First Term, Trump 2, Report Card

Alone early this AM at Wasatch Bagel, The Actuary having let me down by not showing up, I conjured up in my mind some year-end reflections on DJT's first year in office.

Trump, vindicating my unequivocal support for him in three presidential elections, has had a remarkably successful first year: Big Beautiful Bill; 4.2% economic growth; tariff revenues bolstering the treasury; inflation down; energy costs down; green new deal projects deep sixed; restoration of a warrior ethos in the military; two sexes truth restored; Middle East heavy hand and strengthened relationship with MBS and the emir; foreign aid refocused; border control achieved; a primed ICE; crime down all categories, yada yada. Who, in their right mind, would want to return to the Autopen era after Trump's remarkable string of successes?

Trump's successes notwithstanding, there are two troubling fails during Trump's first year. Trump's failure to end, as promised, the Ukraine War. And Trump's shocking failure to contain the Epstein Affair. Each of these fails has the potential to seriously impair progress on DJT's forward, America First, agenda.

Ukraine

DJT promised to end the Ukraine War within twenty-four hours after he took office. The US continues, one year later to fund a bloodbath, which if allowed to continue is likely to result in a wholesale Russian victory. Trump needs to stop funding Ukraine, remove current corrupt, non-democratic Ukraine leadership, and negotiate a treaty with Russia. Such treaty would end Russian military action, confirm Russian territorial gains, establish a rebuilding program and assure Ukraine's ongoing independence... no NATO allowed.

Trump needs to secure a diplomatic and economic alliance with Russia (reset) to thwart the progress of China in consolidating BRICs with all the threats that that BRICs entails, including facilitating ongoing further dollar reserve currency erosion. Russia is a likely partner for the US for many reasons in a new configuration to offset a Chinese surge. To me, most important is that Russia is a western culture. The US was allied with Russia in two world wars. Russia is the only other white/western culture in the world today, other than the US, where there is a resurgence of Christianity and an institutionalized awareness of the growing threat to Western Culture of the Islamism and radical secularism, now seriously infecting a dis-spirited Europe, Canada, and Australia.

Epstein

The existence of a specific pedo/Trump smoking gun is unlikely. DJT's reluctance to get Epstein "all out there" stems from his worry about the fall out coming from the exposure of the sordid behavior of the elites, which include big, some Zionist, donors.

Trump has mishandled the Epstein affair "ugely (sic)." I said six months ago, in the face of much criticism from co-bloggers, that Pam Bondi should be fired; equally true now as then. Then there are Bondi's partners in incompetence. Dan Bongino, fortunately, took himself out. Cash Patel needs to be fired along with Bondi.
First Bondi announces that the Epstein files are to be released. Her release turned out to be a bust with the revealed documents already in the public domain. Next Bondi says, "there are no documents." Then, reversing course again, Bondi admits to the existence of extensive files which Congress later forces her to reveal. Fuster-cluck.

The recent, Congress authorized, haphazard revelation of files has been heavy on redaction, further exacerbating the clamor for blood.

Now Trump is in the Epstein soup, mostly due to his own, and Bondi's (and Patel's and Bongino's) ineptitude. He needs to fire Bondi and Patel, as scapegoats if for no other reason, and take personal charge of cleaning Epstein up with an honest talk to the public.

Conclusion.

Epstein and DJT's appalling failure to end US assistance to Ukraine won't bring him down but, left unattended, they will inhibit progress for Trump to continue the remarkable headway he has already made in making America great again.