Trump’s second inauguration found Americans in a hopeful frame of mind, with many celebrating his return. The protests this week in Washington were desultory; the Resistance has become the Resignation.
Sean Collins (Spiked)
Kinder-gentler Republicans, cover your ears because it’s gonna get loud once Democrats and their media allies see their agenda dismantled with ruthless efficiency (agencies down-sized, DEI ended, illegals deported, and blue states reined in). Remember Trump’s endgame – “The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world” – and watch history being made.
Newsweek’s Josh Hammer writes that Trump 2016 was “the American people’s reaction to the woke Obama era – a welcome course correction back toward normalcy and sanity.” Despite the “mean” tweets, things went well (border secured, economy humming and no new foreign wars). Still, I remember the left’s “Resistance” and Republican anxiety: how would the world react to the brash entrepreneur in the Oval Office?
Mostly by snipping away at Trump’s authority and credibility until the implausible election of Joe Biden, with agencies weaponized to marginalize “bitter” clingers to America’s time-tested traditions of going to church, good parenting, and merit-based advancement. Above all, by destroying Donald Trump. Damn near, but Biden-Harris could not “manage even a simple crisis at home” or avoid “stumbling into catastrophic events abroad.”
After a political comeback for the ages, the 47th President could not resist a much-needed taunt at his inauguration: “Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback. But as you see today, here I am. The American people have spoken.” Hammer writes that “at some indeterminate moment between Monday’s soaring midday speech and Tuesday’s epochal executive order banning wokeism throughout the republic, the president artfully took a sledgehammer to the entire Obama-Biden era legacy without so much as uttering the men’s names.”
The Wall Street Journal’s resident Never-Trumper, Peggy Noonan, was more predictive: “He is going to utterly dominate our brain space. Joe Biden asked nothing and gave nothing. Mr. Trump demands and dominates. He is at the top of his game. He used to be testy with reporters. Now he treats them with patience and calm, because he doesn’t care about them with their puny little numbers and shrinking networks.”
Noonan knows that, since 2020, Harris won 6.2 million fewer votes than Biden, House Dems won 6.3 million fewer popular votes, mail-in votes dropped 35.3%, and there are 10% fewer registered Democrats. She watched Chris Murphy (D-CT) obstruct Senate confirmations, Pete Hegseth become Secretary of Defense anyway, and John Kennedy (R-LA) say it must suck to be that stupid.
Noonan saw ABC lose a defamation lawsuit to Trump, CBS can evening anchor Norah O’Donnell, CNN lay off hundreds, MSNBC put up for sale, and young audiences flock to podcasters like Joe Rogan. She knows legacy media are down to partisan distortions such as “the greatest threat of the president’s second term is allowing him to proceed as though there is nothing that can stop him” (a deep thought from MSNBC’s Chris Hayes).
Hammer and Noonan know President Trump is the last man standing after an 8-year bar fight, and expect him to kick ass and take names. Ahem, that was Joe and Kamala seething in their time-out chairs on live TV, while Trump indicted their administration for the “vicious weaponization” of the DOJ, protecting “dangerous criminals” and “refusing to defend” law-abiding citizens, and teaching school kids to “be ashamed of themselves” and “hate our country.”
Then, he got to work; announcing a $500 billion tech investment, arresting 1,300 illegal aliens, closing federal DEI offices, declassifying assassination files, freezing most U.S. foreign aid, issuing the most (26) day-one executive orders, leaving the Paris Climate Accord and World Health Organization, stopping the entry of 10,000 in-transit foreign refugees, and visiting “forgotten Americans” in southern California and western North Carolina.
In week one, his administration fired 17 inspector generals, removed Mark Milley’s portrait from the Pentagon, terminated John Bolton’s and Anthony Fauci’s security details, and took security clearances away from 51 signers of the “Russian disinformation” letter. He personally gave tough love to BankAmerica’s CEO at Davos (“loan to conservatives!”), Denmark’s prime minister (“sell Greenland to the US!”), and LA’s mayor (“use your executive powers!”). Lest they forget, there’s a new sheriff in town.
I was uneasy about Trump’s January 6 pardons, until CNN’s Scott Jennings noted the prerogative of the President to be merciful to persons who’ve served years in jail, had reputations destroyed, and suffered financial ruin. After my kid brother asked if I thought Democrats had been on the up and up for eight years, I saw the light: it’s time for both sides to forgive and forget.
I think history will remember Donald Trump as the politician who met patriotic Americans where they were (ruled by a “corrupt establishment” with the “pillars of society in compete disrepair”) to take them where they needed to go (with “their faith, wealth, democracy and freedom” completely restored). Most Americans don’t think he’s a “fascist” because he heard them. Now, they want Democrats to hear him loud and clear!
MAGA is modern America’s largest political movement. Between 2016 and 2024, Republicans out-registered Democrats, added 11.6 million more popular votes for Congress, and 14.3 million more for president. And, because Trump spoke persuasively, unprecedented attacks did NOT prevent him from winning the electoral votes of 32 states and a majority of the popular vote (77,301,278), and entering office last Monday with his party in control of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. So, let it get loud.
Men like Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Al Sharpton (MSNBC) will never shut up, but the last and loudest word will come from one Donald J. Trump.