PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

By most accounts, President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 4 was a rousing success. That’s not just my opinion; it’s an opinion shared even by normally anti-Trump sources.

For example, a CBS poll reported that 76% of respondents approved of the speech. The same poll disclosed that 77% are in favor of his program to eliminate government waste, fraud and abuse; 77% support his border/immigration policies; 73% support his efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine; and 65% agree with him on tariffs. A CNN poll disclosed that 69% of respondents had a positive reaction to his speech.

Only 20% thought that Congressman Al Greene’s antics were “appropriate.” Political disagreements are fine, even to be expected, but they should be decorous. In general, the Dems’ antics were unprofessional, undignified, and unbefitting members of Congress. Although not unprecedented they were highly unusual and overly extreme. Most viewers were appalled. Even other Dems were loath to defend them. Trump’s reaction was restrained. He denoted that “these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand and certainly will not cheer [for any of my achievements no matter what].”

Most devastating, according to a Quinnipiac poll only 21% of respondents view the Dem Party favorably at this time. More on this later.

In my opinion, in just a little over six weeks in office President Trump has accomplished more than any other president in that short time period, with the possible exception of FDR in his first term. I would argue that he has already accomplished more than President Joe Biden and his various unofficial and unelected surrogates did in four years. Those of us who have been paying attention know what they are, and there is no need to repeat all of them in detail in this blog. There are too many of them anyway. Trump has been a veritable whirling dervish. He has set such a fast pace that before his critics can react to one decision, he will have enacted three more. They literally have been unable to keep up. But I would like to highlight a few of what I consider to be the more significant ones.

So, as David Letterman might say, below please find my “Top Ten:”

1. He was ready to go full bore on Day 1.
2. Eighteen of his cabinet nominees have already been approved, and they, too, have hit the ground running.
3. He has signed in excess of 100 Executive Orders and has promulgated over 400 Executive Actions.
4. He has virtually closed the southern border. The Dems had insisted it couldn’t be done without new legislation. It turned out all that was needed was a new president and a new border Czar.
5. He has commenced the rounding up and deporting of illegal alien gang members, criminals, cartel members, spies and psychos.
6. He has made significant progress toward peace in the Russia-Ukraine War, which has claimed thousands of lives and cost us billions of dollars. The spat between Zelensky and Trump will be resolved. Apparently, Zelensky’s belligerent attitude in their meeting in the White House was the result of bad advice by certain Dems with whom he had met beforehand. Ukraine needs the US’s support in order to survive, and we need access to their copious supply of raw earth minerals.
7. He has made significant progress in “convincing” Hamas to release many of the hostages from the October 7 attack with more to come.
8. He has ordered the commencement oil and gas drilling and the reopening of the Keystone Pipeline.
9. Through DOGE he has commenced an aggressive program to eliminate government fraud, abuse and waste. The program has already saved billions of dollars, and the goal to save one trillion dollars seems to be within reach.
10. He has encouraged many companies to relocate to the US or else face tariffs on their products, and he has instituted reciprocal tariffs against countries that have been imposing tariffs on us. These tariffs are scheduled to commence on April 2 if deals have not been finalized by then. If they come to pass certain prices will likely increase. Hopefully, they will not be needed

All that said, his most enduring accomplishment has been to maneuver the Dem Party and its allies in the media into supporting the wrong side of all the so-called 80-20 issues that are most important to voters. These people are poster boys for “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” aka TDS. Over the past several years it has become increasingly apparent that this is a real condition. The primary symptom is that they cannot agree with any Trump policy or action no matter what, even if it is obviously beneficial and makes common sense. For instance they could not bring themselves to stand and applaud the capture of the “top terrorist” who had masterminded the bombing of the Kabul Airport during the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, or in acknowledgment of the various Gold Star moms, widows and orphans whose loved ones had been slain by illegal aliens and/or criminals, or the young female volleyball player whose head was smashed in by a transgender during a match, or the 13-year-old boy who had survived brain cancer who was made an honorary member of the Secret Service, or the orphaned high school graduate who it was announced had been admitted to West Point, or the captive who was recently released from a Russian prison to whom Trump paid special tribute.

Thus, they are presently being portrayed as:

1. being against commonsense,
2. advocating the rights of illegal aliens over those of American citizens,
3. defending the rights of criminals rather than law abiding citizens,
4. being antisemitic and misogynistic
5. opposing eliminating taxes on tips, overtime and social security payments for seniors,
6. favoring war over peace,
7. advocating transgender males competing against biological females in sports and entering female spaces, and
8. perpetuating fraud, waste and abuse in government.

They have become the Party of “no.” They have not articulated any viable alternative policies to Trump’s. They just reject his and call him hateful names. They stand for nothing. They have been forced out of the mainstream onto the far-left fringe on many issues. Undoubtedly that accounts for their low approval rating. Even though voters’ political opinions can and normally have changed radically in a short time, the current climate does not augur well for those Congressmen and women who will be running for office in 2026, many of whom represent districts that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2024.

Conclusion

For the time being Trump has flipped the Dem coalition of working people, middle class, blacks, Hispanics and Jews that was established by FDR in 1932. The Dems are now perceived as the party of elites and out of touch with everyday Americans. Hopefully, that will endure. We’ll see.