Trump 47: Lessons from the First Term

A more effective Administration to come.

President Trump – Trump 47 – will hit the ground running.

His ambitious start, which includes expectations to sign up to 100 executive orders soon after he takes office, is a reason for optimism itself. So too is the focus of those executive orders: the securing of the southern border and the construction of the border wall, ending the current asylum process, establishing common sense gender policy, and the promotion domestic energy production. Not to mention the restoration of military service members removed for refusal to take experimental COVID-19 vaccines – with back pay, and the withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

If we can provide context: in 2017, President Trump signed 55 executive orders. For the entire year. He may exceed that number within days of taking office in 2025.

Trump, the energetic Executive, seems to have taken to heart the lessons from his first term. They honeymoon period, if there is any, will be short lived. Better to take advantage of this small window while you can – there’s no telling when the next conspiracy theory, or the next impeachment effort, might occur.

There’s an obvious benefit to having been there before. There’s a lot for a new president to learn – protocol, staffing, who to trust.

It seems like forever ago, but there was chaos in the early part of Trump’s first term. The revolving door of staff, the hiring issues, infighting and leaks within his circle (Kellyanne Conway, for starters). The rebellion against Trump from within various federal branches and the military, and the general sabotage wrought by the remaining “resistance” elements. The FBI’s investigation of his Administration (including Trump himself) and the recusal of Attorney General Sessions, and the FBI/DOJ’s targeting of Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. Then-FBI Director James Comey (who was leaking classified information while serving as Director) himself said that “with all the chaos… we thought we might actually get away with sending agents over to the White House to sit down with Flynn.”