For over 2 months, America has waited for the inauguration of the new (and old) president. The lame-duck period has been eventful to say the least, but it’s time to bring in a new administration with new agendas, new personnel, and new rhetoric. And I have stuff to say. So I’ll say it. Here. And now. And in this article.
The Inauguration
The 74th Inauguration took place on January 20th, 2025. As we all know, it ushered in President Donald Trump to his second, non-consecutive term. This has only happened once before in American history, and by making political comebacks a non-one-time thing, Donald Trump has permanently relegated President Grover Cleveland to the “completely irrelevant and uninteresting presidents’ club”. But apart from the sufferings of poor Mr. Cleveland, this inauguration also brought other interesting idiosyncrasies. For one, it was inside, so only the nation’s top politicians, billionaires, and people who married someone who matters got to attend. For another thing, Trump delivered a speech about the “Golden Age of America” that contrasted starkly with the “We are all going to die and I am the only man standing in Ragnarok’s way” vibe of his first inaugural address.
He spoke of deregulation, tariffs, and undoing Biden’s blunders. He spoke of Ukraine, of Israel, of China, of Russia. He spoke of Elon’s space ships and of manifesting our destiny on the frozen shores of Greenland. It was a classic Trump speech of applause lines, chaotic organization, and random musings from the President. He did keep it under 3,000 words, though, so there was some measure of brevity.
The ceremony went off without a hitch, except Carrie Underwood having to wing her performance after the audio system failed. Apart from that, the viewers of the inauguration were treated to Elon Musk jumping up and down after Trump mentioned Mars, Mark Zuckerberg ogling Jeff Bezos’ inappropriately-dressed wife, and Kamala Harris contemplating killing everybody on the stage.
But by the end of the ceremony and the speeches, Biden was boarding Marine 1 for Rehoboth Beach. He can finally have all the chocolate chocolate chip ice cream he wants. And Trump, for his part, was off to sign executive orders, and speaking of executive orders, those were a mixed bag…
Executive Orders
Sometimes, a president comes along who considers the Constitution a canvas. A beautiful canvas to throw paint at, to see what sticks. And throw paint the President did. Trump signed a lot of executive orders in his first week, some of which were good, some of which were bad. A good series of orders would be the ones shutting down the border. A bad one would be the order unilaterally redefining birthright citizenship. Which a president cannot do. Because that’s not his job. The Supreme Court will have a fun time with that one.Â
He reinstated the Houthis as terrorists, designated the cartels as such, repealed sanctions on Israeli settlers. He signed an order designed to rid the federal government of DEI, and rolled back some transgender-friendly orders Biden instituted. Oh and he also implemented some of the worst economic policy in 110 years.
The Tariffs
The tariffs. How could we forget the tariffs? Do you like avocadoes costing $5 a pop? How about your $1,000 iPhone being even more expensive? Then you’re in for a fun 4 years.
In fairness, mild tariffs against China perhaps aren’t a horrific idea. I gravitate towards “free-trade at all costs” as an economic philosophy, but I suppose the single biggest threat to the free world ought not be among our biggest trade partners. It’ll raise prices, but unlike Biden-era inflation, at least we’ll be sticking it to the commies with this one. Consider it a sacrifice on behalf of the Uyghurs.
But Mexico and Canada? Those tariffs are dumb. Yes, Trump delayed them on Mexico in exchange for deploying 10,000 Mexican troops on the border to combat Fentanyl smuggling, and Canada bolstering cross-border anti-drug efforts. But they are still due to begin next month, and there is no good reason to implement them. They won’t revive the rust belt.
The reality is that Ford’s Mexican car factories aren’t big thieves of American jobs. You want to know what killed the Rust Belt? Unions. Not Mexicans. And there is nothing anyone can do to fix that. Unless labor unions start accepting the fact that a General Electric pipefitter doesn’t deserve $200,000 per year, labor costs will remain sky-high and companies will never move back. So as soon as a little company called Toyota figured out how to build a better car for less, the Steel Belt became the Rust Belt. Tariffs solve none of that. They force Americans to buy shoddier, pricier goods because the free market isn’t allowed to disincentivize that kind of manufacturing.
