"This is the moment that Donald Trump became the President" - Granite Grok

“This is the moment that Donald Trump became the President”

Remember as you read this, I was a Cruz guy.

I’ve been watching these kinds of speeches intently for the last decade and I have to say this was about the best I’ve ever seen.  Given that it was Trump, and having watched a lot of his speeches, I was amazed at its construction, his wording, and its content.  It WAS good, indeed; sufficiently so that even Van Jones, self-avowed Communist and “Green” advisor to Obama, said that this was the moment Trump became President:

…He became President of the United States in that moment. Period. There are a lot of people who have a lot of reason to be frustrated with him, to be fearful of him. But that was one of the most extraordinary moments you’ve ever seen in American politics. Period. And he did something extraordinary.

 

…But he did something tonight that you cannot take away from him. He became President of the United States.

I would have to agree.  A lot of us on the Right were hesitant at best (and #NeverTrumpers at worst).  You’ve read my writings that the persona we see on TV and saw on the campaign trail did not match what he’s been doing with his Executive Orders as his rhetoric waffled – sometimes a lot. His E.O.s, however, are rock solid (and cut some slack on the travel ban – right idea, off on the implementation)   If anything has happened these last 5 weeks:

  • He’s still had his “Trumpian” moments but he’s learning and learning FAST.
  • Nobody controls or manages The Donald
  • He still shoots from the hip at times
  • But he has surrounded himself with a LOT of really smart people with a lot of experience
  • He is listening to them
  • His actions, and the results of those actions, should be convincing the Right that he’s way beyond expectations at his inauguration.  A lot of Republicans on the Hill aren’t delivering results as Conservative as he is.
  • He’s serious about taking out the Administrative State.

And last nite, he put to bed the worst of the epithets – he’s not “Presidential” enough.  He was that, and more.  And best of all, he put the Democrats to shame (did you see how FAST they all left the House chambers?  Well, and well spanked, they were).  He beat them at their own game at every turn.

Like a BOSS.

But at that moment, when he introduced Caryn Owens, the widow of Navy SEAL / Senior Chief Ryan Owens who was killed last month during a raid in Yemen, during his speech – it happened.  While the LEFT has excoriated HER for allowing herself as a “prop”, I can tell you that a lot of us normal people were saddened at her loss and appreciative of the service by her husband on behalf of us all.  While a few Democrats sat on their hands with dour looks, everyone else gave her a long standing O.  I have to admit, I teared up, again grateful that my two boys came home from Iraq and Afghanistan – it could have been far different.

I can’t adequately explain what Trump did, why he did it (and no, I don’t think it was for political points), but he brought forward that people still love this country enough to lay down their lives for the rest of us.  He was paying tribute to them, and via that speech, gave the rest of us the chance to do the same.

Loyalty upwards first requires loyalty downward – and that, he showed.  And the nation noticed.  Poll after poll has shown a majority approved of the speech and his rating has gone up.  Something “happened” during that speech and a side that most of us have never seen of Trump became known. His words outfoxed the Democrats’ positions about him, the nation got a chance to see him unfiltered, and I think we got the speech that put away a lot of doubts.

The proof still remains with results; we’ve seen a few already but we’d better see more.  That said, I think last night, to use a word I’ve seen a lot of lately, he was “normalized”.  He showed that he can be President.

UPDATE:  Forgot I had bookmarked this.  I’ve struggled for the right words on this – David French got it right (emphasis mine):

It’s hard to remember a more powerful moment in an address to Congress. When President Trump paid tribute to Carryn Owens, Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens’ widow, America saw the face of sacrifice.

I’ve seen that face — in the father, mother, and sister of a slain friend and brother from Iraq. I’ve seen that face as they’ve stood beside his casket, as they were handed a carefully-folded flag, and as they watched as a son and brother’s coffin was lowered into the ground. I saw that face again, years later, when we gathered to honor my friend, and a neighbor silently walked into the family’s front yard and played a heartbreaking, beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes.

It’s a distinctive face. There’s the indescribable pain, but it’s mixed with the deepest pride. Because Carryn Owens had the courage to attend such a public gathering so soon after her great loss, we saw how raw and so very real it is to give to your nation the people most precious to you.

That sacrifice is why we owe our Gold Star families the deepest respect, why they’re revered in military ranks, and why — just for a moment — a nation can unite to give honor to whom honor is most certainly due.

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