#MAGA Me Surprised

So far, so good.

I hate to admit it, or do I?

Each day since the inauguration of President Trump has been a tricky one, to be sure, considering his track record and past statements (see posts below). To be honest, I wasn't so sure what we'd get once Donald Trump entered into office, and I'm still not totally sure.

Can the man please lay off Twitter, for goodness sake?

But OK, he feels like it's his direct line to the public, so whatever. It's not a side of him that I like, and it's usually those moments that make me cringe. And then he turns around and appoints Neil Gorsuch, who seems to have a strong conservative background. I also liked that he reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which forbids American non-governmental programs from pending abortion abroad. I'm also glad he got us out of TPP and the Paris Climate Accords, and that he's working on cutting regulations and reducing the size of government. That's all good stuff, as far as I'm concerned.

No wall yet, but frankly, would that make that much of a difference? I'm no immigration expert by a long shot, so correct me if I'm way off--I would think that enforcing immigration laws more completely would be a better deterrent than a big wall, especially when you consider all the ways people would get across anyway. On the other hand, illegal immigration is supposedly down since January, even with no wall built. And a wall wouldn't necessarily protect us against acts of terrorism, but again, I'm no expert on any of that. Still, it seems that the word is out that our laws are actually being enforced, which is good. My hope is that will lead to more legal immigration, but I guess we'll see.

Furthermore, I appreciate that the Feds are now stepping back from education, allowing local communities have more charge. The more empowered individuals are in making their own choices regarding things like education, the better off we all are, so it's good to see a President who supports that.

I'm not going to comment on the whole Russia thing, mostly because I see it as a hoax that distracts people from the real situation in the world. I see Comey as opportunistic and unreliable (I thought that about him last year, and I can totally see why Hillary Clinton is furious with him), and I have little trust in the special prosecutor, considering the Clinton donors he's got on his team. But if even Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi say there's no evidence of any criminality, then I think it's time to move on...which I have.

I'm not sorry for my concerns about Trump back when he was campaigning, and I still see sides of him that I intensely dislike. I also see that there's been a fair amount of lies spread about him, to gain political points. But in addition to that, I have to remind myself that he was elected to be President, not Saint. Let us not forget Bill Clinton and the cigar. Trump may have said that a star could grab a woman by the p***y, Clinton stuck a cigar in it. In the Oval Office. And Hillary didn't call her husband unfit afterward. Then there's JFK and his revolving bedroom door. But we still love him, don't we? We still hold him up regardless, right? And of course, FDR was unfaithful to his wife throughout their marriage, but we don't call him unfit, do we?

When it comes right down to it, I think we would all do well to take a step back, calm the heck down, and let the man do his job. He hasn't screwed anything up yet, and at this points, I want to see him just get on with things. In a large way, that's what he's doing, so I hope he just continues that...as long as he continues to govern as a conservative, that is.  Given time and real thought, health care and tax reform will come--why rush such important issues? Shouldn't they be done right rather than quickly? And if Trump continues his conservative trend, then who knows? Maybe I'll don a MAGA hat myself in 2020!

But I still prefer Ted Cruz (even if he looks like Grandpa Munster).