Photo: Alamy | Op-ed by Summer Lane
In just a few weeks, President Donald Trump has transformed the image of the United States from one of weakness to one of great strength, dealing deftly with foreign entities who have taken advantage of America’s generosity for far too long, and making We the People proud again.
“Now it’s time for this country to stop being ripped off,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Indeed, in the rapid-fire swirl of the president’s first 40-something days, he has accomplished more for America than most presidents could ever dream of accomplishing in eight years.
While campaigning in 2024, President Trump brought a clear-cut and forward-looking vision of common-sense reform to the American people, and it was that same sparkling agenda that brought home a grand slam landslide win in November.
Now, the president is making good on bringing that vision to life, and it’s already producing hopeful results for the nation and the world.
On the Middle East
President Donald Trump made significant headway on retrieving hostages from the Middle East before even taking office on January 20. As his administration has moved forward, more hostages have continued to be released, thanks to Trump’s leadership and strong support for Israel.
Just this week, the president met with eight recently released hostages from Gaza, who shared their heartrending stories of torture, starvation, and survival.
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was the first world leader Trump welcomed to the White House upon taking office, illustrating his respect for the Holy Land and his commitment to ensuring peace is achieved.
President Trump has also proposed relocating Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to other areas of the world, which would allow the United States to take peaceful control of the territory and assist in developing it economically.
However, the president, as always, has stuck to his guns when it comes to maintaining peace through strength. He warned Hamas terrorists on Thursday that if they continued to hold hostages and refused to hand over the bodies of the deceased, “it is OVER for you.”
With firm leadership and guaranteed follow-through, President Trump has swiftly taken control of the fiery situation between Israel and Hamas, and will very likely soon bring that conflict to a final close.
Ukraine-Russia
The world went wild when President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a diplomatic roundhouse kick to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last week, when the Eastern European leader arrived in Washington underdressed and eager for more American taxpayer dollars to fund his fight against Russia.
Under the Biden administration, America sent billions overseas in support of Ukraine, straining taxpayer pocketbooks and fueling a forever war impossible for the small country to win.
Zelensky arrived at the White House looking for a handout, but he was firmly scolded by Vance, who challenged the Ukrainian president to express a modicum of gratitude for Trump’s efforts in trying to bring an end to the conflict.
Instead, Zelensky was combative, argued with both the vice president and president, and even consistently talked over President Trump.
For his bad behavior, Zelensky was asked to leave the White House and return when he was ready for a peace deal. He has not yet returned to the Oval Office, but in an epic win for beleaguered Americans who have no interest in toying with a potential world war, Trump has completely frozen military aid to Ukraine in the meantime.
With Trump steering diplomacy on the Ukraine-Russia front, the world is in much better hands than when Biden was in office.
Leveling the playing field on trade
President Trump’s new tariff policies have caused quite a stir on the world stage, and for good reason. For the first time in over a century, American trade is set to be fair and even again, thanks to the president’s upcoming reciprocal tariff policy that will go into effect on April 2.
The concept is very simple: whatever another country tariffs the United States, America will, in return, tariff them at the same rate.
While campaigning in 2023, Trump explained his stance on reciprocal trade. He said, “In other words, 100 percent is 100 percent. If they charge us, we charge them —an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, same exact amount. One thing is going to happen: probably they drop the tariff, but if they don’t, that’s okay. We’ll take in plenty of money.”
The president has also moved strongly against three major countries whom he says have facilitated the flow of illegal immigration and poisonous drugs like fentanyl into the United States through the borders: Canada, Mexico, and China.
He implemented a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico on March 4, and added an additional 10 percent against China. On Thursday, he agreed not to apply the tariff to goods from Mexico protected under the USMCA, but only until April 2.
For far too long, foreign nations have tariffed American goods, and the United States has failed to respond in a manner that boosted its domestic economy in a meaningful way.
Now, Trump is taking advantage of the executive office and doing business with world leaders, leaning into a kind of boldness that only a master of the art of the deal could pull off.
A golden age
The president addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday and delivered an epic and uplifting speech looking appropriately toward the golden future of the American dream.
“America’s momentum back,” he said. “Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back and the American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before!”
Indeed, President Trump’s second term has only been rolling for a few weeks, so it’s exciting to imagine what surprises and improvements lay ahead for the American people.
President Trump has proven, once again, that not only is he the champion of peace for America and the world, but he is also the penultimate advocate of free trade and enterprise. Thanks to his leadership, America’s best days are truly ahead.