In March, hundreds of illegal aliens stormed the border near El Paso, Texas, breaching the razor-wire barricades and swarming the Texas National Guard, which tried valiantly to hold the line against the surging mob. Those images conveyed President Biden’s criminal illegal invasion in the most emotionally powerful way.
Also in March, New York City police officer Jonathan Diller was shot to death in the line of duty by a career criminal, who was freely roaming city streets because of the disastrous cashless bail policies of Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul, the radical City Council and Soros District Attorney Alvin Bragg. At the invitation of Diller’s grieving family, President Trump attended his wake and comforted them, condemned the leftist policies that have led to staggering crime spikes and promised to crack down on law and order when he is re-elected.
On the same day, President Biden was also in New York, not to honor a slain cop but to attend an elitist fundraiser alongside former Presidents Obama and Clinton and myriad celebrities. The dueling photos showed Trump embracing a young widow and her infant son and Biden whooping it up with Lizzo.
This week we got another image that put the presidential choice into bold relief. Trump traveled to Atlanta to attend a Stephen Colbert-less fundraiser. When he stopped in a local Chick-fil-A to order “30 milkshakes and some chicken” for his staff and gathered supporters, he was immediately swarmed by the adoring crowd in the restaurant, most of whom were African-American. One black woman yelled out, “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump. We support you!” Trump brought her over for a warm hug, and she joyfully exclaimed, “Look mom! I made it!”
There will be other iconic images over the course of the campaign, but these three are already emblematic of the presidential choice before us.
The photograph of the Texas National Guard being overwhelmed by illegal aliens reminds voters of several key points. First, when Trump was president, he had illegal immigration and the border essentially solved by implementing effective policies including border wall construction, Remain in Mexico, Title 42, and ending both Catch and Release and the abuse of the asylum system. Under Trump, the border was enforced and illegal immigration fell to historic lows.
On Day One, Biden intentionally created the border cataclysm by unilaterally reversing all of the successful Trump policies. In the past three years, over 10 million illegals have entered the country, including thousands of known terrorists, Chinese nationals, and gang and cartel members, bringing with them violent crime, drugs, human trafficking, a massive national security threat and economic instability.
It’s all designed to destabilize society by breaking down law and order and overwhelming our systems. Biden needs lawlessness. Trump vows to restore the rule of law.
The National Guard image drove home Biden’s man-made border crisis to more Americans than any policy argument ever could.
The same is true for the pictures from Officer Diller’s funeral and Biden’s glitzy fundraiser: Trump standing in the pouring rain with the grieving family of a slain public servant, Biden yukking it up at Radio City Music Hall with well-heeled Manhattanites.
Law and order versus chaos. Selflessness versus selfishness.
The contrast could not be more stark.
On the day Trump was hugging, cracking jokes and taking selfies with enthusiastic black supporters in Atlanta, Biden was wandering aimlessly on the White House South Lawn as he greeted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Those images side by side also tell the tale of one president ready to genuinely represent the American people and the other in steep cognitive decline.
The images from Trump’s visit to the Chick-fil-A are more potent for another reason: they convey a true man of the people who delivers leadership, strength and vision to a citizenry parched for them. But perhaps even more importantly, the images of the border and of his embrace of the cop’s widow and the fast-food patrons show that he offers one thing Biden and the Left could never credibly offer:
Hope.
This is why these Americans are always so moved emotionally when they are around Trump. He offers protection based on authentic care for the country. That translates to hope for a better future. And they know he will keep that promise because he honored that promise once before.
Fear may be government’s most effective weapon, but in the end, hope, love and the truth defeat it. Those are things that Trump has in abundance, which is one of the many reasons why he is the favorite to win re-election in November.
Monica Crowley is the Host of “The Monica Crowley Podcast” and served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 2019 to 2021.
