“Make America Great Again”: A Slogan for the Ages
Joe Biden and the Democrats love to attack President Trump’s signature slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Since Trump first unveiled MAGA, to great acclaim, back in 2015, it’s appeared everywhere, angering liberal Democrats who think America was never great and never will be. Most Americans know better.
For us, MAGA is a celebration of our nation’s cherished traditions: political freedom, economic opportunity, respect for law and order and pride in our nation’s unparalleled global leadership.
MAGA is also a sober recognition that the quality of life in America has declined sharply in recent years. It speaks to our nation’s need for a restoration of civic virtue – and personal dignity. Citizens of all backgrounds should be living and working together in harmony – free of violent crime, illegal immigration, rampant drug use and constant racial strife, much of it stoked by the media and by self-serving politicians.
MAGA calls on all of us to cast off our cynicism and disappointment, our disgust with establishment politicians, and our apathy about voting and civic engagement. Let’s get involved, care for each other, and dedicate ourselves to improving our world, MAGA says.
It’s a measure of how far today’s Democrats have deviated from logic and reason – and basic moral virtue – that they find this poignant slogan contemptible. I say today’s Democrats because, in fact, the slogan was once closely associated with Democrats. While Trump has rightly restored the slogan to great prominence, it was Bill Clinton who last used it.
Surprised? Well, it’s true.
Clinton, back then, was no liberal. He advocated policies that he felt were more in keeping with American values and traditions – less government, less immigration, less crime, and more restrictions on abortion. In a campaign speech, he invoked the Christian training of his youth and called for a new “Covenant” with our Creator and with each other to rebuild a consensus on governing in America.
Many on the left were appalled.
At the time Clinton invoked MAGA, he was worried that his own party was becoming too radical and would soon lose the mantle of national leadership to Republicans. He was right, of course – Democrats soon did – but in the short term, Clinton did manage to use MAGA as a way to win over political moderates and independents. In 1992, he scored a huge victory over then-President George H.W, Bush.
Does that mean MAGA is actually a Democratic slogan? Hardly. In fact, Clinton wasn’t even the first American president to use it. It was Republican Ronald Reagan who first coined the phrase, a good 16 years earlier.
Much like Trump, Reagan was seeking to end a disastrous period of Democratic rule under then-President Jimmy Carter. Carter had allowed America’s adversaries – the old Soviet Union as well as Iran – to bully our nation, undermining our global leadership.
At the same time, Carter’s domestic policies – which caused runaway inflation, including high gas prices – had left much of the nation feeling demoralized.
Reagan, who often referred to America as a “shining city on the hill,” harkened back to our nation’s founders and rekindled American optimism. His own “Make America Great Again” slogan often appeared on his campaign materials and on the podiums where he delivered his rousing speeches.
And just as it would with Clinton and later Trump, MAGA proved to be a winner. In 1980, Reagan beat Carter handily and four years later, he won re-election in a landslide.
Once in office, Reagan treated MAGA as a personal mandate. He reversed Soviet gains worldwide and boosted America’s standing abroad. He also instituted historically large tax cuts (as Trump would) – and not surprisingly, the economy rebounded (just as it did under Trump).
For our nation’s citizens, it was – as Reagan’s famous 1984 campaign ad declared – “morning in America” again.
None of this history diminishes Trump’s brilliant and inspiring use of MAGA to signal the need for American “renewal.” What it shows is that the American people are keenly aware of the dangers of letting our nation’s glorious traditions be trampled upon by those (in the Democratic party especially) who fail to recognize how inspiring the American example is – not just to our own citizens but to the world at large.
And it also shows how cynical and manipulative the attacks on Trump and MAGA are from the current administration. Throughout the years, Americans have responded eagerly to those politicians – moderate Democrats and Republicans both – willing to trumpet American greatness. And they are still responding eagerly and will continue to do so as we move to take back America yet again.
Remember: When Biden attacks “MAGA Republicans,” he isn’t attacking Trump or “his” followers. He is attacking all of us who still believe in America’s founding principles and who want to see our nation guided by them forever.
Biden and the Democrats can try to depict MAGA as a slogan for “right wing extremists.” But it’s deeply rooted in our history. Through the ages, keepers of the flame have insisted that America be true to itself and rediscover its sacred past.
For Christians, America’s “greatness” also has a special meaning. We exalt the power and might of our Lord and Savior. “How Great Thou Art,” we sing. America was founded, in part, to honor God, and God blessed us to be great in the image of His own greatness. To deny America’s national greatness is to deny God’s dominion over Earth itself.
In this sense, MAGA is more than a mere slogan. It’s a Covenant with Our Creator. It commands us to honor the idealism and courage that first inspired our nation’s founding. It’s as old as the American Republic – and just as enduring. The spirit of MAGA is always with us.
