One year ago today, the world witnessed a miracle in Pennsylvania. A sniper’s bullet came within an inch of killing President Trump, who was then still on the march to redemption. If Trump had never turned his head, his glorious comeback would have been cut short and America would have lost its greatest champion in generations.
Evan Vucci’s immortal photograph of Trump with his fist raised aloft still moves me. Whenever I see people on the right complaining about Trump’s imperfections, I think back to that dramatic image of greatness. It is more convincing than any argument. There is no denying that Trump was born to be a leader, and after six months of Trump 2.0, I could not be more grateful to have him back in power.
“Trump 2.0” is governing like a man possessed. He has stopped the invasion of our borders overnight. His crackdown on illegal immigration is the most aggressive this nation has ever seen. It gives me no pleasure to say that sweet abuelas are living in fear, but we are moving toward a sane and sustainable situation for the first time in decades. Trump has successfully bullied Republicans in Congress into funding his border wall and massively expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This landmark achievement gives America a chance to reverse the Great Replacement.
The “panicans” who assumed that Trump’s tariffs would cause runaway inflation have been chastened, and Trump is generating historic revenues. With his bold reordering of the global trade system, Trump is looking to secure the long-term economic interests of the country and all of its people, and not just financial, governmental, and academic elites. Speaking of cultural elites, Trump has “Pride” and DEI in retreat, and woke universities, including Harvard, are capitulating to him left and right.
Yes, the pace of deportations needs to increase, and ending wars has proven more difficult than he anticipated. Trump is also dealing with activist judges, working overtime to thwart his mandate. Despite these obstacles, in its broad strokes, his second term is shaping up to be a marvelous success. It is hardly a wonder that the left is feeling lost and demoralized. The stuff Trump is doing scares them. They sincerely believe that Trump is turning America into some form of dictatorship, and while this hyperbole is not new, Trump 2.0 is changing the country in sweeping ways that we did not see the first time around.
You would never know that by listening to right-wing discourse. To hear some tell it, Trump’s presidency has all been a big waste because he has not released the Jeffrey Epstein “client list.” The problem here for Trump may be that the list is not actually real.
Many people on the right want, not perfection per se, but drama. Trump brings plenty of that on his own. He’s the funniest president ever, hands down. But if Trump did his job perfectly, conservative podcasters would not have anything to bitch about, and their audiences would dry up.
It was just a few weeks ago that some said Trump had led the United States into World War III in the Middle East. I credit Trump with having the guts to make the difficult decision to blow up Iran’s nuclear sites. I believe he was doing what he thought best for the country, and as usual, Trump’s instincts are looking better in retrospect than the momentary panic of ideologues.
Trump’s dismissal of the Epstein theory further demonstrates his clarity and discipline. The weak thing would have been for Trump to continue indulging the delusions of his supporters, but instead, he is being a leader and challenging them to move on to more important issues. I am not saying Trump is above criticism, but it ought to be proportional to the situation. Heaven knows Trump deserves some mercy after all he has sacrificed and achieved.
I would also encourage his critics to consider what would have happened if Trump had died on July 13, 2024. The invasion of America’s borders that brought millions into this country in just four years would have continued, the buffoon Kamala Harris would be our president right now, and without Trump to keep them in line, Republicans would have reverted to being the token opposition. Instead, Trump just made them pass the strongest immigration bill in a century.
Some on the right are deeply invested in fantasies and political theater. They expect Trump to deliver some kind of swift, divine judgment. But he is not God, and he is not a podcaster watching from the sidelines. He’s in the arena, fighting for our country every day. In his own human capacity, he is setting things right and putting this country on a better path.