Monday was a great day in Washington, D.C. I have never seen so many white people celebrating MLK Day like that. We are starting to come together as a nation!
After four years of political rancor, this week’s inaugural ceremonies went off well. Many events were moved inside because of the bitter cold. For a country that wants to take over Greenland, we really are not good at being cold.
The security was well done. There were no incidents, protests or brawls at any of the events. This was probably because the FBI and DOJ were not allowed in the crowd.
Hours after being sworn in, Trump made clear he would govern on his own terms. He sat at the Resolute Desk in front of reporters and signed executive order after executive order. He explained what each one was in simple terms. And they all made sense.
He vacillated between showman and statesman. He told the crowd at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena that “what is in their wallets will be more when he is done.” He apologized for not having the event outdoors, thinking, as Trump does, the outdoors was not large enough to hold all his supporters.
This time, Trump’s most ardent backers did not have to get into public grounds by breaking windows.
Media coverage remained partisan. Fox reported it like the savior had arrived. ABC and MSNBC told viewers Trump threw an elderly man in D.C. with Alzheimer’s out of his government housing into the freezing cold.
His media coverage was everywhere. He answered more media questions in a day than Biden did in years. He was shown at NFL football games, and he doesn’t even sing pop music or date Travis Kelce.
From closing the border to cutting bureaucracy in D.C., everything Trump signed was met with cheers. He said we are ushering in a “Golden Age.”
After what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump seems to be religious now. He went to a church service where one of our more radical Episcopal priests, Marianne Edgar Budde, lectured him on transgenders and illegal immigrants. If I have learned anything at my church, it is to avoid female Episcopalians with three names, short haircuts and comfortable shoes.
When the priest told the congregation something was very wrong with them, the congregation replied, “And also with you.”
See, Trump goes back to church one time and gets that. And we wonder why church attendance is down in America!
Pete Hegseth, one of the more controversial nominees, seems to be on a path for approval. It turns out Trump nominated a soldier with dust on his boots who liked to drink and carouse. Senators questioned him in detail. I was not sure if they were truly questioning him or interviewing him for a pledge spot for Sigma Alpha Epsilon membership.
It is always rich to watch these portly, red-faced, boozehound, alley-cat senators drink at the liquor fountains of lobbyists for 40 years and pass judgment on others. No one can claim the moral high ground on either side.
Either way, Hegseth should be confirmed to head the Department of Defense. It will be nice to have a man in charge of our military who is not wearing a dress and pearls.
With D.O.G.E. (Department of Government Efficiency), Elon Musk and Trump set out to reduce the federal footprint and regulations, but they will be met by permanent Washington. I hope Trump is better positioned to fight them.
This country is not going to go under being conquered by a marauding Muslim or Russian invasion. We will fail because we have $36 trillion in debt, built on inane Washington wasteful spending. It must be curtailed.
Whether these objectives get done in one omnibus bill or a couple, it will be up to Speaker Mike Johnson to get them through. Republicans know the devil lives in the details, whereas Democrats think the devil lives in Mar-a-Lago.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed satirist, author and TV/radio commentator, at @Ronald Hart on X.