What Trump’s critics don’t understand—and probably never will: President Trump isn’t rattled. He’s composed, deliberate, and in control—which drives his opponents crazy.
But instead of fixating on his tone, measure his results. Trade victories are stacking up, each one strategically designed to favor America.
And why shouldn’t we enjoy these kinds of wins?
We earned them through generations of sweat, toil, and ingenuity, all of which built the U.S. consumer market into the most coveted in the world—the literal engine of global discretionary demand. Access to it isn’t automatic, and therein lies the leverage. For the first time in decades, we have a leader who knows how to employ those earned advantages.
Critics see disruption and scream chaos, but they confuse volatility with recklessness. In reality, disruption is the strategy. Tension is the prerequisite tool, and while it makes some ninnies uncomfortable, this rigged system cannot be unwound by simply asking politely. After decades of American acquiescence on trade, the old economic regime will not just submissively fade away.
Accordingly, this process isn’t accidental—it’s engineered. Trump guards the strategic sectors of the U.S. economy through calculated, targeted, and surgical incentives and prohibitions to grow domestic production of semiconductors, steel, medicine, energy, and defense technology.
Behind the TV news chyrons and hand-wringing, a blueprint unfolds. This emerging paradigm harnesses America’s unmatched strengths to reorient global trade and tip the balance back toward U.S. workers.
That kind of work demands poise, not polish. That kind of grand task necessitates brains, leverage, and calm under pressure. Think Tom Brady in the pocket: the chaos swirls, the hits keep coming—but he hangs in and delivers the throw.
Trump operates the same way. While his critics flinch, he closes. This isn’t small-ball, and these wins are not incremental. Instead, this process accelerates a truly global correction—long overdue—and only possible through business instincts brought into geopolitics.
Even former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss would recognize the method. In Never Split the Difference, Voss lays it out: apply pressure. Stay detached. Never settle halfway.
Sound familiar?
But Trump’s critics cannot see past their own biases to discern the mounting stack of headline-worthy wins. Consider the results, just in July:
European Union:
Japan:
South Korea:
China:
Tariffs aren’t punishment—they’re strategy. In this new era, tariffs represent policy and positioning. They compel the secure rebuilding of supply chains. In this process, America reclaims the leverage we are due, and reasserts our primary role in shaping the terms of global trade—not reacting to them.
So, it’s not a tantrum, not remotely. It’s a recalibration.
As Scott Adams wrote in Win Bigly, Trump isn’t unpredictable. He’s persuasive.
He throws the political equivalent of a knuckleball—deliberately unconventional and difficult to counter.
Adams and Trump recognize that superpowers don’t beg and don’t need to ask for permission. We are done allowing the ruling class of this country to profit and thrive by managing a national decline.
What beckons? Nothing less than a golden age—built on leverage, clarity, and control.
Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group, and senior political advisor to Catholic Vote.
He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, plus a former commentator for Fox News and CNN.