With apologies to Gerald Ford, another long national nightmare is over.
Joe Biden’s disastrous term is mercifully drawing to a close.
The president desperately wanted an outpouring of praise and gratitude, but his farewell week has become a long and painful exit.
And infuriating.
Biden’s claims of great success always were imaginary, but he apparently believes endlessly repeating lies makes them true.
Declaring the Equal Rights Amendment the “Law of the Land” when it clearly isn’t, as he did Friday, is a fitting, final outrage.
Despite his professed adherence to political norms and traditions, Biden also continues to undercut his successor, even calling it a “joke” that Donald Trump deserves any credit for the Israel-Hamas cease-fire.
The inauguration cannot happen soon enough.
And so Monday marks not only the beginning of a new administration but also the end of one of the most remarkable transitions America has ever seen.
In stark contrast to the bitter, peevish Biden, the Trump effect is electrifying much of the world.
His smashing victory is inspiring conservative parties in Canada, Europe and elsewhere to get off the mat and fight to reverse their countries’ progressive slide into oblivion.
Most striking is a widespread hope that his return to the Oval Office will usher in a more peaceful and stable period.
Peaceful resolution
A global survey commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations found that “large numbers of citizens in the world are upbeat about Donald Trump’s return to the US White House. Many believe Trump will not only be good for America but bring peace or reduce tensions in Ukraine, the Middle East, and US-China relations.”
Take that, dead-ender Democrats!
The enthusiasm illustrates that this was no ordinary election and that Monday’s passing of the torch represents far more than a change of presidents.
It has the feeling of a noisy but peaceful revolution, as if an era based on a flawed idea has come to a crashing end and a more democratic idea has triumphed.
The belief that government always knows best and that every problem can be solved by letting ever-more-powerful officials impose their will on every nook and cranny of daily life is being challenged.
Under such regimes, individuals are celebrated only when they surrender their liberties for the sake of partisan, racial and gender harmony.
One result is that unchecked immigration and soaring government dependence have become the norm in most of Europe, requiring confiscatory taxes and oppressive regulations.
There’s nothing new under the sun about such socialist dogma taking root there, but the fact that it was making serious headway in America was shocking.
And now, thanks to Trump’s election, the rollback can begin.
The military is slated to grow, but much of the government faces a serious reckoning. And deportations of criminal immigrants are set to begin immediately.
Make no mistake — an American revival wouldn’t be possible without Trump.
There are many smart and talented people in this country, but none could have pulled off the political revolution he ignited.
His comeback is already the stuff of legend.
I was among those who thought he would never recover from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, but he gradually won over his party and then the nation with tireless persistence and his record of pursuing successful policies that put America first.
Super-human courage
GOP opponents who were convinced his party support was soft learned he was unbeatable.
His general election opponents, Biden and then Vice President Kamala Harris, were terrible candidates with bad ideas, but they had endless bags of money and the mainstream media served as their propaganda wing.
Yet still he prevailed, winning the popular vote and an Electoral College landslide.
His victory came from a relentless, opportunistic campaign that quickly adjusted to circumstances.
Two iconic moments stand out: first, the time Trump mocked Harris, who claims to have worked at McDonald’s, by donning a yellow apron and dishing out fries in a Pennsylvania franchise.
Then, after Biden called his supporters “garbage,” Trump put on a workers’ vest and took reporters’ questions while sitting in the cab of a garbage truck.
The stunts were dynamite, but the clincher was the unstoppable nature of the candidate himself.
His displays of super-human courage against both weaponized law enforcement and two assassination attempts made the difference.
It is no ordinary man who survives a near-fatal shot to the head, rises with a blood-smeared face and instinctively raises a clenched fist to urge his supporters to “fight, fight, fight.”
Nor is it common for a politician to be the target of a slew of corrupt federal and state prosecutors from the opposing party and emerge stronger than ever.
Trump’s refusal to buckle sealed the deal with voters who see him as their protector against a rapacious, globalist government.
His super power is their belief that his fight is their fight.
To be sure, there will be major differences from Trump’s first term.
Most important, I believe, is that the near-death experience he had with the attempt on his life last July in Pennsylvania changed him.
In an interview on his plane the next day, he told me that “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be dead.”
He talked of “being spared for a purpose” and wanting to unite the country “through success.”
Moreover, eight years have passed since he took the oath in 2017, and, at 78, he seems calmer and more focused on outcomes than on drama.
Petty feuds on social media are thankfully rare.
At the same time, Trump now leads a very different Republican Party.
It is full MAGA, and his determination to build a governing majority in his image succeeded in attracting more working-class voters, many of them nonwhites.
Next generation of GOP
The Chamber of Commerce and country club Republicans are welcome, but are no longer in charge.
It’s hard to remember now but a generation of GOP candidates wrote off most immigrants, black voters and union members.
They also conceded cultural issues to Dems and their media lackeys.
Trump’s new GOP is, like him, a feisty party willing to fight for its vision of America.
Forget about deference to the media and Washington’s permanent bureaucracy.
The confirmation hearings displayed the new GOP.
Some Dem senators, refusing to learn the lessons of the election, just berated the nominees, often without asking serious questions.
In turn, the nominees gave as good as they got.
Pete Hegseth, for secretary of defense, and Pam Bondi, for attorney general, stuck out for refusing to be punching bags for senators who were never going to vote for any Trump nominee.
“I’m not going to be bullied by you,” Bondi shot back at California Sen. Alex Padilla after he wagged his finger and lectured her.
“I didn’t take your homework assignment.”
Dems and their media handmaidens better beware.
There’s a new sheriff in town and a younger, tougher party has his back.
