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A few weeks back, after Spain lifted the World Cup, Trump lingered on the victory stage like he’d scored the winning goal himself.
He got the gentle elbow, the awkward side-eye, and then Spain cropped him clean out of their official celebration photos. It was an act of a small man, and it was exactly the kind of thing that makes the rest of the world roll their eyes at us.
Laying this petty stuff aside, the administration has moved fast on energy production, cutting red tape that had slowed new drilling and pipelines. Domestic output has hit record levels, which helps keep prices from spiking as much as they could, in spite of the Iran war.
Immigration enforcement has also tightened at the border, with more agents, more technology, and a clear message that the days of catch-and-release are over. That shift has changed the daily reality for communities that had been overwhelmed. However, to be clear, the way immigration enforcement has been handled leaves a lot to be desired.
Tax policy remains pro-growth, with extensions of the 2017 cuts and new incentives for manufacturing on American soil. Tax policy is friendly to deep pocketed wealthy individuals and corporations and less so – much less so – to everyday Americans. .
The Trump administration says with a straight face that it has kept its promise to avoid new foreign wars, focusing instead on deals and pressure, rather than deployments. Meanwhile billions upon billions are being spent in Iran, more billions in Ukraine for its war with Russia, not to mention Venezuela and now a new front in Africa in a conflict with Mali. You would think that Trump would try to temper his rhetoric about solving conflicts peacefully in face of the reality of the wars he has started and the money he is spending.
Those are truths at which supporters and detractors alike can point, even though the record is anything but wins.
The tariff wars that started in the Trump first term have come roaring back, and this time they’ve hit harder. Farmers are watching export markets shrink again, and manufacturers are having to scramble for new suppliers while Chinese components suddenly cost more.
The national debt keeps climbing despite all the talk of fiscal discipline, and the Trump administration’s habit of governing by executive order is leaving a trail of lawsuits that will take years to sort out.
Then there are the optics. The World Cup moment was just the latest example of a president who can’t seem to share the spotlight, even when the story isn’t about him. Those moments don’t change policy, but they do shape how the country is seen abroad and how seriously our word is taken.
The real question is whether the next Congress can fix the damage. A Republican majority would likely double down on energy and immigration while trying to blunt the worst effects of the tariffs through targeted relief. A divided Congress would grind everything to a halt, leaving the lawsuits and the debt to fester. Either way, the structural problems – the debt trajectory, the trade frictions, the institutional distrust – won’t be solved in two years. They’ll need steady hands and a longer timeline than any single administration or Congress can deliver.
Trump has shown he can move fast when he wants. The test now is whether he and the next Congress can also move carefully enough to keep the handful of wins from turning into even more liabilities
Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, former Shippensburg University Trustee, awarded numerous patents, as well as Founder and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx provides cloud-software for automated sourcing and managing of mail marketing, swag, packaging, and all things print. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at Bill@eLynxx.com
