The Political Weather Is Changing

Every year around this time in New England, there is a subtle but instantly discernible change in the weather. The temperatures may say “summer,” as might the trees still decked with leaves, but there is something in the air—a budding crispness, fresh scents, valedictory echoes—that tells us that a change is nigh.

There is a kindred phenomenon, I have noticed, that heralds a shift in the political weather. For the last several months, the narrative has been building that Donald Trump’s fortunes have turned. The polls bode ill for GOP victories in the midterms. The war in Iran is a disaster. The president’s legacy, we are told, is in jeopardy. The wheels are coming off the MAGA express. That wheezy suspiration you hear is the sound of establishment Republicans gratefully scuttling back to their altars of irrelevance and dignified failure. They are joined by the media, the Democrats, and the squamous denizens of the deep state who have been telling us that the “walls are closing in on Trump” for years. Now, finally, at long last, they think that the blessed deadly movement is happening.

I think that they are wrong. Just as their narrative of collapse was reaching its denouement, the president has forged ahead with a supervening counter-narrative. Everywhere one turns, there are lists of Donald Trump’s accomplishments during the first year and a half of his second (recognized) term. The 25-item list that President Trump himself just released is pretty impressive. It begins with the border—“ZERO illegal aliens admitted to the United States in the past 16 months”—moves on to taxes—“the largest tax cuts in American History”—the economy, the military, and all the DEI, transgender crud that has been besmirching academia, corporate lifestyles, and sports. “Abolished all discriminatory ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion’ (DEI) policies throughout the federal government and private sector”; “Banned MEN from playing in women’s sports”; “Banned transgender ideology and critical race theory in our schools.” All in all, a very good showing for eighteen months. And this leaves out of account his stunning successes in Venezuela—“Captured and brought to justice the outlaw dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro”—and Iran—“Obliterated Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury to ensure Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon.”

As I write, the chihuahuas of the Fourth Estate are enraged by the president’s announcement that scribes from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are no longer welcome at White House press briefings. “I am proud to announce,” President Trump wrote, “that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico. . . . Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”