It is as if a massive tsunami had hit the U.S., its shock waves quickly spreading across the world! The reference here is not to the geographic phenomenon but to its political equivalent: “Trump-in-action” or, for lack of a better term, “Trumpism.” The rapid-fire, multi-sphere initiatives, pronouncements, and moves of the initial weeks of his second term, along with their vast scope, have been as unprecedented as they are unconventional. To say “unconventional” is actually an understatement; President Trump has given new meaning to the term.
It could probably
be said without too much exaggeration that few, if any – from the proverbial
man-in-the-street to the experts to government officials – understand what, and
why, the President is doing what he is doing. Confusion reigns. And it is the
aggregate of all the still ongoing stream of far-reaching, even radical, moves
– not any individual component – that has everyone snowed under and taken by
surprise and that has kept the targets of the President’s activities
off-balance.
Little, if
anything, of what is being done has been haphazard, all appearances to the
contrary. Some of the people involved in developing or fine-tuning the many executive
orders have explicitly stated that a great deal of work had gone into their
formulation. The President has a clear vision and has set about implementing
it. The flood of action triggered on the first day of his second term is not
likely to abate. The confusion generated is a core part of the strategy. It is
built into it. It is planned. No matter what the opposition tries to do, it
will not be able to stop or even slow down what is turning out to be a massive,
fast-moving stream.
Donald Trump,
after all, from the very moment he burst onto the public arena, has been known
for his extemporaneous, often apparently impulsive, direct comments,
criticisms, and blunt or sometimes even insulting remarks. Even now, as the
highest official in the Land, he uses his Truth Social platform to issue
frequent pronouncements. In sheer volume alone, these are unprecedented.
Most people, it is
safe to say, would not associate such a personality with that of a capable,
thoughtful, and careful planner; most would not believe that such an individual
could possibly develop and then implement a comprehensive long-term strategy –
stubbornly and with persistence and in the face of an entrenched opposition.
The President’s
brilliance resides in part in that he has been fully aware of how people tend
to see him and has known how to take full advantage of this, using it as an
effective “cover” to steamroll the opposition – keeping them off-balance, not
quite knowing whether or how to react.
America Adrift
Trump’s “Make
America Great Again” is indeed a wide-ranging strategy, a realistic way to
restore American greatness. This greatness, in Trump’s mind and that of his
supporters, is the return to a country of which Americans can be proud – not
just because of its strength and dominant position on the world scene but
because of its values, its Constitution, and its mode of governance – a nation
they see as being a model for others.
Precisely because his
program is so comprehensive and in important ways even radical, it requires
massive action, implemented rapidly, oftentimes simultaneously. Otherwise, it
runs the risk of “petering out,” or worse, being blocked bit by bit, part by
part. Put differently, probably the only way such a momentous change has any
chance of coming about is through President Trump’s forceful manner.
The underlying
reasons for this are twofold:
The first has to
do with the context, with the overall environment in which change is to occur.
The post-World War II environment, largely the product of Western dominance and
of Western “liberal internationalism,” has been described as a “rules-based
order” – one governed
by “global, rule-based, structured
relationships” based on political, economic, and “liberal
internationalism.” In essence, this means that both domestic and international
systems rely heavily on bureaucratic organization and operation. And
bureaucracies tend
to be resistant to change, embracing it reluctantly and only in small doses: “Don’t
ask me to do on Tuesday anything materially different from what I was doing on
Monday” would be an apt motto. When the changes called for are massive, a sort
of natural resistance occurs, an almost instinctive attempt at blockage. Rare
will be the bureaucrat who willingly accepts the removal of even one “slot”
from his domain.
Secondly, because
the “Make America Great Again” idea touches on so many areas needing long overdue
reform and because it directly threatens the now deeply vested interests of the
Left, it is being met with dismay, shock, and what the Left calls “Resistance.”
The state of
affairs confronting President Trump is an America deeply polarized and in many
ways set adrift by the consequences of a decades-long extreme Left ascendance
that has largely destroyed traditional fundamental values, replacing them with
“woke” concepts, including the introduction of “new” genders. But not content
to introduce these, they have – in large part, successfully – imposed them upon
society. Refusal to accept them, refusal to use the “new” pronouns created to
accommodate these created genders leads to dismissal from work.
Trump and those
around him recognized that the United States had gone very far, too far, in its
decline. The dominant cultural and political position achieved by the extreme Left
in the United States over the past several decades was becoming entrenched in a
way that might make it impossible to reverse. The destruction of fundamental
norms was transforming America into something it had never been.
National Security
On the
international scene, probably the most graphic way to illustrate the magnitude
of the difficult situation confronting the new Administration – of the extent
to which the Left has penetrated all levels of society – is to show how far it
has gone with regard to the blurring and dilution of such concepts as terrorism
and threats to national security.
