The nation still finds these nine words terrifying: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
A new report from Gallup shows that 67 percent of Americans identify big government as the greatest threat facing the nation. On the eve of Inauguration Day, that data point should drive the coming Trump administration.
Though he now carries the banner for the party of limited government, President-elect Trump has demonstrated a penchant for a robust and aggressive federal state. The Republican promises to bully business into staying stateside, force colleges to cut tuition, and launch a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan.
While those proposals would make Reagan gasp and Roosevelt smile, they’re likely to make two in three Americans nervous. Trump would do well to keep that in mind.
Under President Obama, fear of government surged to an all-time high of 72 percent, a problem that Trump now has an opportunity to address. Perhaps the president-elect’s greatest contribution will be addressing those fears. Rather than going big, he has an opportunity to reduce the size of the state.
That’d be huge.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
