One way to determine the correctness of your decision is to observe your opponent’s reaction to it.  By that metric, the 2016 election of Donald Trump to the presidency was just what America needed.

It can be said that Trump did more good for more people in less time than perhaps any other president in recent history, perhaps longer.  Sylvester Stallone just referred to him as “another George Washington.”  Opinions vary, but it’s indisputable that, with the exception of COVID, 2016–2020 were wonderful years.

Being an outsider with no experience in elected office, President Trump was unprepared for the level of resistance he encountered, including from his own party.  The sheer hatred and many instances of lawfare directed to him, his family, his staff, legal counsel, and his supporters were unrivaled.

President Trump is doing things differently this time around.  In just the last ten days, he’s announced appointees and nominees at such a rate that the left has been reduced to playing Whack-a-Mole to keep up.  It’s been wonderful to watch.

Two days after his win, Trump announced the appointment of his new chief of staff, Susie Wiles.  Three days later, he picked Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador.  The left’s response?  A collective shrug, aside from some discussion on the effect on the House majority.

The next day, Trump gave us Tom Homan for border czar (I hate that they use that word) and Stephen Miller for deputy chief of staff for policy.  There were some ripples about Miller, but the pearl-clutching and teeth-grinding over Homan still haven’t stopped.  To his credit, Trump has doubled down on immigration, recently stating that he’ll use the U.S. military to expedite the mass deportation of criminal illegal aliens.

The next day, President Trump selected Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary, and billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent to serve as secretary of the Treasury.  These generated little response.  Then he announced John Ratcliffe as the new CIA Director, which ruffled a few feathers.  Finally and best of all, he appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  Hopefully these two will bring the bureaucratic equivalent of chainsaws to the swamp and level the place.

The liberal tears over DOGE have been overflowing, and it’s glorious.  When the left tells you how dangerous and destructive something is, order a double-portion.

As the ads on TV say, “But wait!  There’s more!”  The next day, Trump named Green Beret colonel and House rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, and there were few ripples.  He also named his senior W.H. staff: Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller, James Blair, and Taylor Budowich.  None of those announcements elicited much response.  But he followed this up by naming Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence, and Matt Gaetz as attorney general.  Best of all, he appointed Peter Hegseth as secretary of defense!  There’s nothing like putting people who’ve been victimized by agencies in charge of those very agencies.

Before the cries of anguish over Rubio, Gabbard, Gaetz, and Hegseth had a chance to die down, Mr. Trump dropped new names of people to serve in his Justice Department and a 2024 election rival to head up the Department of the Interior.  Response from the left?  Little to none, but it did take a little heat off the others.

Then more bombshells!  He tapped RFK Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary.  It was reported that pharmaceutical company stocks took a nosedive on that news.  Then he named former SEC chairman Jay Clayton U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  Has Donald Trump had any legal problems with the SDNY?

Most recently, Mr. Trump named a new W.H. staff secretary, the new secretary of energy, and then the next day he tapped Brendan Carr to chair the FCC.  I believe we’ll be hearing a great deal from the left concerning the latter two.

Mr. Trump is putting together a powerful team.  Although no candidate is perfect, I have high hopes for these people.  I’ll be ready with my popcorn to watch the fun this January!

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.