The United States,
on the eve of President Trump’s inauguration, was adrift, unwilling to stand up
to and resist massive state sponsorship of terrorism. It showed passivity in
the face of Iranian aggression, whether via proxies or directly. Attacks by
Iranian proxies, such as the Yemeni Houthis, were in essence allowed to block
commercial traffic in the Red Sea. The response, when it came, amounted to an
expansive deployment of U.S. – and some Allied – naval forces. The result of
that exorbitant display was shooting down with equally exorbitant hardware the
much cheaper missiles as they were being fired. In a nutshell: the fly-swatting
approach to extreme provocation.
So-called “spontaneous”
pro-Hamas “protests” started the day after the horrendous, massive Palestinian
pogrom of October 7th. These were openly supporting and praising
Hamas’ mass murders, rapes, kidnapping, and torture. They have become
widespread, part of a global outburst of antisemitism. The very people
committing genocide are the ones accusing Israel of that crime! They have often
resorted to intimidation and violence and to defacing public property. Often
openly associated with anti-American and even terrorist organizations, they
have called loudly to “free Palestine” “from sea to sea.” That these terms
explicitly call for the destruction of Israel and the mass killing of Jews is
known to all – except perhaps for what Lenin used to call “useful idiots”
supporting them. Until challenged by the President’s enforcement measures, they
have been largely unopposed.
The Democratic
Party and the Left more generally have not simply refrained from supporting the
President’s efforts to buttress national security and Americans’ safety. They
have placed stumbling blocks to deportations of foreign criminals or supporters
of terrorist groups. The Left’s sense of entitlement, its persistent derailment
of law enforcement, its interference with the protection of Americans against
their enemies under the guise of “defending human rights” is nothing short of
mind-boggling effrontery. Chants of “death to America” on American streets and
university campuses and in mosques go almost unnoticed. Advocacy in the same
venues for what is in essence tantamount to the evisceration of the U.S.
Constitution and American laws is barely noticed. And when, as recently
occurred, the President stated that foreign students who broke laws and
supported the enemies of this country would be arrested and deported, a howl
went up from so-called “liberal” “human rights” activists and organizations. When
a leading Palestinian organizer and participant in pro-Hamas campus “protests”
was arrested with a view to deportation, vocal demonstrations and opposition
suddenly and instantaneously sprang up, arguing that his rights were being
violated. That some Americans should feel entitled to behave in that manner
speaks volumes on how far pride in one’s own country and commitment to
principles and to its well-being have been destroyed. In other, healthier
times, such activities would have fallen under the label of “aiding and
abetting the enemy.”
These kinds of “arguments”
dovetail closely with the overall attitude of the Left (and now of the Democratic
Party as a whole) on unrestricted immigration. A wide range of Democratic governors
and mayors have explicitly said and acted on assertions of turning their cities
and states into “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens, ordering their law
enforcement agencies to refuse to cooperate with federal authorities on
enforcement.
The Domestic Scene
It was obvious
that turning things around would not be easy. Restoring fundamental norms –while
simultaneously reestablishing America’s economic vigor in face of a persistent
“tax-and-spend” profligacy coexisting with an ever-growing bureaucratic
bloating – was indeed a daunting task. It was clear that such a gargantuan
effort would carry with it major risks – another reason no one previously had
been willing to contemplate this sort of reform. While acknowledging possibly unavoidable costs, Donald Trump has
forged ahead, determined to reach the goal. He has indicated in public “asides,” that these would not be too big and
would likely be short-term.
President Trump
has started his term with solid popular support, with people impressed that
here is someone unafraid to tackle important issues. His unconventional methods
have, in some ways, actually strengthened that original “can do” image. And the
President needs that support to carry the effort to a successful conclusion.
Paradoxically, some of what he must do has the potential to generate
opposition: It could lead to at least temporary hurt to some of the very people
he is seeking to help.
A case in point is
the imposition of tariffs. These, almost by definition, are confrontational and
invariably trigger retaliation by the target entities. That, in turn, means
that people on all sides are likely to suffer – at least in the short term. Here,
as in other areas, President Trump seems to have planned well in advance,
knowing that he was in the driver’s seat. Not all tariffs are equal. Assessing
them as a tool needs to take into account who can best, or more easily,
withstand possible countermeasures. And in this game, the U.S. is very clearly
in a strong position. This was seen most recently when, in the current tiff
with Canada, the Ontario province prime minister threatened to impose
prohibitive levies on electricity export to several U.S. states, only to
reverse himself quickly. President Trump clearly was aware of the dominant
American position with regard to all his actual or contemplated targets, and
consequently was willing to go that route. In some of his many impromptu,
off-the-cuff remarks he has acknowledged the possibility, saying that whatever
the possible discomfort, it would not be significant.
