No, I am not in love with Trump. He still makes me cringe sometimes, and I still don't understand the Canada/51st state thing at all, and want nothing to do with Gaza if he is serious about that. 

But there are two vital things about him which I got completely, totally, and without question wrong. 

Walter Kirn slapped me in the face (not literally) with a single tweet. 

Wish I had a dollar for all the pros last year who told me Trump can't share the limelight and would never bring on Kennedy and the others

Guy has shared more limelight than most politicians ever

pic.twitter.com/Oa3Gzx7e8N

— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) February 13, 2025

Boom. At least it was a "boom" for me, because I was one of those people who was absolutely certain that Trump was too immature, too narcissistic, and too lacking in self-awareness to put his ego in check and hire the best people and support them. More than that, Trump has withstood weeks of attacks on his "ceding power" to "President Musk."

And he has shrugged it all off and pushed his collaborators to the front, empowered them, and backed them every step along the way despite the Democrats and the Pravda Media baiting him hourly on how weak he appears. 

FASCINATING! - Elon Musk & Trump - Full DOGE Press Conference In Oval Office #DOGE #ElonMusk #Trump pic.twitter.com/cFljeysl0h

— Indicrat (@Indicrat) February 12, 2025

As the Democrats and the Pravda Media scream about "President Musk," Donald Trump invites him to give a press conference in the Oval Office with Little X running around. Trump seems so comfortable in his own skin that the richest man in the world waxing about his role in the government isn't threatening at all; he invited it, and handed the mic over to him. 

Same with Kennedy. Same with Gabbard. 

Bobby Kennedy about President Trump

"A lot of people told me I should not trust President Trump. And that I should get our agreement in writing. But we just had a handshake. And every single thing President Trump has promised me, he has done. He has done more than he said. I… pic.twitter.com/E7ovHNiAuv

— Technosmith (@itechnosmith) February 13, 2025

Rather than disposing of his allies like used tissues, he went to bat for them, pushed them to the forefront, and made himself bigger not by crowding them out but by adding their charisma to his. 

I was also wrong about another issue that is perhaps even more important: his competence to take on the Deep State and win. 

During his first term, I came to the conclusion that Trump didn't understand government well enough and that by the end of his term, he hadn't destroyed the Deep State, but rather they destroyed him. I stand by my assessment of the success of the Deep State. It hobbled him in his first term, which ended with the annus horribilis of 2020. The Deep State ran the United States in 2020, leading to Trump's narrow defeat in the 2020 election. 

I worried that this term would be a repeat of the first--a missed opportunity to destroy the Deep State. 

Boy, was I wrong. Trump took the lumps, took the lesson, and came into his second term with a shock and awe plan that has the transnational elite reeling, the Deep State terrified and flailing, and doubters taking a second and third look. 

The bolder Trump is, the higher his approval ratings. 

He has assembled a dream team, empowered them to go to war with the bureaucracy, and at least for now, they are winning. The elite is playing a game of chicken right now with their legal strategy, hoping to delay what appears to be inevitable. 

As they valorize the bureaucracy and Pravda outlets like The New York Times suddenly question whether a dime could be cut out of the budget, the Republicans keep wiping the floor with them. 

Wow. Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Special Services, testifying in front of the DOGE Subcommittee, says by implementing robust ID verification could save $1 trillion every single year in entitlements.

"Between federal, state, and local government, you can save one trillion… pic.twitter.com/aWsMzNHLcc

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 12, 2025

A TRILLION dollars, just by doing the most obvious things. And the Democrats are screaming to defend the fraud. 

Believe it or not, even some normal people are scared enough about change and still trust the Democrats enough to buy the "woe is me" propaganda, but enough people are waking up that the Democrats are in a losing battle. Trump won't win every fight, but he is wracking up a lot of wins. 

I supported Ron DeSantis in the primaries because I thought Trump would have the will to fight, but not a winning strategy. 

I was wrong. Trump might still be stopped, but it won't be due to his inherent weaknesses. He is performing masterfully.