Victor Davis Hanson // National Review
Trump’s publicly well-received speech (we hope the Obama first-person singular continues to give way to the Trump first-person plural) did not register with his enemies, mostly progressives but some Never Trumpers as well.
But what if Trump follows up on his speech by letting his successful policies speak for themselves, even as his critics are permanently stuck in the past obsessing on the shadows of Trump — oblivious to his record and brawling against a style and comportment that could be increasingly dissipating?
After watching the Democratic and celebrity boilerplate reaction to Trump’s speech, and the Kennedy response, a person from Mars might conclude that Trump was sober and judicious in reviewing a tangible record, while his critics were emotional and petulant while ignoring definable reality to focus on nebulous symbolism.
The result would be analogous to the effects of a strong but completed chemotherapeutic regimen that sickened the host while treating successfully the malady. That is, while Trump’s critics are stuck still on his campaign and first-year invective, they are oblivious to the utility of the medicine on the host. But patients often stop damning the side effects of their beneficial therapy once it ends and the positive effect on their health becomes tangible.