Waste and Fraud
As already
mentioned, the President had realized from day one that the element of surprise
would be critical to the success of his ambitious plans. And he is being
incredibly successful in this. Not a day passes without multiple actions,
whether in the domestic or international realm, whether at the individual level
or that of groups or states. The pace has been so frenetic that the Wall
Street Journal started a “Trump Tracker.” The President has also chosen a
team of aides, who have been carrying out his directives with enthusiasm. That
some, like Elon Musk, are eccentric has actually injected additional drama into
the already dramatic flood-like stream of activity. The rapid-fire “bullets”
are coming so fast that the opposition has barely begun to deal with one when
several others have whizzed by. They remain in a state of shock, confused, and
not knowing quite what to do.
The President had
promised to cut waste, trim expenditures, and in general bring what had become
a bloated bureaucracy under control. As with the various other areas, he has
begun to deliver. The creation of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency)
under the leadership of Elon Musk, has been given the mandate to bring all this
about. It has already started to fulfill another campaign promise to eliminate
the Department of Education. On March
20, 2025, the President signed an executive order to that effect. Although the
President can significantly reduce funding and activities, the executive order
still requires Congressional action for its complete dismantling.
Large-scale
personnel cuts are already taking place throughout government agencies,
accompanied by widespread shock that someone is actually willing to undertake
it. With that also comes the no less expected outcry from the Left about the
suffering being inflicted by Trump to the proverbial “little guy.” The fact
that what is being cut is the “bloat” part of the bureaucracy goes unmentioned.
The rumors
of cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are just that. Trump officials have explicitly said there would
be no such cuts! Statements to the
contrary in the media and by Democrats are purposefully made to generate fear,
panic, and opposition. These thousands of employees being let go represent “hidden
unemployment” costing very large sums of money. Some employees were offered
buyout packages. Others will collect unemployment benefits until they find new
jobs. In general, these would, like other potential costs (e.g., tariffs) be
short term. Major change cannot succeed on only easy, costless moves.
Ongoing
investigations into various programs are uncovering not just waste and fraud,
but also that large sums are being spent to support America’s enemies. One
graphic example is that of USAID (United States Agency for International
Development), an agency of the State Department charged with the distribution
of U.S. assistance to foreign countries and groups. There, research presented
in Congressional testimony by the Middle East Forum, found out that some $164
million in USAID and State Department funds went “to organizations with
extremist ties, with at least $122 million directly benefiting groups aligned
with designated foreign terrorist organizations.” (MEF Dispatch, March 16,
2025).
Foreign Affairs
Everyone seems
glued to the conventional. President Trump has turned the unconventional into
an art form. On the very first days of his second term, he probably managed to
stir things up far more than anyone before him. He announced that Greenland (a sparsely
populated territorial entity dependent upon Denmark), was of strategic
importance to the U.S. and should therefore belong to the United States. Panama
was on the way to being controlled by China, an unacceptable proposition. It
had been given away for nothing in 1977 and consequently had to be returned to
the U.S.
As to the Middle
East conflict in Gaza, President Trump had a solution: Washington would take
over and turn the strip of land into a new “Mideast Riviera.” To complete the
picture, two million Gazans would be relocated to Egypt and Jordan. President
Trump even cited Gazans’ comments reported in the press that they would be
willing to be relocated because the proposed new locations were bound to be
better.
With one
statement, the President had shifted the whole tenor of discourse – not just on
Gaza but on the entire subject of war and peace in the region. The Arab states,
like everyone else, were taken by surprise, not knowing what to do with that
statement. Egypt and Jordan, the two states mentioned for the Gaza
resettlement, quickly rejected Trump’s proposal. Their initial response showed
just how unprepared they were for such an American shift. A meeting of the Arab
League was called at which a “cut-and-paste” Gaza reconstruction was put
forward. It was even more quickly dismissed by Trump: No.
While initially
flatly dismissive of Trump’s Greenland proposal, the government of Denmark then
indicated it might be willing to enter into negotiations. Panama, also firmly
opposed as a sovereign state, quickly began to move to cancel an existing
contract with a Hong Kong company to manage the Canal and turn such management
over to a U.S. contractor.
Other Issues Big and Small
President Trump
has accomplished so many things in a very short time that even with the “Trump
Tracker,” it is hard to keep up. Among those that should be listed, if only to
give additional flavor to the range covered are the following: an executive order
making English the official language; banning paper straws from federal buildings;
sanctioning the International Court (in part for issuing arrest warrants
against Netanyahu and other Israeli officials); banning transgenders from
women’s sports; withdrawing from and ending funding to the UN Human Rights
Council and UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency, in charge of
providing funds to Palestinian refugees); declaring South Africa’s ambassador
to the U.S. persona non grata and expelling him on short notice with the
explanation that he is anti-America and that he and his country are supporting “bad
people” – that is, Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
On some issues, as with the Russia-Ukraine war, the President’s statements
and actions have raised some serious questions even with those usually
supportive, the Wall Street Journal’s editors among them. His apparent willingness
to give the benefit of the doubt to Putin while dealing more severely with
Ukraine’s Zelensky has caused wonderment. It was, after all, the Russians who
invaded, and that on the heels of an openly aggressive policy of some years
leading to the invasion.
