I first became aware of Donald Trump in the late seventies.  I was not impressed.  In fact, I didn't like him.  I thought he was a braggart and a man who went out of his way to disrespect women.  I wouldn't have said so at the time, but he was clearly a narcissist.

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood in the Bronx, I have been around men like him all my life.  They're going to do this; they're going to do that.  They have this; they have that.  I took him to be a person so full of himself that his company would be unbearable.

I didn't give him much hope of winning the presidency, either, but as election day neared, friends would ask what I thought a Trump presidency would look like.  Forced at that point to think about it, I would say that as a businessman, at least he would make quality appointments to the power positions in his administration – you can't run a successful business without being able to delegate authority to a strong team of employees. 

As far as Trump's narcissism, I'm not sure that hurts him as a president.  Sure, he could show better discretion with what he says – he does seem to have an almost Plaxico Burress-type dedication to shooting himself in the foot (see L'Affaire Comey).  Yet I think you need to have a certain amount of narcissism to be a successful president, although it doesn't guarantee success. 

Just look at our second-most recent president, a solipsist so narcissistic he actually thought his mere presence would slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet.  Barry took narcissism to a new level, seemingly believing himself some kind of god, a belief fed by the nearly total hagiographic coverage he received from the Fourth Estate, our once nationally treasured free press, reduced to sycophantic (more like "sycofanatic") exaltation of the "light bearer," the man with the "crease."

The difference between Barry's narcissism and Trump's is this: Trump is the guy who looks at the most beautiful girl at the party and says, "I can get her number."  Barry would look at the same girl and say, "She wants me."  Trump would then pursue the girl, and Barry would walk away, because obviously, she is not good enough for him, and besides, someone told him there's a mirror in the next room. 

In any case, while I didn't hold out much hope of Trump winning the election, I wasn't exactly terrified of a Trump presidency.

Of course, Trump could cure cancer, and the New York Times headline would be "Millions Die before Trump Acts."  The newspapers (newspapers were something people used to buy on their way to work in the morning before Barry, back when there were jobs) have no use for Donald Trump, therefore you will never hear a word of credit given to the man for anything he ever does, no matter how efficacious.  It will never matter how much he succeeds; to the media, he will never be a success.  

Yet I have to admit I am impressed with what he has done since assuming the mantle of the most powerful man on the planet. 

He restarted the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, a surefire signal to the fossil fuel industry that they are no longer the enemy.  Reversing another of Barry's foolish policies, he has opened the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as the Arctic Ocean to fossil fuel exploration.  In addition, he has shown rightful skepticism for global warming religious cultism, which demands we destroy our economy today to prevent something that may or may not happen in a hundred years.

He appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and deftly allowed the Democrats to burn themselves to the ground, negating any possibility they might have ever had of stopping his next Supreme appointment.

Just as Obama talked up illegal immigration, Trump has talked it down, resulting in an astounding reduction in illegal border crossing.  Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said, "We've seen a dramatic reduction in illegal migration across the southwest border.  In fact, March apprehensions were 30 percent lower than February apprehensions and 64% lower than the same time [last] year."

Unlike that petty scold Barry, Trump understands that onerous regulation stunts business growth.  Using his pen, his phone, and the Congressional Review Act, he has cut costly business regulations implemented in the frenetic closing days of Obama's reign here on earth.  He also established a rule whereby for every new federal regulation implemented, two existing regulations must be eliminated.

In early May, the House of Representatives passed legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare.  The measure still has to go through the Senate, but at least the process to rid the nation of Obama's crowning achievement has begun.

He has proposed tax reform, with key points being:

1. A reduction of the corporate tax rate from 39.1% to 15%
2. Year one total expensing of most equipment purchases
3. Special one-time tax on repatriated monies held overseas
4. Establishment of a territorial tax system eliminating double taxation for American companies
5. Reduction of the seven current tax brackets to three, 10%, 25%, and 35%, as well as doubling the standard deduction
6. The elimination of the Estate Tax
7. Elimination of the deduction for state and local taxes, while keeping the charitable contributions and mortgage interest deductions
8. Repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax
9. Repeal of the 3.8% Obamacare Tax

Just a word about number 3: A tax-free, one-time repatriation of after-tax monies now held overseas by U. S. corporations hiding from the 39.1% additional tax they would now pay bringing that money home is something we conservatives have been urging for years.  Today, companies feel it's better business leaving cash earned and taxed abroad, overseas, out of Uncle Sam's confiscatory understanding of corporate profits. 

Some say this figure is as high as 2.5 trillion dollars, and enticing business to put that money to productive use here in America would juice the economy and create jobs by empowering businessmen to do the investing, unlike with Barry's stimulus, which was more of a reward for unions and "Friends of Barack."

Democrats believe that the government knows best how to spend our tax money – certainly better than any businessman, who during the eight years of enlightened progressive leadership has become synonymous with evil.

My personal favorite on the list of Trump's successes is how he has behaved internationally.

On April 6, while having dinner with the Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, Trump ordered a cruise missile attack against the Assad regime in Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that killed women and children.

China led by Xi considers itself a potential military peer-level competitor with America.  Xi has been pushing poor Barry around for eight years. 

There Xi is, his fork full of chocolate cake frozen in midair halfway to his mouth, a brown smudge of icing on his chin, staring into space as an aide whispers in his ear, telling him the U.S. has just attacked Syria. 

Trump, with the hint of a smile says to him, "Enough about us.  Let's talk about you.  How do you feel about our attack on Syria?  Another piece of cake?" 

You have to admit that was the best use of 59 cruise missiles in the history of cruise missiles.  In one fell swoop, Trump sent a message to Russia, Iran, Syria, China, and North Korea.  Immediately afterward, China halted the purchase of North Korean coal, the Hermit Kingdom's only source of hard currency, and started to move troops to the border between itself and North Korea.

It also showed the world that Barry is history, that there's a new, stronger American president, unafraid to use military might in support of the nation's interests.  No more bowing and scraping, and no more apologies.

I thought I would never say this about Donald Trump, but...brilliant!

The reception, red carpet and all, Trump received in Saudi Arabia was nothing short of revelatory, demonstrating how little respect the world had for Barack Obama and how much respect they have for a man of action.  Remember that the last time Obama went to China, they made him deplane from the rear of Air Force One.

The $100-billion-plus arms deal Trump signed during his visit is historic.  Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir declared, "We expect that these investments over the next ten years or so will provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in both the United States and in Saudi Arabia.  They will lead to a transfer of technology from the US to Saudi Arabia, enhance our economy and also enhance the American investments in Saudi Arabia, which already are the largest investments of anyone."

Can anyone recall Obama ever in his eight years of being our president creating even one job?

Yes, Trump may be a narcissist, but he's our narcissist.  I'll take that any day over Obama, who was more of a world citizen acting as if he was doing us a favor being our president.