Category: Guest Authors

Trump Unloads on ‘Woke’ UN

By Joe Guzzardi

Even President Donald Trump’s millions of critics cannot deny one central aspect of his character that has kept him at the forefront of U.S. presidential politics for more than a decade: Trump takes all questions, even from the most hostile reporters who have written bias stories about him. When Trump finishes his reply, everyone in the room knows exactly where he stands. Most politicians, as they climb the political ladder, encourage questions but then do their best to dodge actually answering them. Trump breaks this mold.

Trump’s candid speaking style enabled him to secure the 2016 GOP presidential nomination against overwhelming odds. The 13½-month primary campaign began on March 23, 2015, when Texas Senator Ted Cruz entered the race, and ended on May 4, 2016, when John Kasich, former Ohio governor and nine-term U.S. Representative, conceded to Trump’s inevitable victory.

Throughout the campaign, Trump proved nimbler on his feet than his 17 opponents, all of whom had more direct political experience than the newcomer. His rivals included Cruz, Kasich, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and former three-term New York Governor George Pataki. The New York Times described the presidential field as “tough and talented.”

After defeating his Republican opponents and his Democratic nemesis Hillary Clinton in debates hosted by NBC, CBS, and Fox News never-Trumper Mike Wallace, Trump won the presidency. His electoral successes shared a common denominator: straight talk that audiences might disagree with but would always leave them knowing exactly where he stood.

This background sets the stage for Trump’s approach to international forums like the United Nations General Assembly, where member nations may have anticipated his direct style when he spoke to them recently but were likely unprepared for the bluntness of his remarks. Trump addressed two of what he considered the world’s most pressing challenges: climate change, which he condemned as a fraudulent, budget-draining “con job,” and illegal immigration, which he referred to as “migration.”

Speaking from his position of strength—having implemented strict border policies that shut down the southwest border—the president urged assembled nations to stop “ruining” their countries with unchecked that facilitate illegal immigration. Trump criticized the UN, London mayor Sadiq Khan, European countries facilitating “uncontrolled migration,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, countries recognizing Palestinian statehood, former President Joe Biden, renewable energy initiatives, and what he called the “climate change hoax—the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” He promoted an anti-globalist agenda throughout his remarks.

“Europe is in serious trouble,” Trump declared. “They have been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe, and nobody’s doing anything to change it or get them out. It’s not sustainable. Because they choose to be politically correct, they’re doing absolutely nothing about it.”

Trump hammered the UN for “creating new problems for us to solve,” referencing its refugee agency UNHCR, which receives billions in U.S. taxpayer funding and provides cash debit cards to illegal aliens along migration routes, further enabling a mass immigration crisis that American citizens neither want nor can afford.

Citing statistics from the Council of Europe, Trump stated: “In 2024, almost 50% of inmates in German prisons were foreign nationals or migrants. In Austria, the number was 53%. In Greece, it was 54%. And in Switzerland—beautiful Switzerland—72% of prison inmates are from outside of Switzerland.”

Trump specifically criticized London’s Mayor Khan, calling him “terrible” and claiming that London “has been so changed” that “now they want to go to Sharia law, but you’re in a different country—you can’t do that.” He argued that both immigration policies and “suicidal energy ideas” would “be the death of Western Europe if something is not done immediately.”

Trump emphasized the importance of national sovereignty: “What makes the world so beautiful is that each country is unique, but to stay this way, every sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders. You have the right to control your borders, as we do now, and to limit the numbers of migrants entering their countries—paid for by the people of that nation who built that particular country with their blood, sweat, tears, and money. Now they’re being ruined.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage offered perhaps the most insightful commentary, suggesting that with Trump, people should “never take what he says literally, ever, on anything, but always take everything he says seriously. Farage continued, “He makes a comment and you might disagree with the tone, you might disagree with the context, you might disagree with the number that he puts out, but you find that what he says has a point.

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org

For Rosh Hashanah, Ron Blomberg Was First Designated Hitter

By Joe Guzzardi

Ron Blomberg, baseball’s first designated hitter, grew up in Atlanta where hearing anti-Semitic slurs was a regular part of his young life. As Blomberg recalled, “I heard it. I saw it. My parents [Billie Rae and Sol] had always told me you have to have a strong faith, you will always have adversities in life, people will be against the Jews, that I had to watch out for it and had to be a lot stronger. If somebody said something to me along those lines, it made me even stronger. My conviction was strong.” Blomberg’s childhood dream of playing for the New York Yankees and in front of the Bronx’s large Jewish population came true when the Yankees made Blomberg their first free agent choice in 1967. Said Blomberg, “To be able to play in front of eight million Jews! Can’t beat it. I lit everyone’s candles for every bar mitzvah in the city.”

