I expected to be embarrassed and outraged by Trump. Instead, I feel lucky. | Opinion
Give President Donald Trump credit. For the first time in a long time, polls show that an increasing number of Americans believe the nation is headed in the right direction.
It was easy to hate Donald Trump when he jumped from reality TV to politics a decade ago. In 2015, Trump campaigned for president as an obvious populist: personality over party, policy and even country. He positioned himself as a conservative, but he really wasn't one.
Instead, Trump claimed that he was the miracle vaccine that would cure what ailed America. MAGA fans couldn't get enough.
After Jan. 6, 2021, I really disliked him. And as the 2025 campaign began, I didn't want to support a former president who wouldn't cede his election loss and who had a sordid personal history, including his mistreatment of women and a felony conviction. He also whined on social media like a 9-year-old boy who'd lost gaming privileges. I thought there were stronger Republican candidates who would better embrace conservative ideas.
But Republican primary voters chose to back Trump in 2024, and he picked an excellent ally in Ohio Sen. JD Vance as the vice presidential candidate. By then, the choice was obvious: Support a guy who hates leftism or support far-left progressives who would push America even further into decline. Our elections are binary, despite what my Libertarian friends think, so the choice was clear.
By now, two months into Trump's second term, I had expected to be embarrassed and outraged by our new president. But I'm not. I'm pleasantly surprised.
Actually, my mind is blown. I feel lucky that I've been a witness to some of the most radical changes ever attempted in the federal government − and in an extraordinarily short amount of time.
There are times when moderation makes good sense. But the current domestic and international climate calls for dramatic changes. Maintaining the status quo was not tenable. We needed a leader to aggressively make changes on many fronts, including the economy, the size and reach of the federal government and America's approach to foreign relations.
Trump is reforming government and restoring liberty
Americans who are alarmed by Trump should recognize the significance of the nation's decline under progressive leaders. President Joe Biden drove the country to the far left, losing control of our borders, driving up the budget deficit and the national debt and imposing a progressive social agenda that ignored what most Americans believed.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz were even more progressive and would have made it even harder to turn the ship around.
America's quest for liberty is not exclusive to a 249-year-old revolution, identifiable by red coats and taxation without representation. Tyranny is now trickier to spot, but it can be found in far-left ideas embedded in federal aid programs, higher taxes and attempts to infringe on personal liberties.
Republicans have bought into these efforts at times, but Democrats are far worse.
Trump presidency isn't normal, and that's a good thing
My litmus test for Trump's efficacy isn't whether he passes the normalcy test − he's already failed it. Mine is simply this: Is Trump supporting ideas and polices that make my family and me more free? Love him or hate him, Trump is doing exactly that.
Trump and Congress are putting together a plan to extend his 2017 tax cuts, which will enable Americans to keep more of their money and fuel economic growth.
With Elon Musk's help, Trump is finding and eliminating government waste and overreach. It's been a messy process, and I wish Trump had used a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer, but his efforts will restore our government to its original purpose: empowering, not hindering, Americans.
In less than three months, Trump has revitalized military recruitment, protected the ability of women and girls to compete fairly in sports and secured our nation's southern border.
Illegal border crossings are down 94% from last year. That is so extraordinary that few on the left or in legacy news media have even broached the subject, preferring to downplay the crime, drugs and other massive problems that came from Biden's chaotic border policies.
Trump's leadership, while not traditional, also has helped return hostages held by Hamas to their families, astronauts to Earth and common sense to public schools.
Is Trump a disappointment to some? Of course. But even CNN this week had to acknowledge that the American people are still aboard the Trump train, with the president's favorability ratings actually rising since he was elected in November.
And for the first time in a long time, polls show that an increasing number of Americans believe the nation is headed in the right direction.
"According to Marist, 45% say that we‘re on the right track," Harry Enten, CNN's chief data analyst, said Tuesday. "That‘s the second-highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? Forty-four percent, that‘s the highest since 2004. The bottom line is the percentage of Americans who say we‘re on the right track is through the roof."
Those numbers really shouldn't surprise anyone. From taxes and the economy to the border and government efficiency, Trump is driving ideas that will restore liberty and promote prosperity.
Traditional Republicans and progressive Democrats might be the biggest losers in Trump's second term, but the biggest winners are Americans who love liberty the most.
Nicole Russell is a columnist at Paste BN and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.