“They’ll never get caught. They’re on a mission from God.” The tag line from the 1980 hit movie “The Blues Brothers” came to mind while listening to a recent podcast discussion of Donald Trump’s nomination, election and extraordinary assumption of the presidency of the United States.
For those not familiar with the film, it features a pair of petty criminals raised in a Catholic orphanage who return to visit as adults and are given the task of (lawfully) raising money in only a few days to satisfy a tax debt to the City of Chicago. Jake and Elwood Blues, rough characters who are not the least bit religious, become inspired and accept their mission to save the orphanage as they realize the nuns and children have nowhere else to turn. As they run roughshod over human obstacles and institutions standing in the way of their mission, a diverse collection of powerful people and organizations hunt them relentlessly with comical failures that backfire on the antagonists while having no apparent effect on the brothers or their mission.
The podcaster and his interview subject marveled at a particular portion of President Trump’s inaugural address:
“There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.”
President Trump is not generally described as a religious man. But his appeal to God and assurances of His protection seem to reflect humility in the face of the enormous task of leading America. Could there be more? From the announcement of his candidacy, Trump has been mercilessly attacked in the media and by every conceivable establishment special interest. His candidacy has been repeatedly declared to be over. In the face of every insult, attack, media “bombshell” and every political trap, Trump shrugged off obstacles and assaults. He defied every person, organization and institution that promised to stop him on his mission to Make America Great Again.
Not only did Trump succeed as his antagonists were unable to stop him, but time and again the tables were turned as they fell into the very traps they laid for him.
Throughout the election, pundits, commentators and the media routinely asserted that Trump’s nomination would destroy the GOP, ushering in a new Clinton presidency and an era of Democrat dominance that might last for generations. It was repeated so many times in so many media outlets that it simply became an accepted fact. Trump’s loss to Hillary – likely by an electoral landslide – was a foregone conclusion. The only question for the election, many said, was whether his humiliating defeat would hand majorities in the House and Senate back to Democrats? Stunning Trump victories in Democrat strongholds like Michigan and Wisconsin cemented GOP control of Congress and dealt Hillary the very same humiliating electoral landslide defeat that the establishment media and pundits all staked their now-tattered reputations on Trump suffering.
As media pundits scrambled to rationalize their laughably dishonest predictions, and Democrats searched for explanations to deflect blame for defeat, their excuses have backfired on them one by one.
Liberals first tried blaming “fake news” while struggling to even define the term, much less cite an example of how their newfound bogeyman toppled the Clinton dynasty. Almost immediately, CNN ran a breathtakingly crazy story in their haste to smear the new president – a story that epitomized fake news. Trump, accepting the insincere premise that fake news is a serious problem, refused questions from CNN’s Jim Acosta, telling him publicly, “You’re fake news!” Democrats and media were caught in their own trap.
Another attack on the Trump presidency has been the “hacked election” claim. Again, Trump accepted the premise and ordered an investigation of the only confirmed election hacking incident. Georgia election officials revealed Obama’s Department of Homeland Security repeatedly attempted to hack into their computers. The attacks were directed at state government networks overseen by an official who has been a vocal critic of Obama. Once again, Democrats and media tangled in their own net.
Likewise, claims that Trump prevailed because he is malleable to the wishes of Vladimir Putin ring hollow considering Obama’s 2012 hot-mic comment that he would have “more flexibility after the election” to work with Putin. Add in Obama’s impotent response as Russians flexed their muscles around the world and Hillary’s offer of a silly plastic reset button as a show of American friendship, and any geopolitical foe would back Hillary as the status quo. Foiled again.
And all that was just about the election.
As President Trump begins his first term, the tools handed to him by Obama are nothing short of remarkable. Executive orders can be used freely to reverse course on disastrous Obama policies. The “nuclear option” put in place by liberals to ram through Obama nominees now allows Trump’s selections to be confirmed easily over Democratic protests and will likely be used to confirm Trump Supreme Court nominees now that a 60-vote majority is no longer sacrosanct.
Perhaps most importantly, Obama sued Arizona for a Supreme Court ruling that states cannot interfere with immigration enforcement because it is within the sole authority of the federal government. President Trump will use this ruling as a custom-made battering ram to shut down sanctuary cities’ interference with federal immigration policy, once again turning the tables to his advantage.
Remember liberals’ claims during the primaries that they prayed for Trump to be the nominee? Whether they actually prayed, who they prayed to or if their claims were merely mocking in nature, they got what they claimed they wanted. Like everything else, it turned out to be the opposite of what they planned.
It is more apparent every day that there is a supernatural element to the Trump presidency. The mocking and scornful media and political class have not only been steamrolled by a political novice, but their best efforts to destroy him have backfired. “On a mission”, indeed.
