Less than a month in office and President Donald Trump is changing everything. The culture, the way government functions, diplomatic relationships, tax policy, the border, and a dozen other topics all have been affected by Trump’s seemingly endless series of Executive Orders. The news is coming so fast from the White House that by the time one order is covered by the media and protested by the Democrats, the public is two or three topics removed from it. This breakneck speed is creating a massive shift in the country - so much so that Trump is basically resetting how the country works.
The greatest topic from the past week has been the announcement that Trump made about Gaza. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the White House, it was assumed that Trump would be more welcoming and supportive than Joe Biden ever was or Kamala Harris ever could be. What was not assumed - or even dreamt of - was what Trump did next.
Trump announced that he wanted to relocate the Palestinians living in Gaza to another location, moving 1.7-1.9 million people out of the Gaza Strip, and then the USA taking over the area. This announcement was a bombshell to the foreign policy establishment that still croons the same “two-state solution” song that has been a failed foreign policy for several generations.
Regardless if this plan ever comes to fruition, the announcement is essentially a reset of the negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. The starting negotiating point from American diplomats could best be summarized by a cartoon mocking Barack Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry. In the cartoon, Bibi is sitting across from a Hamas terrorist with a baby in his lap. The baby has explosives around his waist and the terrorist is holding a piece of paper reading “Demands: Death To All The Jews.” Kerry is facing Bibi and saying, “Could you at least meet him halfway?”
The truth of this cartoon could not be understated. Obama and Biden - even Bush and Clinton before them - were all dedicated to giving up “land for peace.” Israeli leaders from Rabin, Olmer, Barak, and others held the same false belief. Whether Israel likes it or not, American leadership holds a lot of sway on how any agreement will be settled upon. Whatever someone on “Israel’s side” starts with, the final deal (if there ever is one) will be worse. That’s negotiation. However, resetting the starting point from “Kill half the Jews” to “kick out the Palestinians and seize their land” means that the end point will be far better than the alternative.
Trump has been resetting every Leftist encroachment of our society, and Democrats are having a hard time handling it. From something small like banning paper straws and bringing back plastic ones to keep men out of women’s sport to reviewing all foreign aid spending done by USAID, Trump is telling the country and the world that business as usual is unacceptable.
The fact that any of these orders need to actually be signed is a wake-up call on how far we have strayed from normality. He’s prohibiting federal funding for schools teaching anti-American ideologies. He’s working to get federal funding for school choice. He’s fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses. He’s stopping the practice of transgender medicalization of children. He’s sending high profile criminal illegal aliens to Guantanamo Bay. He’s getting Canada and Mexico to police their sides of the border. He’s protecting pro-life Christians.
All of these things should not have been necessary because they are self-evident. The world has gotten so out of whack these past four years (and really the past 20), that the most simple and obvious truths are considered “controversial” when spoken out loud and are “outrageous” when implemented from the top.
Trump 2.0 is a lean, mean, governing machine. The relentless pace that he is setting makes it hard for his detractors to lay a glove on him because what he’s doing is so popular. Since he originally announced his plan to run for President in 2015, Trump the politician has never had a positive polling average (as opposed to Trump the celebrity, who was beloved by Democrats, Hollywood, and the media). For the first time in either presidency, Trump’s approval rating is higher than his disapproval rating. That’s because the American people desperately wanted a reset, and Trump is giving them one.
Moshe Hill is a political analyst and columnist. His work can be found at www.aHillwithaView.com and on X at @HillWithView.
