He may never command the stage more than right now.
The pinnacle of success for any American president is to gain control of the agenda for both the nation and the world. And after almost six months in office, especially the last two weeks in particular, President Donald J. Trump has come as close to achieving that goal as any president in a lifetime.
Trump famously proclaimed during his first run for the White House that he and the country would win so often that we might become sick of winning. And sure enough, the sum total of his victories in both the domestic and international realms since taking the oath of office for a second time has been nothing short of breathtaking.
Iran, BBB, Illegal Immigration, and SCOTUS
Only the most partisan cynics could conclude that Trump’s devastating strike on Iran’s nuclear program was anything short of an overwhelming success. The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) just passed by a deeply divided Congress fulfills dozens of his campaign promises and legislative priorities in one massive package. Illegal immigration has been all but eliminated. And the Supreme Court has delivered wins on judicial restraint and his deportation operations. But those are only the top lines in the lengthy list of this president’s accomplishments achieved at a breakneck pace since January 20.
Since being elected president for the second time, Trump has behaved as if each day would be his last in the Oval Office. Understanding that the DC political establishment continues to aim its heavy artillery directly at him, that he has just one term remaining to accomplish his wildly ambitious reforms, and that midterm elections generally don’t go well for the party of the sitting president, Trump has acted with a sense of urgency from day one.
He has succeeded in slashing taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security – a big deal for working-class Americans. He will start building a “Golden Dome” nuclear shield along the lines of Israel’s Iron Dome. Border security is getting a major boost in funding, and The Wall will finally be completed. But arguably the most significant element of the BBB is making permanent the tax cuts passed during Trump’s first administration. Absent that provision, Americans in every income bracket would have seen their taxes increase significantly.
Just as important as the president’s economic reforms, many would argue, are those in the cultural realm. DEI has been purged from all public programs, and many private interests have followed suit. Men have been banned from women’s sports. Special rights for transgenders have been eliminated. The cult of green energy has been replaced by “drill, baby, drill.”
Despite his seeming breakup with Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut an estimated $190 billion out of the hundreds of billions in inexplicably ridiculous taxpayer-funded boondoggles it has identified, and the list is growing. DOGE has created a consciousness of how taxpayer dollars are spent unlike any other initiative from past presidencies, even as its cuts are offset by the massive BBB. But all along, DOGE has been less about how much has been cut than what has been cut, most especially from USAID, long thought to be a program of aid to the needy but now outed as largely a piggy bank for progressive projects with zero benefit to the citizenry.
Trump Stock Soars
The stock market has recovered from its initial bout of tariff-based uncertainty and soared to new record highs. Trade deals have been struck or are in process that would generate untold amounts of new tariff revenues. The incredibly favorable deal just struck with Vietnam includes a significant tariff on Vietnamese exports and a zero tariff on US goods. Come Wednesday, July 9, Trump’s self-imposed deadline* for trade negotiations, we can expect several more agreements as the president employs his substantial leverage on the world stage.
And speaking of international relations, the change in attitude toward Trump from our allies is almost night-and-day. When he was first elected, he was viewed with great suspicion in loudly calling for our NATO allies to make good on their commitment to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense of the alliance. But he has now used his bully pulpit to get NATO countries to commit to 5%. And let’s not forget the ceasefire Trump forged between Israel and Iran and his successful intervention in the escalating conflict between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, and in the war between the Congo and Rwanda. This president has commanded the world stage as he shifts from bowing to the post-Cold War international global order to America-First, a sea change of mammoth proportions.
Donald Trump has reached the heights of power, that enviable place in which a president is able to command and control the national and global agenda, bring his party to heel, and cripple his enemies. In piling up one success after another, he has consolidated power to a striking degree, placing him squarely in the catbird seat with three and a half more years still ahead of him.
*While the deadline is July 9, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicates that some key tariffs may not take effect until later. He said “Tariffs go into effect August 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.”
Liberty Nation does not endorse candidates, campaigns, or legislation, and this presentation is no endorsement.
