The Trump Presidency Takes a Better Turn

Opinion|The Trump Presidency Takes a Better Turn

Egads! After a disastrous first 100 days, Donald Trump is starting to have a much more successful presidency. This is not what we, his foam-at-the-mouth critics, had planned or perhaps secretly hoped for.

Some of this is a function of good policy, like getting NATO’s European members and Canada to spend much more on their defense, something previous American presidents asked for, but much too politely. Far from destroying the Atlantic alliance, as his critics feared, Trump may wind up being remembered for reviving and rebalancing it, to the advantage of both sides.

Some of this is courageous policy: Joining Israel in its strikes on Iran, which Trump carried out in the teeth of political resistance from parts of his own base, did not lead us into a calamitous Middle East war, though Tehran may yet seek retaliation. Instead, it helped bring the war between Israel and Iran to a swift end and, as The Washington Post’s David Ignatius has reported, did “such severe damage” that Iran’s nuclear program “will be neutered for at least a year, and probably far longer.”

Some of this is belated good policy: Speeding the delivery of arms to Ukraine, after Trump’s disastrous initial pressure campaign on Ukraine backfired by emboldening Vladimir Putin, is the only way to end the war. The next step for Trump is to make good on his sanctions threat, ideally by seizing Russia’s frozen foreign assets so that they can finance Ukrainian arms purchases.

Some of this is good policy that’s gone too far: We no longer have a migration crisis, an achievement that should not have eluded the Biden administration for most of its term and that cost the Democrats dearly. But Americans want an immigration policy that secures the border and deports criminals, not one that goes after law-abiding, hardworking undocumented immigrants on whom many areas of the economy depend and who should be given a viable path to citizenship.

Some of this is bad policy that could have been much worse: The trade deals that Trump has recently struck with Japan and the European Union will raise costs for American consumers and hurt American businesses, especially smaller ones. But they also expand markets for American exports, including cars and agricultural products. After months of the White House’s erratic and capricious trade sanctions and bellicose rhetoric, the trade deals bring predictability and clarity.