Now that he will soon become the leader of the United States and the free world, Donald Trump has begun to temper his electoral rhetoric. This may be a difficult journey as left-wing news outlets continue to misconstrue his words and express total disgust with the outcome of the election.

Yesterday the president-elect spoke on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” The New York Times reported on the broadcast today. Please appreciate that the Times and CBS have been among the most resolved critics of Trump. In fact the bad blood between the Times and Trump is evident in the piece referred to above.

Every day the list of Trump flip-flops and diluted objectives is growing, thank goodness. On immigration Trump will more likely build a fence or a barrier (as opposed to a wall) between the U.S. and Mexico. The original plan was a ploy (a metaphor, if you will) to dramatize the importance of halting illegal immigration.

In certain places, barriers on the border already exit. The important issue is that border protection will increase dramatically to secure our country. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has endorsed this revised plan.

Trump indicated that he wants to root out criminal illegal aliens and deport them. This is a much softer approach than his original threat to round up all ten million illegals and send them back to their countries of origin.

Trump’s abortion plans are a bit muddled at this time. For sure the president-elect will appoint a judge who is anti-abortion thereby restoring the previous split in the Supreme Court on this issue. This should not be a surprise to anyone.

But what does it really mean? Abortions will continue to be available to women. This right has already been etched into our society. But certain related things may be examined.

For one abortion rights may be delineated at the state level, not by the federal government. Simply, each state will decide under what conditions an abortion is legal. This does not mean that they will be prohibited.

For instance limits many be imposed relating to federal funding of abortions and the ability to get an abortion after being pregnant for more than a certain number of months. Included in the list of banned procedures will be late-term abortions without a substantive medical reason.

Thankfully Trump has seemingly put to bed the issue of same-sex marriage. The gay community will finally be able fall in love and be married. Bravo.

The press has misinterpreted Trump’s vision of a nuclear world. Two situations are most important in this regard.

The Iran nuclear deal will likely be abrogated. The arrangement is flawed for many reasons. The most important ones are that Iran cannot be trusted to abide by the terms of the agreement- they will cheat and move along post haste to build a deliverable nuclear weapon. And, why the hell would the U.S. agree to legitimize a nuclear program for its mortal enemy?

The other relates to Japan. It is perfectly reasonable for Japan to develop a nuclear capability to counteract North Korean nuclear ambitions. Trump has stipulated that Japan has a need for a weapon to protect itself. And the international community of nations has confidence that Japan will manage its program responsibly and with long-term peace in mind, unlike Iran.

Trump is not opening the door for lesser-developed and violent countries around the world to develop nukes. Obama did this, and Trump wants to end it.

Trump’s use of social media to communicate with America was discussed at length in the Times article. No doubt Twitter was a good thing for Trump and his campaign. He was able to respond immediately to the barrage of attacks perpetrated by the hostile press and others. It would be wise for the new president to be more measured, and statesman-like, in his tweeting.

The status of FBI Director James Comey is now front and center. It appears that Trump will investigate the situation. The rationale of Comey for taking the actions he did will be evaluated.

Finally the issue of Hillary and Bill Clinton corruption is hanging over the American people. This was not specifically discussed in the Times piece

It would be magnanimous and wise for Trump to recuse himself from all FBI investigations relating to the Clintons, and to state so publicly. In the interest of unifying our nation Trump should shed his pent up animosity for the Clintons and allow objective federal investigators to do their job.

A few words about the national protest against Trump are relevant to this essay.

Donald Trump won the election fairly. The electorate went to the polls and made a decision. This event was democracy at its finest.

Understandably certain groups feel they are at more risk under a Trump administration. However some of these feelings are over-dramatic. For instance women are not in more danger because of Trump’s misogynistic past. In fact the national debate about protecting women has never been more intense.

Law abiding legal aliens will be protected. The rhetoric of mass deportations has already been quashed. Why would illegals who would be good citizens be opposed to ousting the criminals in their midst?

Nobody likes to lose. But all dissenters should be heartened by the fact that a man who was not well liked by most was able to rise up and win the presidency. If you have a gripe, rise up and do something about it under the law and through our democratic process.