Even if Trump manages to force companies into the U.S., they won’t set up shop where Trump wants them to. Like I said, labor costs in the Rust Belt are ludicrous because unions have established a chokehold on the region that would make Darth Vader look like a joke. If they move anywhere, it will be to places that have pro-business policies, places that are already doing okay, places like Spartanburg, South Carolina, home of a massive BMW plant. The people of Ohio and Indiana will continue to languish in crippling rates of industrial decay and opioid use, despite Trump’s promises.
The First Month
Trump has been on a roll these last few weeks. Everywhere from the Middle-East to the fields of Ukraine to the offices of Federal agencies has felt the shakeup.
The Federal Workforce
He seems to have made efforts to shrink the Federal Government, and has tried to trim the budget where possible (without touching Social Security like they need to because the Republicans would like to win an election within the next 25 years). Some good things have been done to achieve this, some bad. For example, Trump seems intent on dismantling the Department of Education, which is where 4,400 employees sit around and decide how to best allocate federal money to a state issue. Trump also offered fairly generous buyouts to scores of federal employees, 75,000 of whom have taken the deal and are preparing to quit their jobs. This may be to help sustain the upcoming tax cuts, which are expected to noticeably reduce federal income.
Foreign Aid
As far as foreign aid goes, the headlines belong to USAID. Elon Musk has set his sights on the agency as a cesspool of idiotic left-wing spending. DEI in Serbia, transgender opera shows in Colombia, you name it. The receipts are all there. But I’d argue USAID ought not be dismantled entirely. USAID, in addition to all the silly stuff, it puts money toward combatting Chinese influence in the 3rd world. With their Belt and Road initiative an ever-present threat, USAID acts as a counter to it. Perhaps the boys at DOGE will come up with a replacement for the agency, but until such time, America’s influence may wane in countries that took the money.
He also temporarily shut down all foreign aid in general (save for Israel and Egypt because he has big plans for both). That’s a bad move, because Ukraine exists, and artillery shells don’t buy themselves. The good news is that Ukraine can probably coast on what the Biden Administration left them until a deal is made. Trump is also sitting on a couple billion dollars he can unfreeze if the Ukraine situation gets truly dire. For the moment, though, the Ukrainians are holding the line.
The Middle East
I’m sure we’ve all heard the Trump plan for Gaza by now, and while there will be a separate article for such a momentous change in Middle-East policy, it’s worth reviewing here. Essentially, we come in, evacuate all 2 million residents, bulldoze the rubble, and turn Gaza into an economic development zone, presumably for Saudi and Emirati businessmen to come and invest in. When it’s all said and done, the fate of the displaced Palestinians is on shaky ground. The president seems keen on keeping them out, while his press secretary seems keen to emphasize the temporary nature of the removal. The hope is that by the end of the process, Gaza will look more like Dubai than the threshold of hell. Now, I will explain why we all ought to calm down and not start shouting about ethnic cleansing in the specialized article, but needless to say, Trump is not adhering to the conventional wisdom here.
The plan has potential, but for now, what I’ll say is that Trump thought so far outside the box on this one that the box may not even exist anymore. We’ll see how this pans out.
The Transgender Issue
Trump isn’t exactly a progressive on the topic of transgender affairs, and insofar as the Federal Government has the authority to police this kind of thing, Trump has drawn a line in the sand. Federal buildings’ bathrooms, for example, are now much more clear in their delineation of what qualifies as a man or woman. Biological men are now banned from women’s sports as well, and federal funding is now frozen for hospitals providing transgender-related services. His stances on trans-related medicine and sports are relatively popular with Americans currently. It’s clear the issue of gender is going to be dealt with very differently over the next 4 years.
Conclusion
To round off, Trump is currently a wrecking-ball. Everyone knew that was the case, but that has proven truer than anyone expected. Every single day there is some kind of note-worthy news out of the White House, and you can be sure to catch it at The Roundup.
Tune in for incoming articles about tariffs, the “Gaz-a-lago” plan, and that all-important Luka Doncic trade!