In appearing friendly to Moscow and critical
of Ukraine, Trump might be playing his usual game, except that, in this case,
Russian misperception of Trump’s tactic might lead Putin to believe that aggression pays off and that
he is getting the better of Trump, leading to further Russian aggression and
the risk of major conflict.
Yet, while there is room to worry, perhaps here, too, one should adopt a
more cautious approach in assessing the President’s words and deeds. As for
Putin, it might be wise for him to exercise caution. Why? The answer lies in a
sober, detached assessment of President Trump. Such an assessment will show the brilliance of President Trump’s
approach and the tendency to underestimate his shrewdness and persistence. Even as early as this in his Presidency,
world leaders are becoming aware that antagonizing Trump can be dangerous.
In Service of the
American People
One of the many criticisms (one might say, accusations) leveled at
President Trump has been that his sole concern has been himself, that
everything has always revolved around what he defined as good for him. That
is both false and unjust. It is also the mistake that has led to incorrect
analysis and conclusions.
Perhaps a nicer way to put it is that anyone who seeks and attains a position
of power – certainly one at the summit of government – must have tremendous
ambition. And what is ambition but willing the self to reach the top. But how
does one define “self”? Is it, as many seem to have concluded, the narrowest
possible definition, meaning that anything undertaken by the individual
concerned as motivated solely for what he sees as his own personal
satisfaction – totally unconcerned for others? Or is it something, something
broader? Also, is that ambition all-consuming, a burning fire destroying
everything? Or is it more tempered, open to advice and counsel?
President Trump has made it abundantly clear that he has a very solid ego
and thinks highly of himself. It is, or should be, equally clear that his
concept of self is far from the narrow, selfish notion some profess to see. President
Trump’s vision of the self is of someone with a mission, with a vision. That
vision, as he has repeatedly indicated, is to “Make America Great Again.” And
that, in turn, is to restore the fundamental values that had made America great
in the first place. The guiding document underlying much of that greatness is
the United States Constitution, a document that, without doubt, is the wisest
written by man, so in harmony is it with the people for whom it was written.
What is also abundantly clear about Donald Trump is that he is a man with
the courage of his convictions. His vision is coupled with the determination to
translate that vision into reality. In other words, his concept of self is a
broad one that encapsulates a determination to leave behind a legacy of
achievement and good for the people. It is for that reason, too, that he has
been so steadfast. It is fair to say that, until now, no one has ever been so
bold as to undertake such a massive task.
Also clear is that world leaders, from the smallest to major powers, are
afraid of Trump. The President has shown on many occasions that he means
business and that to antagonize him is not a good idea. People are simply not
used to seeing someone who promises and then actually delivers – even against daunting odds.
And when people see that, they are afraid: Who knows what he might do when
challenged?
Behind the Veil
This view of the President, in turn, leads to one final and major
conclusion – the fact that Donald Trump has been re-elected President is not
just some coincidence. The tumultuous events of the past few years – the wars,
the violence, the destruction of fundamental values, the rise of extremist
movements worldwide, the restoration of the Jewish People to its ancient Land,
as well as the seemingly sudden rise of a virulent antisemitism so vitriolic
that its adherents seem so blind as to pursue it even against their own best
self-interest – are not a coincidence.
The same destructive forces that have been at work elsewhere have also
attempted to assassinate President Trump. That he survived to become President,
that he has and is accomplishing so much already – none of that either is
simple coincidence.
A short story, a joke with a moral, that has been around for a while, will
illustrate the final conclusion: It is told about a self-professed atheist who,
late for a meeting and unable to finding parking, addressed the Almighty in desperation,
saying: “Please find me a parking spot; if You do, I will keep all the commandments!”
As he said these words, a spot opened up. “Forget it,” said the atheist. “I
just found one.”
It is only such a person who would not see that Donald Trump’s ascendancy
to the presidency at this time is only because the Almighty wanted it to be. We,
consequently, must pray that the Almighty continue to guide and protect
President Trump and grant him success in his endeavors.
Dr. Krakowski is President and CEO
of EDK Consulting. He is a former aide to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of
Defense and former professor of International Relations and Law. He has advised
the U.S. Undersecretary and the Deputy Secretary of Defense on strategy for the
War on Terror. Dr. Krakowski has contributed chapters in books and written
extensively in periodicals. He has been a frequent guest on national
radio and television programs. He holds a PhD and MPhil from Columbia
University in New York, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C.
