The Biden Administration brought Americans to their knees in abject hopelessness with the worst economy, skyrocketing inflation, failing education, mass illegal immigration, out of control crime, and unchecked foreign threats. What should be up was down and what should be down was up. There were no solutions in sight. The federal government was inept. The country was broken. The American dream was lost.

The United States was failing miserably in every respect and President Trump was overwhelmingly elected to reverse the nation’s precipitous decline. Trump certainly exuded optimism for his second term, but most Americans were just hoping he could stop the slide into chaos, socialism, and tyranny or at least delay the collapse of the country.

Despite the catastrophic condition of the country and grave challenges, Americans had high but measured hopes for Trump’s triumphant return to the White House. However, in less than a year, President Trump has far exceeded all expectations, pundits’ predictions, and even our wildest imagination. He didn’t just halt the decline and renew hope; he is literally fixing everything.

When Trump returned, the economic outlook was beyond dismal led by the highest inflation in forty years driven mostly by runaway government spending, so Trump immediately unleashed Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on every corner of the bloated federal bureaucracy. He also stripped onerous overregulation and obstacles to energy production. Trump has us back on the path to regain energy independence. By eliminating waste and slashing spending, he removed the inflation drivers and pressures, so just 11 months later inflation plummeted from 9+% to 2.7%! And gas dropped to nearly $2 per gallon! That’s simply miraculous.

Trump tackled unfair trade practices with controversial tariffs. Most Democrats, economists, and journalists insisted Trump’s tariffs would stoke inflation and stifle the economy; like everything else they were incredibly wrong. After four years of near stagnation, the GDP grew a robust 4.3% in the third quarter and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects GDP growth of 5+% in 2026. Add to that the trillions in investment in American manufacturing secured by Trump that is restoring thousands of American jobs and record consumer spending this Christmas; and Americans can feel the economy beginning to roar.

When Trump returned, wars were raging around the planet, and the United States had no influence or respect. Biden had abdicated American global leadership and sacrificed any credibility with indecision and a feckless foreign policy highlighted by Biden’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. Trump restored American prestige with bold decisive leadership and clear unambiguous policy goals. He negotiated the end of at least eight conflicts and wars; and when necessary, expertly wielded American military might to achieve our aims. He ended the brutal war in Gaza, defanged Iran, and put all terrorist on notice.

Trump is also the first president to make the war on drugs a serious effort. Narco-terrorists have been attacking Americans with drugs for decades; Trump is forcibly stopping them before they ever get to our shores. His pressure campaign on Venezuela is severely slowing the flow of drugs, but it is also brilliant because he is steadily pulling the rug out from China’s foothold in the western hemisphere. Trump has adroitly renewed the Monroe Doctrine and reestablished American supremacy in our hemisphere.

Trump has also been a courageous culture warrior. The most pro-life administration in history, he stopped federal funding for abortion and Planned Parenthood. He quite simply affirmed there are only two sexes and swore to uphold Title IX and the integrity of female sports – he is protecting our girls. He also directed that all transsexual nonsense in the military cease immediately thereby reinstating proper military standards which has resulted in restored morale and attaining military recruiting goals for the first time since before the Biden Administration.

Perhaps Trump’s greatest feat is ending decades of unfettered illegal immigration. Biden left the border wide open and whined he needed more laws to secure the border, but Trump proved we only needed a new president with resolve. He didn’t just secure the border; he shut it tight – illegal immigration has been almost completely stopped. By enforcement and incentive, Trump has deported almost 2.5 million illegal immigrants in less than a year.

Focusing on illegal immigrant criminals, Trump is aggressively deporting the worst of the worst, but he is also focusing on out-of-control crime by deploying the National Guard to blue cities to restore law and order. Crime is dropping across the country; murder is down 20%! Americans are actually safer thanks to Trump.

Trump’s law enforcement efforts are commendable, but his administration must root out political graft and in particular the weaponization of government agencies for partisan purposes. Rampant fraud like in Minnesota is costly, but the abuse of power by government officials threatens the republic. The perpetrators of the Russian Hoax, the Hunter Biden laptop misinformation, and the malicious manipulation of the January Sixth sham investigations must be held accountable. They abused public trust and government power, so they must be punished to deter continued corruption. Sedition cannot be ignored; it’s a cancer and it’s malignant in our federal bureaucracy.

The Trump Administration is investigating government corruption, so pray they will follow through like every other issue. Otherwise, Trump’s first year has been stellar! Things we thought improbable if not impossible, Trump has accomplished. Border closed. Illegal immigration stopped. Manufacturing reinvigorated. Energy costs lowered. Inflation stemmed. Taxes cut. Economy restored. It’s absolutely incredible and delightful. Trump 2.0 is better than we dreamed! He is literally saving our Constitutional Republic.

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.