Dear Mr. President

by James Buckley

(The following letter to the President of the United States has not been sent directly to the President, but we are offering it as an open letter from Santa Barbara Current (sbcurrent.com), or at least from its Editor-in-Chief, with the hope that this kind of message reaches the president’s desk (or, at a minimum, the desk of someone close to the president) long before the upcoming November 3, 2026 mid-term election. We hope too that the president will consider it a friendly gesture of support and encouragement rather than criticism of his leadership, which has been superlative in nearly every way.)

Dear Mr. President,

I voted for you every chance I got. I endorsed you back in 2016 when you ran against Hillary Clinton. I believe too – if memory serves me right – that I donated a small sum to your campaign. At the time, I was Editor/Publisher of a small but influential community newspaper and, as one might expect, did receive some unkind words directed my way. My paper was among a small handful of newspapers in the entire United States that offered its endorsement of Donald Trump. I’m proud to add that Santa Barbara News-Press Publisher Wendy McCaw editorially voiced her full-throated support for you as well. She too received plenty of condemnation, probably because she – as a woman – was expected to vote for another woman.

I can’t speak for Ms. McCaw, but I firmly believe that your wins against Ms. Clinton, and then – even more so – against Kamala Harris, represent a positive and decisive Turning Point (hats off to TPUSA) in the fate and direction of the U.S.

So, this is not a “I love ya but…” letter, though there is a but in it.

And it’s there for a reason.

And, that reason is: It is imperative that you hold on to your Republican majority in the upcoming mid-term election. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is right around the proverbial bend (November 3, 2026) and you need to redirect your efforts to the priority at hand. And that is retaining your majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and of course in the U.S. Senate, although that doesn’t seem to be in play this time around.

Maybe you believe things will be so much better by then that you can shift into neutral as we head downhill toward the polling stations.

But (I know, right?), but, but, you may be wrong. I’m not so sure your program will take hold in time. And, if you are wrong, there goes the House of Representatives for the rest of your term.

And nobody (at least on this side of the aisle) wants that to happen.

We need you.

Who but you, for example, would have had the courage and foresight to issue Executive Order # 14187, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” that you signed near the beginning of your second term on January 28, 2025?

Who else but you would have been willing and able to take whatever heat that was assuredly going to be thrown at you by the various LGBTQ lobbies and other left-wing advocates behind the promotion of the madness that featured flags and month-long asinine tributes to the transgender “experience”?

Here’s what you ordered:

“Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

And, you went further. You ordered that “The head of each executive department or agency that provides research or education grants to medical institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, shall, consistent with applicable law and in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

Nobody but you had or would have had the courage, the balls, to issue such a prohibition.

We need you, Mr. President. The country needs you. And the only way we’re going to get you to fix so many of the other things that need fixing is that we retain a majority in the House and the Senate.

Which means we need that group of wishy-washy voters who call themselves “independents” to cast their vote for Republicans in November. We could possibly even attract some wavering Democrats.

If those groups don’t do the right thing, however, and Republicans lose their majority, nothing good will come out of the ensuing 120^th Congress. If Republicans don’t prevail, the victorious Dems will get back to “the enthralling fun of overhauling you” (with apologies to Lerner and Loewe, from whom I’ve stolen those words). They’ll push to unseat you, your Vice-President JD Vance, and other members of your cabinet (Marco Rubio, RFK, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, et al). There is no likelihood that any of you or your cabinet members will actually be convicted or impeached (they’d need a compliant Senate for that and that ain’t gonna happen), but still, the votes, the hearings, the sensational “revelations,” “charges,” and ensuing vacuous palaver that will take place will eat up your (and the country’s) valuable time.

And, poof, there goes your (and our) chance to codify so many of the much-needed changes you’ve initiated.

As it stands, you have moved up considerably on the presidential ladder and you now waver near the top rung. Just above you are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Teddy Roosevelt. Lose your majority in the mid-terms though, and you’ll not get any higher. Worse, you may find yourself slipping down even below the top ten over the ensuing years.

Win the mid-term and codify your executive actions and you’ll be a solid “one of the top three most influential presidents of all time,” right up there with Washington and Lincoln (the nation’s founding and subsequent abolishment of slavery are tough acts to follow).

What you’ve done so far in your five years in office is massively historic by any measure. Had Ms. Harris and the Democrats won in 2024, the U.S. would now be in a downward spiral from which it could likely not pull out of no matter who came after her.

As to your legacy, the following successes already achieved are monumental:

1. Reducing illegal immigration from multi-millions yearly to virtually zero, easing and nearly eradicating the stresses on medical services, schools, housing, and the jobs front.

2. Adjusting the post-World War II tariff structure that penalized only one country – the United States of America – and rewarded one country above all others – China – and putting this country back on track for trade fairness and future prosperity.

3. Ending the medical malpractice of “gender-affirming” care for minors “diagnosed” with sexual dysphoria by unscrupulous “doctors” and others in the medical community, while returning control of children to parents and away from quack medical practitioners and worse: school nurses and administrators.

4. Putting a stop to the dangerous policy known as DEI (Diversity! Equity! Inclusion!) in hiring and advancement in the federal workforce and in the military, a halt that has encouraged businesses and institutions to reconsider the steps they’d taken of hiring people with little or no experience or ability to perform in many critical positions simply because of the color of their skin, sexual persuasion, or other immutable attribute.

5. Achieving U.S. energy independence by reducing regulations on permits for new plants (including nuclear), opening federal tracts for energy exploration, and shutting down destructive wind farms when warranted.

6. Reducing the tax burden on middle-class workers and their families.

7. Re-invigorating the U.S. armed forces, including domestic ship building, weapons research and production, leading to increases in recruitment and retention at every level.

8. Turning Iran’s nuclear ambitions to rubble and working directly with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to destroy the underground facilities built by Iran.

9. Brokering peace and/or disarmament deals between warring factions in more than a half-dozen situations around the world.

10. Spiriting Venezuela’s opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado out of hiding (with the help of CIA operatives) and bringing her to safety. Because of those actions, along with last weekend’s military strike and exfiltration of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, if Ms. Machado is willing to forcefully demand that she be recognized as the rightful president of Venezuela, she’ll be ready to step in to lead the Venezuelan people out of the decades-long morass that Maduro, and before him, Hugo Chavez, created.

If all goes as planned, the trillions of dollars promised by various companies and individuals to be invested in the United States for onshoring American industry in critical areas (computers, metal fabrication, minerals, etc.), will be put to good use over the next few years, ensuring not only a more equitable trade balance but also a stable, prosperous, and growing workforce.

So, please Mr. President, it’s all so temptingly close to fruition, don’t blow it by sending out middle-of-the-night rants on Truth Social, dismissing or insulting people unnecessarily, or committing other thoughtless acts that not only don’t make you friends among likely voters, but cause you to lose support and create enemies for no apparent gain or reason.

You won’t lose people like me, who are all-in with your presidency and your goals. There’s not much you could do to dissuade me from voting for whoever you endorse. But you can lose people who would never vote for a Democrat; they could stay home.

America needs to continue down the path you’ve so diligently worn.

Thank you, Mr. President, for all you’ve done, and for all you may do.

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