In his inauguration speech today, Trump's incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he would point to a 'golden age.'
Trump will make his White House return today, becoming only the second president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms.
"You're going to hear President Trump talk about how we are entering a golden age of America and how Americans' hope can be restored in this great nation," she told co-anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on a special weekend edition of "America's Newsroom" yesterday.
Be informed, not misled.
Leavitt said, "Trump will make his White House return becoming only the second president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms."
She said, "You'll hear President Trump talk about the reality of the world that we are living in, the border invasion that has turned every state in this country into a border state. You'll hear him talk about the dire economic situation that many American households have found themselves in because of the Biden administration's policies," she continued.
"Then you'll hear him talk about his plan, his executive action on day one to fix these problems that have been plaguing the American people over the past four years, and I think after hearing his speech, Americans are going to feel a renewed sense of hope and optimism, and you're already feeling that in this city [Washington, D.C.] throughout this weekend."
"The American people should expect that President Trump is going to deliver on many of the promises that he made to them within the first 24 hours of his taking back the Oval Office," Leavitt said.
"Our policy team has been working diligently on putting these orders together for him so we can immediately shut down the southern border, reinvigorate our energy industry, reverse many of the disastrous Biden administration executive orders that Joe Biden signed on day one four years ago, which have led to the increased cost of living and inflation in this great country, so there's a lot for us to message. It's a big responsibility. We don't want the details to be lost on the American people because every single one of these executive actions that President Trump is taking are monumental, and they are truly going to transform the way that this government here in Washington, D.C., works, how the bureaucracy works and how it's been ripping off American taxpayers."
Even the Washington Post headline admits that "Trump has already conquered D.C. even before taking office."
"His triumphant return to power," the Post says, "stands in stark contrast to his divisive entry in 2017 and departure in 2021."
The Post notes that "President-elect Donald Trump is returning to Washington triumphant: His legal cases are behind him, corporate executives are flocking to Mar-a-Lago to meet with him, his inaugural committee has raised record sums of money for Monday’s ceremony and the Republican Party is now fully in his control."
The paper says, "Now, many of his Cabinet picks appear poised to sail through the Republican-controlled Senate, including his controversial pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth."
Regarding "the reality of the world that we are living in."
America is exceptional.
Leaders and thinkers from all walks of life have joined Trump to help bring about what he calls a "New Golden Age."
With one exception.
Polling from RMG Research reveals that 42% of federal workers plan to resist Trump's agenda. Obviously, those who identify as "Democrats" are a good part---73%--- of the 42%.
Conversely, 89% of Republican federal employees support the incoming administration.
In fact, 73% of the 42% group are expressing plans to work to disrupt Trump's agenda and work against his policies.
There really is a "Deep State."
The survey also asked Federal Government Managers what they would do if Trump gave them a lawful order that they considered to be bad policy. Only 17% of Democratic managers who voted for Harris would follow Trump’s order. Three times as many (64%) said they would ignore the order and do what they thought was best. This amounts to a declaration that they plan to act like a deep state, opposing the people’s elected president.
Federal workers are responsible for carrying out the policies chosen by the voters through the elected leaders.
Enhancing accountability within government agencies could help ensure policies are executed effectively.
One tool that President Trump will likely use to move his agenda forward is the "Schedule F" classification, which would enable the reassignment or removal of federal employees who obstruct executive directives. Implementing this policy could help minimize internal resistance and ensure our government agencies are aligned with the administration's objectives.
This survey confirms that bureaucrats in the administrative state are planning to oppose Trump from within, whether by refusing lawful orders or engaging in political activism against Trump outside of work hours.
This deep state phenomenon undermined the first Trump administration, and the president has pledged to fight it aggressively in the new one.
This puts a new light on what Abraham Lincoln once said in a January 1838 speech to a group in Springfield, Illinois:
"At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."
Takeaway
On October 2, 2020, during Trump's first term as President, The Hill, not a conservative news organization, published an article titled, "Trump has more in common with Lincoln than you might think."
This is an overview of what they published:
- It aggravates Trump’s critics, who don’t like to see the man they consider the nation’s worst chief executive linked with the man widely regarded as the best.
- This may make those critics’ heads explode, but there are some fascinating parallels between the two presidents, as well as some contrasts.
- For starters, they share the same political party. Lincoln was the first Republican president. Trump is the 19th.
- Both men were long-shot candidates. In 1860, Lincoln, like Trump, defeated a field of better-connected rivals to capture the Republican nomination and win the general election.
- Both men came to office with little or no government experience. Lincoln had served only four terms in the Illinois legislature and one term in Congress. Trump had spent zero time in government.
- Trump, on the other hand, had far more executive experience. Before his presidency, Lincoln ran a two-man law firm with a reputation for disorganization. He often stored important papers in his hat, and in the corner of his Springfield, Ill., office sat a stack of documents labeled: “When you can’t find it anywhere else, look in this.”
- Both men experienced harsh reactions to their elections.
- Lincoln governed during the most divided era in our nation’s history. Trump is governing in perhaps the most acrimonious period since.
- Both presidencies have been times of extreme media partisanship.
- In 1863, for example, after the Gettysburg Address, the Democratic Chicago Times proclaimed that “the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances” of Lincoln’s speech. The Springfield Republican, in Massachusetts, called it “a perfect gem, deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression.”
- Lincoln, like Trump, was furiously attacked in the media. Newspapers called him a demon, a buffoon, a miserable failure, a disgrace to the nation. “The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor,” one Wisconsin paper asserted when he ran for reelection in 1864.
- Lincoln, like Trump, developed ingenious end runs around the press to communicate directly with the people. He managed to get letters and speeches widely published so voters would know his thoughts and words. Trump has done the same with rallies, 90-minute press conferences, and his tweets.
- In the end, history judges presidents largely on the defense of those principles. That is one reason we admire Lincoln so much. He defended them to the end.
Celebrate this day because it is a turning point in America. I believe Trump will defend those principles--- to the end.
Pray for the President. Pray that God will give him wisdom and insights as he sets out to right the Ship of State.
I believe Trump's "Golden Age" will provide a golden opportunity for Christians to, quoting the well-known Presbyterian pastor and evangelist Charles Finney, "take back right ground."
Be Informed. Be Hopeful. Be Prayerful.