America First: Trump gets this agenda right

There has been a lot of criticism of President Trump’s “America First” stance.

While I am not a fan of much of what he says, and while I believe we should always look out for the interests of others, why is such an agenda not a good idea?

Isn’t that why we elect a president, senators, representatives, governors, mayors and others — to put their constituents first above others?

That doesn’t mean we ignore others, but it does mean we pay special attention to our interests and those closest to us.

And that’s what every leader should be doing: Emmanuel Macron should be pursuing a “France First” agenda, Gov. Jay Inslee a “Washington First” agenda, and so on.

That’s what all of us do. We have a job to support our families, not to support someone else’s family. We work hard to build our business, not someone else’s. Sports teams hire players to win more games, not so that other teams can win.

Yes, we should be mindful of others’ interests, but in a capitalist worldview, all of us working for our own interests actually ends up benefiting most of us.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 4:13 PM with the headline "America First: Trump gets this agenda right."