Mr. Trump now president of the United States

On January 20th, 2017, in an Inauguration Day ceremony full of tradition, Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States.

Two years ago, who would have believed this? Trump had talked about running for president before, and even had considered running against Obama in the latter’s re-election campaign in the 2012 election.

But it wasn’t until June of 2015 that Trump threw his hat into the ring, and after that moment, the American political scene was not the same.

Pundits and politicians had confidentially assured their listeners that Donald Trump couldn’t win. And yet, he did.

Bernie Sanders, who ran against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, recently recognized Trump’s Triumph. Quoth Bernie, “Trump took on the Republican establishment, he took on the Democratic establishment, took on the media establishment, and he ended up winning the election to become President of the United States. And that is an extraordinary accomplishment. And it talks about perseverance, it talks about very strong political instincts, it talks about a way to connect with people.”

It’s true. My family and I went to see Trump twice in rallies in the state in which I reside. Trump had a way of connecting with people. Despite being a billionaire New Yorker, he could relate to working class folks and rednecks throughout the country, including in the South, the Midwest and the Upper Midwest, which helped push him to a majority in the electoral college.

Trump’s forthright way of speaking can get him into trouble, but it also served him well, as he smashed conventional paradigms and brought taboo subjects into the mainstream.

For example, there was the proposed ban on Muslim immigration, which he backed off somewhat. But the very fact that he raised it put it on the mainstream front burner.

On foreign policy, Trump’s campaign brought a new perspective, making it possible to consider a new approach.

It’s been twenty-five years since the Cold War ended, and the world has changed. Yet many American policy-makers seem stuck in the Cold War.
Russia, for example, is no longer communist and is a great nation. Doesn’t it make sense to improve relations with Russia? This does not mean we will always see eye to eye or that there are no differences. But pretending that Russia is a world threat as it was during the Cold War is a serious error when we should be looking at common interests.

On immigration, Trump’s campaign brought up subjects that some of us have been writing about for years, and which some have been dealing with for decades. But the Republican establishment didn’t want these issues really dealt with and continued to placate the Cheap Labor Lobby.

Trump began by talking about illegal immigration, but before it was over his campaign had actually moved into the area of legal immigration as well. These are issues of public policy that Americans have a right to discuss. Election night was a great one, as by early a.m. of November 9th it became obvious even to the Mainstream Media that Donald Trump had triumphed. What a great night.

Several months later, on January 20th, 2017, Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States.

The Inauguration ceremony is a part of American history and civic life, and is always interesting to watch. And this time, we were able to see the inauguration of Donald Trump, a man who defied the odds and the political establishment and who, we hope, can move our country in a different direction.

I was at school during the ceremony, so I showed it in my classroom. It was a great day.

My 17-year old son David was actually at the inauguration in Washington, D.C, attending as part of a 4-H Club trip.

David had already been selected for the trip even before the nomination. So he could have wound up being at Hillary’s inauguration!

But, Trump triumphed and that’s good, as David is an avid Trumpster even though he wasn’t quite old enough to vote.

David had a great time in Washington, and returned with various sorts of Trump presidential paraphernalia: President Trump caps, t-shirts, flags, newspapers, keychains, a stocking cap, a button, a Donald Trump bobblehead, a stocking cap and even a pair of President Trump socks!

To conclude: Donald Trump is now the 45th President of the United States. Let us hope he makes great strides to improve our national situation, and let us do our part as well.