Once upon a time, substance was all that mattered. Achievers didn’t drumbeat their accomplishments because the work spoke for itself. Those high standards gradually devolved; style mattered as much as substance. Perhaps the advent of television contributed to this.
Alas, the decline continued such that some humans replaced substance with style. Shockingly, their deception wasn’t always detected. Perhaps the omnipresence of social media contributed to this.
D.C. is a prime example.
Elected officials now engage in performative politics, aiming to create a ‘viral’ moment. While filling in their ballot form, voters remember the theatric or righteous display during congressional hearings or video interviews more than the record.
Consequently, the likes of AOC have national recognition and get easily re-elected, while those who achieve without bragging about it remain in the shadows.
Few manage to excel in both style and substance. Leading that rare breed is President Donald Trump.
The first week of Trump’s second term was most crucial. The Biden administration made the U.S. an object of ridicule. The world was shocked to see Biden and Harris look dazed and confused. While the former was suffering from early dementia, the latter suffered from apathy.
It was obvious that the duo wasn’t making any decisions.
The message they sent across the nation and around the world is that the U.S. is no different from third-world dictatorships or communist regimes where a committee runs the government, and the premier is merely a puppet. The result was misgovernance that caused economic hardship and chaos in the U.S. and instability and wars globally.
Trump had two goals: to act and, in doing s,o to set a new narrative that the U.S. was back in charge.
There was a marked difference between the Trump of 2017 and the Trump of 2024. Back in 2017, like most Americans, Trump assumed that D.C. would work with him for the nation and that the acrimony of the campaign trail would be forgotten. Back then, Trump defined his agenda, but was also conciliatory towards D.C.
Trump could have delivered a similar, relatively innocuous speech in 2025 that outlined his agenda and signed executive orders behind closed doors. The outcome would have been the same, but Trump wasn’t only focused on the short-term goals but also the long-term objective of setting the narrative. Trump had to send a message across the nation and beyond.
attempted assassination against him and declared that he believed that God saved his life so he could lead the movement to restore America’s greatness. The speech was succinct, brutally honest, and effective. He sounded and looked like a determined man on a mission.
Trump got straight down to business the moment he entered the Oval Office. He signed myriad executive orders related to curbing illegal immigration, promoting oil exploration and AI innovation, rebuilding the military, eliminating federal DEI programs and Green New Deal mandates, withdrawing from the WHO and the Paris Climate Accord, banning gender-transitioning procedures for children, declassifying MLK and JFK files, etc.
Trump issued pardons for over 1,500 of the January 6th protestors who were exercising their democratic rights in 2021. He reinstated service members who were discharged due to the Military COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Trump did most of this signing in the Oval Office before the press and the media cameras.
Social media users joked that it was amazing to see a U.S. President who could simultaneously sign executive orders and answer tough questions from reporters while engaging in humor.
The rapidity of the orders was meant to make it difficult for Democrats to catch up. The visuals send a clear message that the era of the baffled and clueless duo is over, and the new commander-in-chief meant business.
The display had an impact. The U.S. southern border witnessed a sharp drop in illegal border crossings in the first days of the Trump administration, compared to the Biden administration. Hamas released more hostages, and there was a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Then, it was time for action.
When the Colombian premier Gustavo Petro refused to allow U.S. flights carrying deported Colombian illegal aliens to land because they were military, not civilian planes. Trump said the U.S. would introduce a travel ban and “immediate visa revocations” on Colombian government officials and its allies. Trump also threatened a 25 percent tariff on all Colombian goods entering the U.S. This caused President Petro to back down and agree to allow U.S. military flights to land in the Andean country.
This dispute could have been resolved via backdoor channels, and it would have had the same outcome. But again, that would have been a short-term benefit.
Trump realized he not only had to prevail over his first challenger, but he had to do so in public for it to have a global impact.
This is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s masterful Western High Plains Drifter, where Eastwood’s character eliminates the thugs who needlessly attack him upon entering an unruly town. In doing so, he sends a warning to potential challengers and consequently becomes the new ruler.
Even the BBC, despite its negative spin on the Trump vs. Colombia episode, was forced to admit that Trump had, via the face-off with Colombia, successfully dispatched a warning to all leaders to “cooperate or else…” The move will also instill fear in the minds of enemies of the U.S., which was achieved without firing a single bullet. In this particular case, style almost became substance.
Since his inaugural address, Trump has repeated “the Golden Age” in describing the immediate future of the U.S. This, once again, is a very persuasive term that paints a vivid picture of prosperity, happiness, peace, harmony, and stability. An economic revival will need the passage of the right policies. But an economy is driven by people, and those will doubtlessly boost confidence among investors, providers, and consumers.
To sum it up, these first days have been a total triumph in both style and substance.
This auspicious beginning has also made Trump the envy of the world and has caused other nations to urge their elected leaders to follow Trump.
To adapt a remark during the culminating moments of Casablanca — “This is the beginning of a remarkable presidency.”
Image: White House
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