# What the hell does "Make America Great Again" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410 "2016-11-10T22:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/1 "2016-11-10T22:10:36Z")
I asked this of one of the Trump supporters at the gym, and all he could come up with was reducing the deficit and keeping illegals out or the country. Really? _That’s_ what makes a country great? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/2 "2016-11-10T22:16:06Z")
Oh, why was nobody asking this crucial question two months ago! Curse you, beowulff… your rescue comes too late!!! Just kidding. I’ve wondered this myself and the best I can come up with is the voter’s imagination was supposed to fill in the blanks with whatever was most personally pleasing to him or her. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/3 "2016-11-10T22:19:41Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I asked this of one of the Trump supporters at the gym, and all he could come up with was reducing the deficit and keeping illegals out or the country. > > Really? _That’s_ what makes a country great? What a strange coincidence-A friend of mine from the Snohomish Tribe said the exact same thing to me. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/4 "2016-11-10T22:20:55Z")
Well, I certainly have ideas about how to make it great now! ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/5 "2016-11-10T22:21:50Z")
It meas exactly the same as ‘Yes we can’. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/6 "2016-11-10T22:27:23Z")
The return to a more isolated economy, with a strong primary and secondary sectors. “like in the old days” Is that even possible in this day and age? I don’t know, but that’s what it implies. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/7 "2016-11-10T22:28:10Z")
It means “Turn back the clock, to the time before [things I don’t like about the modern world].” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/8 "2016-11-10T22:32:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’ve wondered this myself and the best I can come up with is the voter’s imagination was supposed to fill in the blanks with whatever was most personally pleasing to him or her. This. For many of Trump’s supporters, it means “Make America White Again” . This is what they read into it. For others it means “Just drop nukes on our enemies; that’ll learn them”. These are the folks whose solution to many problems in their lives is to threaten to beat someone up. Still others read the slogan as “More money for me”. And for some, it was “We hate liberals.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/9 "2016-11-10T22:33:15Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It means “Turn back the clock, to the time before [things I don’t like about the modern world].” …to the time before clocks were digital, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/10 "2016-11-10T22:38:01Z")
It means the same thing as “Hope and Change.” It’s political bullshit sloganing. It’s meant to be vague so people can attach their own meaning to it and therefore relate to the candidate. Politicians figured out long ago that most people are idiots or don’t actually pay attention to politics. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/11 "2016-11-10T23:41:39Z")
Also the same as “Take back our country.” A reporter asked a Trump supporter what that was supposed to mean. She got a vague, disoriented look on her face, as I’m sure that everyone she told that to before just just smiled with the same vapid look and nodded. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/12 "2016-11-10T23:53:18Z")
It’s like a fine piece of modern art-- it means whatever the viewer wants it to mean. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/13 "2016-11-10T23:54:21Z")
Maybe nobody in this thread cares, but on the off chance that someone wants some actual facts, there’s [a really “great” website that outlines Trump’s plans](https://www.greatagain.gov/): > [@](#): > > **MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN** > > **MAKING AMERICA SECURE AGAIN** > Defense & National Security > Immigration Reform & Building The Wall > Energy Independence > > **GETTING AMERICA BACK TO WORK AGAIN** > Tax Reform > Regulatory Reform > Trade Reform > Education > Transportation & Infrastructure > Financial Services Reform > > **GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE AGAIN** > Healthcare Reform > Veterans Administration Reform > Protecting Americans’ Constitutional Rights It’s not like this stuff is hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/14 "2016-11-11T00:15:33Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It’s not like this stuff is hard to find. Ok, cool. Semi-concrete stuff. Let’s examine one, “energy independence”. Oil is a pretty good component of that. So [let’s look at net exports of oil](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/images/2012.03.07/PetroExports_annual.png) for the past few decades. Turns out that the US was a net importer of oil all the way back to 1949. Except for the past few years, where we’re a net exporter. Since it certainly seems that it’s as good as it’s ever been, what could Trump mean by making things great _again_? Trump promises to overturn Obama’s policies, but why would he want to do that when things are going so well? Not to mention that there’s nothing more independent than sustainable energy. Wind and solar are necessarily local and effectively forever. Domestic fossil fuel production is well and good but not all that independent if it runs out in a few decades or centuries. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/15 "2016-11-11T00:20:22Z")
