As I prepared to write an assessment of President Donald J. Trump’s first month in office, I realized I had the wrong perspective.
Certainly, this has been the most revolutionary month of any modern presidency. It far exceeds the pace of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous 100 days.
Trump has recruited an exceptional, entrepreneurial Cabinet of smart, successful people. They know how to get things done. With Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s efforts and Vice President JD Vance’s careful attention to senators and nominees, 18 out of 22 nominees have been approved in just 31 days.
The administration has effectively uprooted the left’s imposition of DEI, wokeism, transgenderism and other ideological causes most Americans deeply oppose. The speed of executive orders and budget cuts has been historic. In one month, the Trump administration has terminated entire agencies and uncovered billions of dollars in crazy and corrupt spending.
After decades of politicians promising to shrink big government, Trump recruited Elon Musk. Musk is the wealthiest man in the world — and a genius in engineering, technology and entrepreneurial achievement.
Together, they created a Department of Government Efficiency. Musk recruited a brilliant group of young information specialists who knew how to analyze government activities despite bureaucratic resistance and obstruction.
The Trump-Musk partnership began accomplishing two distinct historic breakthroughs. First, DOGE clearly identified waste, fraud and outrageous left-wing spending. This confirmed the average American’s belief that government could be cut dramatically. Second, for the first time, an American president had a system of accountability that ensured executive orders were implemented in a timely fashion.
Each breakthrough was revolutionary in its own right.
Trump was equally decisive on illegal immigration and the border. Within three weeks, illegal crossings on the southern border dropped dramatically. Figures now resemble the secure border of 60 years ago.
On foreign affairs, the president sent a signal of decisive toughness. It shook up European elites and sent shockwaves through governments across the planet. Trump is replacing the post-Cold War global elite system.
Now each nation will suddenly have to focus on its own interests without the expectation of handouts, bailouts or other interventions. This has rattled elites across the planet.
As an example of his confidence and aggressiveness, Trump sent Vance to speak in Paris and Munich. Vance’s speeches were the equivalent of what Georgians might call “a come to Jesus moment.”
Most of the European elites were deeply offended — and indeed hostile. Although some, such as the leader of Finland, indicated there was a lot of truth in the vice president’s warnings.
Finally, Trump has engaged directly with the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. He is clearly committed to getting to peace, but he recognizes each conflict requires a unique approach. His efforts in these situations challenge every elite foreign policy dogma since the fall of the Soviet Union.
This whirlwind of revolutionary activities and changes cannot be understood in isolation.
Behind all these breakthroughs are 9½ years of work. It started on June 15, 2015, when soon-to-be candidate Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, took a long ride down the escalator at Trump Tower.
Trump developed the Make America Great Again movement and intuitively championed the issue of illegal immigration on his way to beating 15 other GOP candidates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He endured endless smears, harassment, hostility and contempt. He withstood bogus partisan media attacks, investigations, lawsuits and two assassination attempts. Recall then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly tearing up his State of the Union Address. Remember Trump’s defiant mugshot in the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (it now proudly hangs just outside the Oval Office). And, of course, remember him standing in Butler, Pennsylvania, with blood on his face, courageously urging his supporters to “fight, fight, fight.”
The media, politicians (from both sides of the aisle), government and an army of interest groups colluded to destroy him. They failed. Trump only grew more convinced the establishment system was corrupted and needed to be completely replaced.
Providentially, Linda McMahon and Brooke Rollins created the America First Policy Institute. For four years, they worked to prepare for Trump’s return — and the bold, deep, powerful changes America needed.
This near-decade of work has culminated into the most extraordinary first month of any modern presidency — and there is more to come.
Newt Gingrich is a former Republican Speaker of the House.
