Don't Hand the Hangman a Noose, Mr. President

If anyone expected the 47th President of the United States to ease his way back into the Oval Office after a four-year hiatus, they have been sorely disappointed. In fact, from the moment he finished the oath of office with the words, “So help me God”, President Trump has come out guns ablazin’.

With the possible exception of Franklin Roosevelt’s first 100 days in 1933, no American president has ever hit the ground running like Donald J. Trump… and like the Energizer Bunny, he shows no signs of slowing down either. From turning off the immigration spigots at our southern border (see Joe, it wasn’t that hard) to shining a spotlight on government waste and fraud, President Trump’s second term is firing on all cylinders. Yes, his new tariffs on some of our most important trade partners have raised some eyebrows – and some blood pressures on Wall Street – but I think the long-term benefits will far outweigh the short-term discomfort.

In his inaugural address 64 years ago, John F. Kennedy famously put the world on notice with the following words…

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.”

JFK went on to say, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

President Trump’s warning to the world – and to the Democrats on Capitol Hill – has been much more direct and succinct… “There’s a new sheriff in town.”

Now, one of the main challenges that a new sheriff has when he is tasked with cleaning up a crooked town – or, in this case, cleaning out a putrid swamp – is that the previous inhabitants will do everything in their power to stop the courageous crusader from fulfilling his mandate. And so, they will twist his words, distort his positions, and tell one bold and blatant lie after another in a lame attempt to derail his efforts.

Think Errol Flynn in Dodge City, George O’Brien in The Marshal of Mesa City, or Joe Don Baker in the original Walking Tall. Or perhaps more appropriately, Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

We all know how the story ends on the big screen. The hero in the white hat rids the town of the villains and varmints… and wins the heroine’s heart while he’s at it. But life doesn’t always imitate art and so, I have a few words of wisdom (or at least unsolicited advice) for President Trump.

Dear Mr. President:

I don’t have to tell you about the dangers posed by your new position. The shots fired in Butler PA and the potential assassin lurking in the bushes at your golf club in West Palm Beach are all too familiar reminders that there are people in our country that – for whatever reason – hate your guts… so please be careful, sir.

A good rule to follow is that when you are surrounded by people who want to hang you, you shouldn’t hand them a rope let alone tie it into a noose. That is why I am recommending that you limit your trips to Mar-a-Lago to once per month because news outlets are covering them (and their costs to taxpayers) a lot more closely than they did President Biden’s all-too-frequent trips to Nantucket, St. Croix, and Rehoboth Beach.

As a fellow golfer who enjoys playing year-round in the Sunshine State, I can understand and appreciate your desire to leave Washington D.C.’s often frigid winter temperatures for a three-day weekend mixing business and pleasure. But like I said, try your best to limit such trips to one per month and once the cherry blossoms start blooming inside the Beltway, forget about Florida and focus on your three beautiful Trump properties in New Jersey and the one in Northern Virginia – a literal stone’s throw from the White House – to get your golf fix.

After all, a helicopter ride on Marine One costs a lot less than a plane ride on Air Force One… and a road trip in the Beast may be the cheapest option of all.

IMHO, it would be even better to select a non-Trump-owned property to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest. We both know what the Apostle Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:22 about avoiding the appearance of evil… and having Uncle Sam reimburse a hotel you own for housing and feeding you, your staff, and your security personnel just doesn’t look good. So spread the wealth and avoid the blame.

The less ammunition you can give the liberal left and their co-conspirators in the mainstream media, the better, especially at a time when Elon Musk and D.O.G.E are working around-the-clock to eliminate unnecessary government spending.

It’s called optics… and leading by example.