Trump is 47: The Newsletter

Introduction

Welcome to The Cameron Journal Newsletter!

Each week I send out the latest headlines, the latest videos from The Cameron Journal and commentary about the week’s events. If you’re new here, my name is Cameron Lee Cowan, and I’m the Creative Director here at The Cameron Journal. You can learn more about me on the about page.I do research and commentary on politics, culture, and the world around us. Remember, The World is Hard, This is Not.

Updates

Happy Saturday, everyone! I will admit that I’m exhausted this week. Right now, I’m sipping on a Red Bull to try and get through this newsletter and the (checks notes) seven emails that I need to write after this. The big news this week is that the Cameron Journal is growing! Not only are we seeing far more podcast listeners than ever before, but I’ve had an explosion of new guests. This week, I recorded eight new guests on a range of topics. I had a great conversation with Jesse Hirsch, who will appear on his channel soon, and I did a great Indian streaming show with the KAJ Masterclass (at 3:30 in the morning!). It was a busy week in between everything else and I’ve not been the only one busy, the headlines have been busy too so let’s dive in.

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The Latest

The Israel/Palestine Ceasefire

This week, Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire agreement, at least in principle, that might bring the year-long (plus) conflict to an end. Israel has gained new territory in Lebanon due to the collapse of Hezbollah, and it looks like Gaza will return to being somewhat independent. The exact details and implementation are still forthcoming, but it appears that the backdoor deal Trump made with Netanyahu has paid off. The future of Palestine and Israel remains up in the air, but the ceasefire is certainly a first step.

H1B Visas, Panda Express, and the future of American work

One of the big debates that has been going on lately is the discussion of the future of American work. We’ve talked about Vivek Ramaswamy’s tweets about H1B visas and how hard immigrants works. Incidentially, Trump has dispensed with his services as he announced he is running for governor of Ohio. However, the discussion on Twitter has now moved onto what kind of jobs our economy is creating, specifically for young men, and what kind of jobs they can and should expect.

I think it all started with a Cernovich tweet but the result has been a discussion around why (or why not) young men should be happy managing a Panda Express (or other food establishment) instead of expecting a tech job at a major tech company or other job with a bit more status and prestige. I’ve seen this firsthand with some of my friends. Customer service jobs, food service, and other jobs only last so long before they are burnt out. There is also an aspect of the dating market that is important too. As women take on better roles in corporate America and make more money, the manager of a restaurant has much less dating appeal.

Most of the debate has been between those who say that any job is a good job and others who say that young men should not simply aspire to work in fast food. It is a bit disconcerting for those who think that importing of cheap, foreign labor is fine when the native population is struggling to find good jobs and make ends meet. I understand those who think that any job is a good job if it’s paying (even with the salary), but the reality is that there are only so many food service locations and only so many manager jobs available. On top of that, there is the idea that the native population of a country should have priority for jobs, especially good jobs that fund a tax base, over immigrants. This argument is not a new one in this country.

I was mindful of this dynamic when I was on that Indian streaming show this week. The host spoke of the American dream in more glowing terms than I’ve heard in years. I think the US might be a victim of its own success. Our idea that anyone can come here and become successful has become such a part of the global zeitgeist that the American dream is not just for Americans anymore. This leaves native-born Americans competing with the entire world for a finite number of jobs. Immigrants are motivated and often skilled. They are ready to work long hours and sacrifice for their slice of the American dream. In tech, this has led to Indians getting ever-higher positions (including CEO) and, at least according to rumors, shutting out non-Indians from teams and workplaces. Much like Mexico in the 1990s, Indians sending money to India has become a massive part of capital outflow. $860 billion dollars flow back to India each year. Imagine if that money stayed within our borders.

The question then remains: what do we do with American workers? Is food service the best that they can hope for? Are we getting to a place where anyone has to take any job that they can, no matter what? Is the new dream for native-born Americans to take any job on offer, no matter the wage? Do native-born Americans need to sleep 10-15 to a house like their immigrant competition? One side definitely says “No.” The other side simply tells Americans to work harder for longer hours.

In my mind, this is one of the reasons that the H1B visa system (and all immigration) needs serious reform, and there probably needs to be a severe curtailing of immigration for some years. We have taken in so many new people, we need some time to adjust to the new reality and to assimilate who we already have in the country. We’ve been here before, and I think it is time to tighten things up. Once we have solved DACA, and stopped the inflow of immigrant workers in all areas of society, then we can have a conversation about what kind of immigration we would like in this country. We cannot have that discussion when people feel victimized by the rest of the world.

It is off the air now, but I’ve been watching a cute network show called Bob Loves Abishola, which centers on Bob Wheeler, an American medium-sized businessman, and his Nigerian wife and their romance and culture clash. It’s a beautiful story and a great show (do watch) but I was thinking about immigration while I’ve been watching it. One feature of the show is that the characters were not invested in becoming American. They were very much still Nigerian and were here for education and work opportunities. There was very little mention of them adding to the beautiful fabric of our nation. I think that is the trouble.

Elections and Inaugurations

On Monday, January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, and he will be only the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (the other being Grover Cleveland). It is going to be important for everyone to take a deep breath on Monday because things are going to kick into high gear. There is going to be a modest ceremony indoors due to the cold, but there will be a flurry of announcements and executive orders coming down. Pace yourself and take a break from the news.

As it turns out, the lack of a strong statement on Gaza hurt Kamala Harris’ campaign more than we initially realized. It caused Democratic voters to stay home. Dropsite News posted a poll that showed that core areas of the Democratic base stayed home due to the genocide, revealing that the student protests and the talk of genocide were far more effective and resonated with voters far more than anyone in the DNC establishment or anyone on the campaign initially imagined.

President Biden will leave office tomorrow after the inauguration with quite a record behind him but deeply unpopular. More stories about his lack of mental presence and acuity since the beginning of the administration have come out, so much so that it has become a joke for late-night TV and other comedians. It is a sad end to a career in public service. I think history will be kinder to Biden than the present narrative, but I can’t imagine what he must be feeling right now and how it has all gone down.

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