President Trump ends his first week back in the White House with an impressive — and proper — use of American power.
A brief note on an international diplomatic crisis that began and ended within 30 minutes this Sunday afternoon as most of the country was gearing up to watch the Eagles abuse the Commanders for their historical legacy of sin. Gustavo Petro, the socialist president of Colombia, made the mistake of posing for his international audience of left-wing admirers (he is the first socialist to lead modern Colombia, and he’s an ex-guerilla to boot) by publicly refusing to accept the repatriation of Colombian illegal immigrants who were in the United States. The rubber met the road earlier today when he turned away two inbound flights from the U.S. filled with aliens, preventing them from landing, to prove that Trump “can’t treat Colombian migrants as criminals.”
Trump responded in a sober and measured fashion minutes later, announcing (1) a 25 percent tariff on all Colombian goods, to be raised to 50 percent after a week; (2) a complete travel ban and visa revocation of all Colombian government officials in the United States (tantamount to diplomatic expulsion from the country); (3) sanctions on anyone and everyone in the Colombian government, as well as “family members and supporters”; (4) enhanced border inspections for anything and everything Colombian, whether goods or people; (5) international banking sanctions.
This is justly characterizable as “the nuclear option” in the diplomatic realm. Rather than preside over the immediate economic ruin of his nation, Gustavo Petro responded minutes later by apologizing and offering his own presidential airplane to help out if necessary. (That is justly characterizable as “kissing the ring.”)
My reaction to this is simple: good. This is precisely what the people who elected Trump were expecting to see from him — I wasn’t one of those people, but you better believe I will defend the proper use of American power. The idea of any regime having the temerity to refuse to take back its citizens who are abroad illegally is not one that America (or Trump’s administration) can afford to countenance, and while all the usual suspects were rending their garments about it online, I for once found myself pleased to see Trump wield the Big Stick of international diplomacy like a mace, if only pour encourager les autres. In any event, during that short half hour, it was hilarious to read Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s weeping about coffee bean prices as Ana Navarro predicted the cancellation of Valentine’s Day because of a potential shortage of (Colombian-imported) roses — frankly, it’s impressive that these two managed to embarrass themselves within such a narrow window of time. (They were quick on the draw, if nothing else!)
Trump’s first week has been a remarkable mixture of impressively bold, broad, sure-footed moves and overreaching folly (so much so that the topic demands and will receive its own piece). But when he wields America’s Big Stick properly and with such surprisingly effective vigor, he delivers on the promises he made during the 2024 campaign to the voters who elected him. They will reward it, and if he somehow manages to keep it up, it will be amazing to watch the media wilt in resigned despair.