This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 19 episode of “Morning Joe.”
On Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump once again called the United States a “nation in decline.”
For any Republicans out there who may want to follow down Trump’s trail, let me give you some facts: America is a great nation, and the overwhelming majority of Americans — the ones who will be voting for or against you this fall — agree with me.
It’s a strange form of patriotism to say that America is only great if one leader is in power, and that if that leader is not in power then America is in decline.
We have fed and freed more people through the years than any other country on the planet. We are economically stronger relative to the rest of the world. The Dow is higher than it’s ever been — far higher than when Trump was president.
Trump loves to say, “Drill, baby, drill,” and although some Democrats may not like it, if you look at the U.S. and its oil production, we have produced more oil this past year than any other country in history.
We are also the strongest military power in the world. Even our enemies understand we’re not a nation in decline. Trump is always talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin and what a great leader he is. But the fact is, Texas has a higher GDP than the entirety of Russia.
Culturally, there’s also America’s reach in soft power. Just look at Taylor Swift going through Europe and the economic boom that is for those countries.
It’s exhausting to hear Trump and other Republicans say we’re a failing country. It’s not true. America is stronger than it’s ever been. I challenge Trump to find a measurement that would suggest we’re a nation in decline.
It’s a strange form of patriotism to say that America is only great if one leader is in power, and that if that leader is not in power then America is in decline. But that’s what you have with their side.
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.