'When He Was 47, It Was a Very Good Year'

But now the days are short

I'm in the autumn of the year

And now I think of my life as vintage wine

From fine old kegs

From the brim to the dregs

It poured sweet and clear

It was a very good year

~ 'When I Was 17' by Ervin Drake

This is Trump's first year of his second term as the 47th President of the United States.

Something I know most of us thought we'd never see, although, Lord, didn't we have hope. High hopes.

The president will be 80 years old in June.

47 is a very different fellow from 45. Mellower. More determined. Still blustering, but one must now be watchful for what's concealed behind the noise.

He has been tempered by fires of such adversity, I will venture he never thought them possible. 

He has been touched by the hand of divine intervention twice and delivered safely...and changed for the better. A depth, a subtle profoundness now exists that wasn't evident before, even though it might have been there. It's not maudlin or trotted out for display purposes.

It's just there.

Trump has gained in wisdom and lost in initial trust - you must earn it from him now.

What this painful transformation has gained for the country, though, is inestimable in benefits. This time, a battle-ready, unified, talented beyond-measure cabinet takes on the world for their boss...and us. This time, a Trump administration came roaring into office with plans at the ready to be enacted, not ready to plan.

No neophytes, no amateurs, no lightweights for all the surprises among them, with all the 'new' names. Trump has masterfully assembled a non-establishment, non-crony crew of professionals who are each uniquely qualified to sit in the chairs they occupy. And they are ruthless in executing a whole-of-the-moon administration strategy charted in the months before they had even taken oaths of office,

And what's been accomplished in 365 days has been gobsmacking. The only word for it, and all at a breathtaking speed that keeps friends on edge and enemies sweating.

Sure, he's still TRUMP. He steps into it, has you sinking into a chair, groaning, over something he's said, and there are those OMG moments of eyeball rolls.

Yeah. He's DONALD TRUMP. Please don't ever let that essential being change.

But I trust him now. I will wait to see how a situation works out before immediately calling something a bad move. I trust his brain trust. I trust his heart.

It's not blind faith, and I'm not a cult member - I never have been. But his demeanor when it matters and his actions have earned my respect, and the latitude to give him room to operate before I wig out.

It has been a momentous year.

The White House put out a helpful list of (imagine that) 365 things this Trump team has accomplished. It's great to use as a mind nudge, a reminder, as there has been just so much going on. So much that a lot has escaped notice, too.

They were thoughtful enough to break it into categories.

If anyone ever deserved to toot their own horns, baby - break out the trumpets.

365 WINS IN 365 DAYS: President Trump’s Return Marks New Era of Success, Prosperity

One year ago today, President Donald J. Trump returned to office with a resounding mandate to restore prosperity, secure the border, rebuild American strength, and put the American people first. In just 365 days, President Trump has delivered truly transformative results with the most accomplished first year of any presidential term in modern history.

From negative net migration for the first time in 50 years to the largest homicide drop on record, trillions in reshored investments, peace deals ending multiple wars, record energy production, and massive bureaucracy cuts, President Trump has put America First with urgency — and he’s just getting started.

The list starts with securing our borders. He certainly has kept those promises.

1. Achieved negative net migration in 2025, reversing a 50-year trend and restoring U.S. control over immigration flows for the first time in a generation.
2. Removed more than 2.6 million illegal aliens from the United States through deportations and voluntary self-departures.
3. Carried out over 650,000 arrests, detentions, and deportations of illegal aliens — including the worst of the worst criminal illegal alien killers, rapists, gang members, and repeat offenders.
4. Deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens charged with or convicted of crimes.
5. Induced two million self-deportations by ending Biden-era release incentives and restoring credible consequences.

So much in this category alone.

...16. Revoked over 100,000 visas tied to fraud, criminal activity, or national security concerns.

17. Revoked visas tied to pro-Hamas agitators on college campuses, restoring safety, free speech, and American values to universities across the nation.

18. Paused visa processing for 75 high-risk countries pending enhanced security vetting.

19. Blocked more than 10,000 individuals with narcoterrorism or cartel ties from entering the country

20. Conducted 206 million benefits-eligibility checks to ensure taxpayer-funded programs serve Americans and lawful residents only.

21. Terminated federal benefits for at least 1.4 million illegal aliens improperly receiving public assistance.

In community safety, the numbers are phenomenal, and the gains are tangible, along with capturing a record number of criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

53. Reversed the nationwide violent crime surge, driving nationwide drops in rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults by 6%, 19%, and 10%, respectively.
54. Cut overdose deaths by 21% over last year, with overdose deaths declining each month since President Trump took office.
55. Designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction to rapidly dismantle trafficking networks.
56. Oversaw a 25% decrease in the number of on-duty law enforcement officer deaths.

The economic gains are easy to read, and they should start being felt shortly, and that's what Republicans need to be hammering away on. Every single one of these points is an administration 'attaboy,' and a rebuke to legacy media naysayers.

68. Drove gas prices to their lowest level in nearly five years, with prices below $3 per gallon in 43 states and below $2 per gallon in 19 states.
69. Created 654,000 private-sector jobs following deregulation, tax relief, and restored investment confidence.
70. Ensured 100% of net job growth went to native-born Americans by enforcing immigration laws.
71. Achieved massive economic growth, with real GDP rising 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025 — smashing economists’ expectations and setting the stage for future growth, with GDP projected to be even higher in the fourth quarter as President Trump’s policies continue to take effect.
72. Oversaw the largest increase in blue-collar wage growth in nearly 60 years.
73. Increased private-sector real earnings by $1,100 annually — earning back some of the $2,900 in purchasing power workers lost under Biden.
74. Tamed inflation, running at just 2.4% since President Trump took office — down 70% from its Biden-era peak.

I wanted to pause for a minute here and bring in a short Peter St Onge video I watched this morning. We are rockin' along, putting the lie to legacy media's doom-saying concerning the Trump tariffs.

This is just so incredibly heartening.

The trade deficit took a powder. It crashed to the lowest number since 2009.

America's trade deficit plunges by half to the smallest in nearly 2 decades.

- Chinese imports crashed
- American exports grew
- Tariff inflation was absorbed by exporters
- Trillions of investment incoming

Instead of importing Chinese junk we’re importing factories. pic.twitter.com/usQYETT1IB

— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) January 19, 2026

105. Secured new and improved trade agreements with major U.S. trading partners covering more than half of global GDP — including the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, China, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel, Switzerland, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
106. Sent tariff revenues soaring, collecting $300 billion under expanded enforcement and new policies.
107. Reduced the trade deficit to its lowest since 2009.
108. Brought U.S. exports to their second-highest value on record.
109. Restored a 25% tariff on steel imports and elevated the tariff to 25% on aluminum imports to protect these critical American industries from unfair foreign competition – a move praised by the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Aluminum Association, and businesses across the country.

So many achievements on a global scale, but the most important has been the guiding principle behind them all.

141. Directed the Secretary of State to declare that U.S. foreign policy will “always put America and American citizens first.”

I've only touched through the first third of their list - you get the idea.

The Trump administration has been a juggernaut.

It has been a very good year to be an American with this president, who remembers who voted for him.

And what we voted FOR.

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