done.
For all Americans the uncertainty and complexity of a tax code written for special interests and the very rich will be removed and a clear future will be available for all.
The plan states that any business of any size will pay no more than 15 percent of their business income in taxes. This low rate will make corporate inversions unnecessary and will make
America one of the most competitive markets in the world. This plan will also require companies with off- shore capital to bring that money back to the United States at a repatriation rate of only 10 percent.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.152-6
Nov 3, 2015
On Civil Rights:
Promoted gender equality in a male-dominated industry
None of the people who whine about the way I talk to women mention the fact that I voluntarily promoted gender equality in a male-dominated industry. The women who have worked for me will vouch for the fact that I was as demanding of them as I was of
their male counterparts.That's the kind of "gender equality" we need. Leadership that inspires the best in people, male or female, not a wishy-washy former secretary of state who doesn't understand the lunacy of having her own private e-mail server.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.166
Nov 3, 2015
On Jobs:
Rebuilding America will create 13 million jobs
What are our priorities? Before we build bridges to Mars, let's make sure the bridges over the Mississippi River aren't going to fall down.A few years ago, Moody's, the financial investment agency, calculated that every $1 of federal money invested in
improving the infrastructure for highways and public schools would guarantee $1.44 back to the economy. Infrastructure investments have one of the strongest direct economic impacts.
You know why that is? Jobs. These projects put people to work--not
just the people doing the work, but also the manufacturers, the suppliers, the designers, and yes, even the lawyers. The Senate Budget Committee estimates that rebuilding America will create 13 million jobs. Our economy needs more available jobs.
If we do what we have to do correctly, we can create the biggest economic boom in this country since the New Deal when our vast infrastructure was first put into place. It's a no-brainer. It's so obvious that even the Democrats can figure it out.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p124-5
Nov 3, 2015
Page last updated: May 31, 2016