It’s no fault of Blomberg’s that the designated hitter (DH) ruined baseball’s reputation as the thinking man’s game, a well-earned nickname. To understand, imagine that Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh’s 1958 team is clinging to a 1-0 lead against pennant race rival Milwaukee in the bottom of the eighth. Starting pitcher Bob Friend is tossing a gem and has held Braves sluggers Joe Adcock, Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews at bay. The Pirates have two runners in scoring position. But it’s Friend’s turn to bat and he’s a career .148 hitter. Sending in a pinch hitter is the obvious move, but Murtaugh’s bullpen is tired and his bench, thin. Murtaugh’s decision, right or wrong, is the stuff of great baseball high drama and will be debated on the air, in print and at the dinner table. The DH relegates one of baseball’s biggest appeals—second-guessing the manager, the old Hot Stove League pastime—to the dustbin.

The idea of a DH was first raised by Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack in 1906. Mack saw the DH’s value not necessarily as an option to generate offense but to save wear and tear on his pitcher’s legs. Owners rebuffed Mack’s concept as too radical. Prominent pitchers also rejected the idea of giving up hitting. In 1910, Hall of Fame twirler Addie Joss stated, “If there is one thing that a pitcher would rather do than make the opposing batsmen look foolish, it is to step to the plate, especially in a pinch, and deliver the much-needed hit.” A 1918 article in Baseball Magazine quoted Babe Ruth, who stated, “The pitcher who can’t get in there in the pinch and win his own game with a healthy wallop isn’t more than half earning his salary in my way of thinking.”

The DH, which American League owners foolishly put into place in 1973, has taken much out of the game but added little, least of all the clutch hitting the rule was supposed to supply. Instead of more excitement, the DH created endless rounds of silliness as the American League adopted the idea first, but the National League didn’t follow until several years later. During the World Series, games played in American League stadiums used the DH; games in National League stadiums did not. The annual All-Star Game also juggled DHs depending on which league hosted the game. Finally, on February 10, 2022, Commissioner Rob Manfred, who never met a rule change he didn’t embrace, announced that a universal DH would begin with the 2022 season. The rule was ratified as part of a new collective bargaining agreement with the MLBPA.

An outfielder/first baseman, Blomberg’s career started with a bang. An injury to Yankees veteran Roy White opened a 1969 roster slot and Blomberg took full advantage. He started in right field in a home game against Washington on June 25 and went 2-for-5 with two hits, including a two-run homer, two RBIs and two runs scored in the Yankees’ 12-2 victory. Four days later he went 3-for-4 against Cleveland, driving in two more runs as New York pasted the Tribe, 9-2. He clubbed two home runs in a game at Minnesota on August 1 and two more round-trippers at Kansas City on August 28. In 64 games, Blomberg batted .322 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs.

By 1973, Blomberg had a new role as the Yankees’ DH. Unsure exactly what that involved, manager Ralph Houk explained to him, “You get up to bat, you take your four swings, you drive in runs, you come back to the bench, and you keep loose in the runway. You’re basically pinch-hitting for the pitcher four times in the same game.” The Yankees opened 1973 against arch-rival Boston at Fenway Park. Blomberg was penciled in as the sixth batter on manager Houk’s lineup card. Boston’s DH was Orlando Cepeda, the former NL star who signed with the Red Sox in the off-season after playing a year in Oakland in 1972. Red Sox skipper Eddie Kasko slated Cepeda to hit in the five-hole. Since the Yankee-Red Sox tilt was the first game scheduled on the AL docket, Blomberg was the first-ever official DH batter. With the bases loaded, Blomberg drew a walk from Sox starter Luis Tiant, which allowed the runner on third to score for an RBI. For the day, Blomberg went 1-for-3; Cepeda, an inglorious 0-for-6.

Injuries cut Blomberg’s Yankees time short, and in 1978, he finished up with one unhappy, unproductive season with the Chicago White Sox. His career statistics included a .293 batting average with 52 home runs and 224 RBIs. Blomberg’s stats are not up to Hall of Fame standards, but his first DH bat and the uniform he wore that historic day are on display. In retirement, Blomberg stays close to baseball. He runs the Ron Blomberg Baseball camp and is one of the most popular instructors at the Yankees fantasy camp. He does some high school and college scouting for the Yankees from his suburban Atlanta home. In 2007, Blomberg managed the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox of the first-ever Israel Baseball League. In 2008, Blomberg and Dan Schlossberg co-authored his autobiography, Designated Hebrew.

