February 16, 2025
No More Mr. Nice Guy
By Kevin Finn

During his first term, President Trump amassed a remarkable record of achievements. In so doing, he also infuriated the swamp because he demonstrated how much better off Americans were without the swamp’s constant intrusions into every aspect of their lives. He was like the new CEO in a company where the employees had been embezzling for years — which, as we’re finding out now, was pretty close to the truth.

Trump 45 likely expected resistance from the Democrats while naïvely imagining that Republicans would back him up. We all know how that worked out. There were quite a few instances during his first term in which the left condemned him for acting too harshly, while at the same time he disappointed his supporters, who desired that he take stronger actions.

The difference between Trump 45 and Trump 47 are remarkable. Those on the left are still complaining, but Trump 47 is acting so quickly that they can’t keep up.

One of the major differences between Trump 45 and Trump 47 lies in his personnel choices. It’s been said that “personnel is policy,” and there could not be a starker difference between the rosters of his first and second terms.

Pres. Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May of 2017 because of how Comey mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and illegal servers. At the time, the FBI was also investigating claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election with possible ties to the Trump campaign, and so leftists claimed that Trump was obstructing justice. Trump replaced Comey with Christopher Wray, who not only did nothing to reform the FBI, but presided over multiple scandals himself, the raid on Mar-a-Lago being a prime example.

Trump 45’s appointment of Jeff Sessions as attorney general (A.G.) was first met with approval by conservatives. In a stunning turn of events, Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, which was seen by conservatives as a betrayal. While Trump publicly criticized Sessions on a few occasions, he didn’t remove him from office until later in his term. Many Trump-supporters found this too lenient.

Trump 47 nominated Pam Bondi for A.G., and one of the first things she did was to file lawsuits against N.Y. governor Kathy Hochul and N.Y. A.G. Letitia James for their roles in encouraging illegal immigration. Where A.G. Sessions was timid and reclusive, A.G. Bondi is boldly taking action to carry out Trump’s America First agenda.

In his first term, Pres. Trump frequently referred to hostile media outlets as the “enemy of the people.” Leftists interpreted this as an attack on the 1st Amendment, an attempt to delegitimize journalism, and another example of the oft-cited “danger to democracy.” Meanwhile, conservatives desired more formal actions, such as revoking press credentials or even pursuing defamation lawsuits.

Trump 45 had four press secretaries. Sean Spicer and Stephanie Grisham were able but unremarkable, the latter leaving under inauspicious circumstances. On the other hand, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany deftly and gracefully handled hostile media questioners.

Trump 47 appointed the youngest White House press secretary in history. Twenty-seven-year-old Karoline Leavitt quickly rearranged the Brady Press Room, granting access to more independent news outlets. She’s also proven to be just as quick on her feet as Sanders and McEnany as she easily answers questions, often without referring to notes.

Trump 45 revoked the security clearances of some intelligence officers who had been critical of him, claiming national security concerns and alleged partisan behavior. His political adversaries saw this as retaliation. His supporters, meanwhile, were hoping for a restructuring or an overhaul of the FBI and the DOJ along with a purge of his political adversaries. These did not happen.

Trump 47 revoked the security clearances of all 51 intelligence officials who signed the Hunter Biden laptop letter as well as numerous other officials, such as Anthony Fauci and John Bolton.

The Senate recently confirmed John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard as CIA director and director of National Intelligence, respectively. Ratcliffe, a former DNI himself, swore to re-establish “apolitical” intelligence-gathering at the CIA and said he would rid the CIA of agents with “political or personal biases.” As DNI, Ms. Gabbard has vowed to “increase information-sharing, collect and analyze apolitical and unbiased information, end the politicization of the intelligence community and rebuild trust through transparency and accountability.”

Kash Patel reportedly has interesting plans for the FBI, basically letting “cops be cops.” Hopefully, the Senate will confirm him.

One of the most contentious issues of Trump’s first term was border security. He campaigned on this issue in 2015 and again in 2024. His “zero tolerance” policy has always been criticized by the left as harsh and punitive against aliens seeking asylum. Conservatives have responded that many of the asylum claims are suspicious and that most foreigners are drawn by our generous welfare programs.

Trump 45’s administration took some steps against sanctuary cities, although conservatives argued that the response was not as forceful as it could have been. They felt he should have pushed harder for legislation or executive actions to withhold federal funds from these jurisdictions.

Back in 2019, Jeh Johnson, DHS Secretary under President Obama, commented on encounters with illegal aliens at the border: “If it was above 1,000 that was a relatively bad number and I was going to be in a bad mood the whole day. ... I know that a thousand overwhelms the system. I cannot begin to imagine what 4,000 a day looks like, so we are truly in a crisis.” Under Joe Biden, on December 18, 2023, that number reached 14,509.

In his second term, Pres. Trump is taking this issue even more seriously. He appointed longtime law enforcement officer Tom Homan as “border czar” and has promised mass deportations. For his part, Mr. Homan has said, “Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority. ... They pose the most danger to this country.” Referring to mayors and governors, he said, “If they openly impede us, that’s a violation of federal law. It’s a felony. If they knowingly harbor and conceal an alien, that’s a felony. The Trump administration will hold them accountable through prosecution.”

True to form, Trump 47’s Department of Justice announced lawsuits against New York’s Hochul and James over “sanctuary” status. A.G. Pam Bondi said, “This is a new DOJ. New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today. As you know, we sued Illinois,” she added. “New York didn’t listen. So now you’re next.”

It’s worth mentioning that Trump’s actions in his first term had various justifications and were often framed as responses to perceived corruption or inefficiency, whereas his critics argued that these actions undermined democratic institutions or were motivated by personal vendettas. It is to be expected that the same criticism will be leveled against him moving forward.

When all is said and done, however, there are substantial and welcome differences between Trump 45 and Trump 47. Pres. Trump appears to have grown into the presidency, having learned a great deal from the mistakes of his first term and Joe Biden’s catastrophic “reign of error.” The near-fatal assassination attempt of July 13, 2024 seems to have sobered him, and he has spoken of his belief that God intervened on his behalf on that fateful day.

Buckle up. The next four years promise to be glorious.