“We are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars.”
President Trump made this ambitious promise in his 2025 State of the Union speech, reiterating a commitment first articulated in his Inaugural address. This statement comes amid ongoing efforts by Elon Musk—an ally of the President during the 2024 campaign— and his company SpaceX to develop the capacity to land their Starship on Mars. Immediately, scientists and media critics began attacking the plan, calling it “unrealistic” and an “obsession.” However, it is refreshing to hear a president promote such a bold vision.
Some of the other experimental and unique projects undertaken by the Trump administration include: Building a satellite defence system (dubbed the “Golden Dome” by President Trump), acquiring Greenland, instituting reciprocal tariffs, creating IRA’s for newborns, and building the “Arc de Trump.” Many of them have drawn criticism—and laughter—for being “unrealistic” or “dumb.” Admittedly, some of these initiatives are risky and certainly out of step with typical Washington policy. It is no secret that Trump is a risk taker—he has deliberately crafted his brand that way—or that he is quite different from an establishment Republican like Bush or Romney. But is there any value in these new ideas for the country? I would argue, yes.
Americans have become increasingly pessimistic about their future. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 66% of Americans believe the U.S. will be economically weaker by 2050. 71% believe we will be less important in the world at that time. 81% believe the gap between rich and poor will grow. These findings should signal a need for change. But as it often does, this pessimism has led to cynicism. Now, when new or experimental ideas are presented, people scoff while offering no alternatives.
President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are an example. For decades, Republicans and Democrats have advocated for so-called “free trade”. During this same period, we have found ourselves accepting unfair trade practices by other countries, the substitution of American jobs for cheap foreign labor, and a massive trade deficit. A trade deficit as big as ours weakens our currency. It leaves us dependent on foreign investments and goods, rather than real exports and manufacturing within the United States. There are even national security implications with surrendering this kind of economic power to foreign entities. This reality has been ignored for many years. But when Trump promoted such aggressive use of tariffs, many in Washington sounded the alarm; the Yale Budget Lab estimated that by June 2025, “consumers will lose $4,400 of purchasing power.”
However, in 2025, tariffs generated $288.5 billion in revenue, a 234% increase from 2024. As for prices, there has been minimal impact. Inflation continues to decline, and prices on consumer goods like gas and certain produce keep falling. Tariffs have also been an effective tool in negotiating with other nations. Major trade developments include China agreeing to remove certain trade barriers on the U.S. for access to rare earth minerals and the European Union agreeing to purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy and remove tariffs on auto imports. Multiple corporations have also agreed to move manufacturing to the U.S. A few examples include:
- Honda is moving production of its Civic hybrid to the U.S.
- Hyundai said it would build a new factory in Georgia
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced plans to invest $100 billion to build five factories in the U.S.
- NVIDIA said it is spending $500 billion through partnerships to build supercomputers in U.S. plants
- Apple said it will invest $500 billion, which includes building a fiber glass facility in Kentucky
- Shamekh IV Solutions, a Saudi healthcare company, said it would spend $5.8 billion on a factory in Michigan
It is still too early to determine whether these tariffs should be adopted as a long-term policy, but despite widespread warnings, they have proven effective. The point being: a calculated risk was taken when others wanted to settle for more of the same. This style of bold thinking has been lost in American policy debate. Yet this problem goes beyond economic or national security issues, which many of these actions aim to address. Part of the cure for pessimism lies in changing our attitude and culture to embrace boldness. America has become the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the world because of our emphasis on ambition. Our most consequential presidents are remembered for setting new visions and acting boldly. Some of their most influential policies were seen as dangerous, foolish, wasteful, etc. The Louisiana Purchase, the Homestead Act, Big Stick diplomacy, the Interstate Highway System, and the Space Program are among some of the most well-known.
Sixty-four years ago, when President John F. Kennedy announced an effort to put a man on the moon, it was met with harsh criticism. It was around this time that the term “Moondoggle” was coined by experts who believed the space program was a waste of money. It was during an address at Rice University on the space program that he delivered one of the most famous lines in American political speech:
“Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”
Should we reject reason? Or accept any new thought and idea as doctrine? Not at all. Our policy as a nation must be thought out, the cost should be weighed, and possible failures considered. But we should remember the words of Theodore Roosevelt when he asserted, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena […] who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.’’
Rather than being a smug people who ridicule, we should ask challenging questions, contribute our own ideas, and choose boldness. This should begin with our leadership, and I believe it is starting to do so.