Blomberg, age 77, is in high demand as a motivational speaker, telling his story of perseverance and success. “Boomer,” as his Yankee teammates called him, works with the Israel Cancer Research Fund, where he serves as honorary chairman. He resides in Roswell, Georgia, where by all accounts he’s a great guy and generous to all.

Joe Guzzardi is a Society for American Baseball Research member. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com

Chicago Killing Fields

By Joe Guzzardi

Years ago, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band released a popular song titled ‘Born in Chicago.‘ Butterfield’s song talked about a group of young friends that, while politicians debated gun control, are shot to death on Chicago’s tough streets. Over the issue of safe Chicago streets, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have painted themselves into a tight corner. They cannot intelligently deny that crime is a huge problem in Chicago. Yet Pritzker and Johnson rail against the possibility that President Trump may send in the National Guard to stem citywide violence. Illinois Policy (IP) analysts found that Chicago residents reported 25,000 or more violent crimes since 2004. The 2025 summer was particularly deadly—June 22, summer’s first weekend, saw 23 people shot, 2 fatally; Independence Day weekend, 44 shot, 6 killed; Labor Day weekend at least 55 shot, 8 dead. IPI also found that black and Hispanic Chicagoans made up 95% of the city’s homicide victims during the past 12 months. Blacks were 20 times more likely to be homicide victims than white residents, while Hispanics were 4.7 times more likely. Chicago’s FBI head Doug de Podesta said that the agency had just wrapped up Operation Summer Heat, in which 25 murderers, gun runners, and fentanyl dealers were arrested. As IP summarized, crimes were up; arrests down.

Yet despite the carnage, resistance to federal intercession is fierce. Johnson, whose favorability rating recently bottomed out at 7%, signed an executive order establishing the Protecting Chicago Initiative and launching a Family Preparedness Campaign in multiple languages to educate families on how to prepare for potential detention by federal agents. Chicago, Johnson emphasized, “will be ready for anything and everything,” and he suggested that innocent grandmothers could be thrown into the back of unmarked vans and hauled away. Pritzker, a probable presidential candidate, said about President Trump’s commitment to send in the National Guard: “Let’s be clear, the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.” He insisted that there’s “no emergency” in Chicago that warrants federal intervention and argued that any federal action was not about fighting crime or making Chicago safer but instead about targeting blue and Democratic-led cities.

An alternative that neither Johnson nor Pritzker has considered could protect Chicago’s citizens, enhance their political futures, and save face. Accept the president’s offer to help. The mayor and the governor both know that National Guard intervention has not only made Washington, D.C., a safer place but has converted Mayor Muriel Bowser from skeptic to a true believer. On September 1, just before President Trump’s emergency order that tackled D.C. crime was set to expire, Bowser signed an order requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with their federal peers “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.” Bowser’s order extends through December. Last month, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith issued a similar order allowing her officers to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and detain illegal immigrants.  A baseless law suit that activist D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed on September 4 against the Trump administration doesn’t change the fact that Washington is a safer place and that the president, who presides over a federal enclave, has the authority to send in the troops.

Chicago minorities, located mostly on the city’s west and south sides where much of the violence occurs, want law and order. They want illegal aliens deported from their communities, where their unlawful presence has disturbed local lifestyles, disrupted schools and helped create a $1.15 billion Chicago budget deficit. In San Francisco, however, Judge Charles Breyer ruled that when President Trump sent in 300 National Guard troops to restore order during the ICE protests—which saw criminals throw rocks and Molotov cocktails at agents—he broke the law. While Breyer wrote that the National Guard members still in Los Angeles can remain and “continue to protect federal property in a manner consistent with the Posse Comitatus Act,” he stayed his ruling until the following week, giving Trump a chance to appeal. Breyer’s ruling presents a moment for the White House to reflect before moving on to Chicago or anywhere else.

But Johnson and Pritzker have a path out: call President Trump to request that he send in the troops. If the National Guard fails, the mayor and governor can claim victory—federal involvement changed nothing. But if crime decreases, they can still declare a win—they recognized that strong steps had to be taken, and they took them. Back in the White House, President Trump can also take a bow. Winners all around are the best way to dampen hostility.

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org