ARUNDEL — Many of my friends have a strong, negative reaction to our president, and some openly wonder why I remain such a fervent supporter. Let me explain:

I believe the president is committed to one central goal, and to achieve that, he has a plan:

• Stimulate the economy with tax cuts and the elimination of unnecessary government regulations.

• Play hardball with our foreign trading partners to dramatically reduce trade deficits and bring jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs, back home.

• Stop the unregulated massive influx of illegal immigration and, in general, reduce the influx of the world’s unskilled or low-skilled workers into our economy.

And what have been the results so far? The economy is booming. Wages are steadily rising. We have the lowest unemployment statistics in 50 years, and minority unemployment is the lowest ever measured!

Why is this important? Because the president believes two things:

When people have jobs – good jobs that pay well and have benefits – everything gets dramatically better. People are happier and have more-stable lives because they are making money and they have access to employer-generated benefits, like health care and insurance. They buy a home and save for retirement or their children’s education. This spending continues the strong economy – and there’s more! The rate of crime drops. Families are created, and they stay together. Life is good. This rising tide lifts all boats.

And he believes that the private sector is the most efficient mechanism to create these jobs. A socialist society cannot do it – that never works. A highly motivated private sector will strive to grow and will do that by hiring people, lots of people, through our current inventory of American citizens and legal immigrants. That inventory is tight right now, and that is part of the strategy! The business community is forced to recruit within our current labor pool by offering better pay and benefits. They need to create or support worker training. They need to take chances with people who have little job experience, or perhaps a less-than-perfect background (such as an arrest record).

It’s a good plan! It is working, and it is good for the country.

Now let’s talk about Donald Trump the man.

What kind of a president could pull off something like this? Not your normal politician, for sure. It would have to be somebody who knows how to play hardball and is fearless about how he would be perceived in the short term.

The best place to see examples of leaders like this can be found in the plot lines of old Western movies: A community is in trouble, bad guys run rampant and the timid townspeople are helpless to fight them. Appeasement only leads to further misery.

Then along comes the hero of the movie, but he’s not necessarily a good guy, either. He is a scruffy, ugly character who may even have a foul mouth. Everybody warns us this guy is trouble! But he’s the man for the job because he has a strong core value of right and wrong, he doesn’t care if the people (think: the media) like him and he’s willing to do things nobody else can or will do.

After he’s successful, he usually doesn’t change very much. He’s still the jerk he always was. The people of the town, now enjoying peace and prosperity, want only one more thing – they want this guy to go away.

That may happen with Donald Trump, too. After his presidency, I don’t imagine him being invited back to the White House very often, but I don’t care. I like his objectives. I think his plan is brilliant and it will work. I understand it takes a man like him to pull it off.

That is why I support the president. I accept the imperfections of the man as necessary to the situation. That’s why he must remain in office and why he should get four more years to pursue this vision.