Donald J. Trump’s improbable presidency has been the most consequential presidency in modern times and his influence on American politics is ongoing and permanent.

From the time he rode down that escalator in July 2015 to announce his candidacy for the office, nothing has been the same.

Unlike small-minded liberals who outwardly cheered for the failure of Trump’s tenure -- negative consequences to the country be damned -- should there be a Biden administration, there is no desire here for it to “fail.” If the Senate stays safely in Republican hands, thus assuring a split government, there will be no Green New Deal, no headlong rush to abolish fossil fuels, no outlawing of jet travel or beef farming, no elevation of Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico to statehood (which means no additional Democratic House and Senate seats), no packing of the Supreme Court, no abolishing of the 2^nd Amendment and no huge, unrestricted increase in taxes. If the Republican-controlled Senate holds true to conservative principles, the amount of extreme progressive legislation and initiatives that can make it into actual law are manageable and survivable. No one needs to cheer for failure.

Certainly, a Democratic administration can do a lot of damage by executive order and judicial activism. Rulings based on painfully arbitrary considerations of “social justice” rather than sound economic reasoning or national security concerns will be the order of the day, much like they were in the Obama years. Nonetheless, regardless of the officeholder’s party, the hope of any rational person is that daily life continues to move along reasonably smoothly, people are working, businesses are profitable, and the country is safe.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Trump’s presidency was his unabashed pro-American stance on everything. Progressives tried to somehow twist that position into being “racist” or anti-immigrant. But whether it was the booming economy, the record-low unemployment among traditional Democratic voters (blacks, women, Hispanics), our new-found energy independence, our rejuvenated/rebuilt military, vastly increased border security, advantageous new international trade agreements like the USMCA, lowered income taxes, finally standing up to China with respect to trade, currency manipulation and theft of intellectual property, all of President Trump’s goals and accomplishments were intended to benefit the nation as a whole. He didn’t single out one specific group to the detriment of another. Incredibly, progressive Democrats clearly regard certain individual demographic groups as evil and undeserving, rather than viewing us all as equal citizens. Example: Upper middle-class straight white males of European descent fall into their persona non grata category.

President Trump had no such “unacceptable” categories of Americans. He intended to help everyone. And he did. His accomplishments were both obvious and humiliating to progressives. President Trump succeeded in helping the country in virtually every way, in stark contrast to the stagnation and limited progress we had to endure under Obama. Therefore, the progressive media invented racist meanings where there were none, such as saying MAGA was code-speak for “Make America White Again.” The liberal media knew that wasn’t true, but they had no other tools to use against him to blunt his public success and popularity. Every Trump win -- and there were a lot, on virtually every front -- was a repudiation of Obama and progressive thought, definitive confirmation of both the correctness of Trump’s ways and the many failures and wasted opportunities under Obama. When a hated enemy so thoroughly and completely exposes your inadequacies and shortcomings, there is only one thing you can do: Attack and attempt to discredit your conqueror. No matter how bald-faced the lies, no matter how demonstrably false they are, if your megaphone is big enough, a sizable segment of the audience will listen and believe you. That was the progressives’ plan.

Trumponomics boomed. With Obama, the uncertainty of which punitive, anti-business/anti-capitalism hand grenade was about to be lobbed in their direction in the name of “social justice” is what kept economic and job growth so frustratingly tepid between 2008 and 2016. When things are uncertain and negative conditions are threatening right around the corner, human nature says to play things close to the vest. Under Obama, businesses were loath to expand or invest. Hiring was kept to a minimum. But under Trump, business owners, large and small, had confidence in the positive nature of the business environment, and thus they expanded, hired, and invested accordingly. From an economic policy standpoint, this is the biggest difference between President Trump and the typical progressive Democrat: Trump totally understood the businessperson’s mindset and motivations. Progressives, in contrast, look upon businesses as static, permanent objects, only there to be taxed in order to fund Government programs designed to bribe special-interest groups.

President Trump’s enthusiasm for helping all Americans, regardless of demographics, was strikingly evident to everyone who was emotionally and intellectually honest. His evenhandedness of governing intent ran so starkly counter to the “We’ll pick the winners/losers, good guys/bad guys” approach of liberal progressivism that Trump’s very political existence was undeniable evidence of the deceitful, hypocritical positions that progressives tried to foist upon the public. That’s why they tried so hard to remove him and discredit him -- the reality of his presence tore back their fake wizard curtain and revealed progressives to be the phonies that they are.

Donald J. Trump was and is a one-of-a-kind president. His energy is astounding. His rallies are unlike any political gatherings ever before. He totally redefined the media narrative (“Fake news!”). People loved his straight talk. President Trump did more good for the country -- despite incredible opposition from both sides of the aisle and the liberal media -- in a shorter period of time, in more areas, than arguably any president in history. Everyone’s life got better -- everyone’s. There were no “pre-selected” winners or losers. President Trump didn’t single out any demographic group for special treatment or punishment. His intent -- and accomplishment -- was to help everyone. Every single aspect of American life improved drastically during President Trump’s tenure. Progressives hate that, because it’s true.

He will continue to be a major force on the American political and social scene, whether in office or not. He’ll put forth policy proposals and critiques in his uniquely direct, no-holds-barred manner. No one is safe from criticism, not pandering progressives nor squishy Republicans. Donald Trump is a bottom-line guy. What do we need to do to make American life better? Did we accomplish that or not? If you want to help, I don’t care if you’re a D or an R. If you’re in the way, I don’t care if you’re a D or an R. Honest people see that and love him for it in a way that no president has ever been loved, rough language, questionable tweets and all. Shallow, intellectually dishonest people -- voters and politicians alike -- see that as well and are humiliated by it because it unceremoniously exposes their political vacuity and infinite personal insincerity.

Donald J. Trump is an absolutely transformative figure in American politics and culture, and his presence and influence will be with us for generations.

Image: GDJ, Pixabay