It’s the sort of all-purpose slogan that anyone would/could run under, really - who’d be running on a ‘Make America Crap’ ticket? There are really only two electoral campaign slogans; “Steady As We Go” and “Time For A Change”. Anything else is just riffs on one of these. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/16 "2016-11-11T00:27:53Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > It’s the sort of all-purpose slogan that anyone would/could run under, really… That’s the beauty of it, it doesn’t _mean_ anything. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/17 "2016-11-11T00:35:24Z")
Given that Ronnie ran with almost exactly the same slogan, all we have to do is look at the eighties. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/18 "2016-11-11T00:36:38Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Ok, cool. Semi-concrete stuff. Let’s examine one, “energy independence”. Oil is a pretty good component of that. So [let’s look at net exports of oil](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/images/2012.03.07/PetroExports_annual.png) for the past few decades. > > Turns out that the US was a net importer of oil all the way back to 1949. Except for the past few years, where we’re a net exporter. > > Since it certainly seems that it’s as good as it’s ever been, what could Trump mean by making things great _again_? Trump promises to overturn Obama’s policies, but why would he want to do that when things are going so well? > > Not to mention that there’s nothing more independent than sustainable energy. Wind and solar are necessarily local and effectively forever. Domestic fossil fuel production is well and good but not all that independent if it runs out in a few decades or centuries. Here’s how [his “energy independence” page](https://www.greatagain.gov/policy/energy-independence.html) starts out: > [@](#): > > The Trump Administration will make America energy independent. Our energy policies will make full use of our domestic energy sources, including traditional and renewable energy sources. America will unleash an energy revolution that will transform us into a net energy exporter, leading to the creation of millions of new jobs, while protecting the country’s most valuable resources – our clean air, clean water, and natural habitats. It sounds pretty centrist and boilerplate to me. He doesn’t appear to be saying, “quit doing solar and wind” either. As for what specific Obama-era policies he’d change, at least on it’s surface, it appears to be a pretty precise list: - opening onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands and waters - streamline the permitting process for all energy projects - rescind the coal mining lease moratorium [&] the excessive Interior Department stream rule - eliminate the highly invasive “Waters of the US” rule - scrap the $5 trillion dollar Obama-Clinton Climate Action Plan and the Clean Power Plan the idea that he’s got no policy positions and is just an empty suit with a meaningless slogan isn’t reality, it’s not fact-based, it’s just a figment of leftists’ imaginations. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/19 "2016-11-11T00:49:00Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > the idea that he’s got no policy positions and is just an empty suit with a meaningless slogan isn’t reality, it’s not fact-based, it’s just a figment of leftists’ imaginations. You’ve dodged the question. The slogan is Make America Great _Again_. This implicitly requires two things: America is not great now, and it was great at some point in the past. So where was this golden past period where America was much more energy independent than it is now? Some of the policies might make a lick of sense if the US was in rough shape when it came to energy independence. But you don’t need to tear down environmental regulations if things are already going well (and then lie about protecting clean air/water/habitats). Or promote industries (like coal) which are already dead and won’t come back no matter how much they’re allowed to pollute. Trump has said elsewhere that he plans on cutting subsidies for sustainable energy. I’d actually be ok with his if he also cut subsidies for fossil fuels. There is of course no chance at this. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410/20 "2016-11-11T00:50:10Z")
It leaves me wondering how ramped-up coal production fits in there. Maybe the coal miners will be paid to dig the stuff up and it’ll quietly be loaded on barges and dumped in the ocean. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-does-make-america-great-again-mean/771410.md?page=2)