A recent national poll conducted by CBS News found that 80 percent of Americans feel our country is headed in the wrong direction. I have heard directly from constituents throughout my western New York district who share that sentiment.
Former factory workers tell me about the well-paying manufacturing jobs they have lost due to poorly negotiated trade agreements. Middle class families tell me about their struggle to make ends meet because their wages have not been raised in a decade. Veterans tell me about how they have been abandoned by the Department of Veteran Affairs due to poor management and squandered resources.
For too long, the interests of these citizens have been swept under the rug by professional politicians focused on aiding special interests and padding their campaign accounts rather than addressing the needs of everyday Americans.
Donald Trump is the Republican nominee because, instead of treating these disaffected citizens as a statistic, he is giving them a voice. In the process, he has re-energized the Republican base, expanded the party and crossed partisan lines to bring in millions of new voters.
Mr. Trump’s message focuses on what Americans living outside the D.C. beltway care about: standing up to our enemies, securing our borders, achieving better trade deals and, most importantly, taking back the jobs stolen by countries like Mexico and China.
But Donald Trump is not just the Republican nominee because he is speaking their language. He has continued to win over voters because he has a record of success to back up his winning message.
During his private-sector career, Mr. Trump created and led a complex multibillion-dollar organization. As the chief executive of the Trump Organization, Donald Trump has faced thousands of tough real-life situations, and his success speaks for itself.
When Mr. Trump talks about creating jobs, Americans believe him because he has done it before. He is the only candidate who can claim he knows what it is like to sign the front of a paycheck for thousands of employees.
This real-life executive experience is a breath of fresh air and a sharp contrast to the lack of leadership espoused by the career legislator currently in the White House, and the Democrat running to replace him. Over the last seven and a half years, President Obama has haphazardly taken our country from one crisis to the next.
Nowhere is this more evident than the current state of our foreign affairs. Instead of leading, America has been reacting to the demands of other foreign powers.
Whether it has been the failure to enforce the red line in Syria or the poorly negotiated nuclear deal with Iran, too often, our national leaders are the ones backtracking instead of dictating the terms of engagement. Americans want a leader who has been in difficult situations before and won. Donald Trump is that leader.
For me, supporting Donald Trump was easy. His executive experience and our shared stances on issues like trade made me proud to be the first member of Congress to endorse Mr. Trump. I know his commitment to running government with private-sector efficiency can work because I have done it before.
Following a career spent buying and rebuilding distressed companies, I entered the public sector and was elected county executive of Erie County, the largest county in upstate New York.
In three short years, using lean-six sigma efficiency techniques and making the necessary tough choices, I was able transform a nearly bankrupt county into one with a surplus. I fully believe Donald Trump will be able to do the same for America.
This election is pivotal for the future of our country. The future of our children and grandchildren and what type of country they grow up in is at stake. Whatever differences that emerged in the primary amongst Republicans need to be set aside. With the balance of the Supreme Court on the line, and a Democratic political machine ready to coronate another Clinton, we must unite together.
We know the differences between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are vast. Mr. Trump is a political outsider; Secretary Clinton has been climbing the political ladder her whole life. Mr. Trump speaks frankly and off the cuff; Secretary Clinton’s every word is teleprompter-provided and focus-group tested.
Mr. Trump has a record of private-sector success and job creation; Secretary Clinton has a record of failed foreign policy and flip-flops on everything from the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Keystone XL Pipeline. While Mr. Trump makes decisions, Secretary Clinton hems and haws until the political winds have blown her opinion into irrelevancy.
Donald Trump can and will defeat Hillary Clinton because he has the experience and fortitude to lead our nation. Come November, the people will speak, and I fully expect them to choose Donald Trump: a chief executive, not a career politician.
Chris Collins represents New York’s 27th congressional district. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
