Disclaimer: For the past decade, this blog has made comments about Donald Trump that might lead a reader to believe that Softball Politics was partial to Mr. Trump. People have asked me if I am supportive of the man on many occasions. During his first term as president, I was bewildered that the nation elected such a person to the most important position in the world. The first Trump administration was a disaster, and our country was in decline because of its inexperienced president.

Donald Trump has not changed as a person since his first administration. He is not a person I admire or one I would like to have a beer with. He was and still is a narcissist. He was and still is a megalomaniac.

But his ability to identify and rectify problem facing our nation has improved. He has done some things that needed to be addressed. He does not govern with style or in a statesman-like manner. He is a bad winner and takes credit for things he should not.

In the following blog, I credit and laud several things that Trump has done. I believe we should distribute kudos when it is warranted. But please be mindful that I am not a Trump supporter in any way shape or form. And, I will breathe a sigh of relief when his second term ends.

Donald Trump is trying to act like a world leader. During the presidential campaign he said America was in dire straits. He has tirelessly addressed many pressing issues that were damaging the country’s reputation. Already he has made strides and has kept promises he made during the election especially regarding immigration, crime and the economy.

As an aside, I feel sorry for Joe Biden. He never should have run for the presidency a second time. He was not healthy enough to lead the country. Democrats were buffaloed into believing Joe could be an effective face man for the power-hungry politicians that supported him.

Joe was just a puppet for Democratic politicians. All the while the country was being devastated by an ultra-liberal mentality. Joe’s fellow Dems should have recognized that the assault on our borders, illegal drug activity, crime in our big cities and the dearth of leadership in America were on the minds of voters. The result was the total collapse of the Democratic Party.

Then again, if Kamala Harris entered the presidential race earlier, the result would have been the same; she probably would have lost by a greater margin. What a bad choice. Harris was not capable of taking the reins of the most powerful country in the world.

Trump is bringing the US back into the limelight in almost every regard. He’s doing so much that Dems are claiming he is becoming too authoritative. I really doubt there will be a King Donald I in our future. Our governmental structure and laws would not allow Trump to take over the Congress, the military and individual states. Moreover, Trump has just three years left to govern.

Personally, I think Trump is a menace. He’s a megalomaniac. He wants everyone to declare their loyalty every day. But the man has accomplished a lot in the short time he has been in office.

In this regard, Trump has used the power of his office to usurp some activities that are the in the purview of Congress. It’s about time that Congress lived up to its responsibilities and assumed the role of managing the receipts and expenditures of our government, approving actions of the president, dealing with friends and foes, vetting the president’s aides, fixing our electoral system, dealing with the environment, and so on.

It’s true that Trump will likely pick his successor. If he chooses another Republican like JD Vance, Marco Rubio or Ron DeSantis, do you really think any of them would allow Trump to interfere in the matters of state once they are in the White House?

Republicans have nothing to worry about. The next person in the White House will be a strong conservative and a much nicer person than Donald Trump.

Getting back to Trump and his lame duck presidency, we should appreciate several positive things that are happening.

Consider the following:

• Trump put crime in America at the top of his list. Democrats gave radical left wing elements free rein. They defanged the police and now there is chaos in our large cities.

• Trump has addressed some parts the woke movement. Bathrooms will not be shared between women and men and men will not play in women’s sports.

• Our borders are finally closed. Applying for citizenship in our country will be more vigorous as we install proper vetting standards to ensure that we aren’t relocating criminals.

• The economy is booming. CEO’s are becoming more optimistic and increasing their investments in manufacturing every day.

• America has re-assumed a leadership role in some of the most important negotiations including the Ukraine and Gaza.

I understand that Trump is a difficult man too appreciate, but he is doing a pretty good job in a number of areas. When his term is ended you should expect a similarly conservative government led by a similarly conservative Republican.

A terrible thing happened this past week. Charlie Kirk, a popular 32-year-old supporter of traditional conservative values was assassinated at a Utah college while meeting with students. Mr. Kirk conducted his life’s crusade via Turning Point USA.

Frankly, I never heard of Charlie until the day his life was ended by an assailant, who objected to Kirk’s ideology. We will probably learn a lot more about the shooter as time passes. He has been arrested. It would be interesting to hear the murderer’s justification for his actions that deprived Kirk from fulfilling his mission in life and took him away from his family as a husband and father.

As far as I know, Kirk never supported violence as a means to improve our country. He preferred debating with words and concepts. Nor did he ever espouse taking physical action against those who disagree with his philosophy on life and his code for young people.

The shooter wanted to rid the world of a man who fought for his causes peacefully. Supposedly, everybody in America is permitted to express their opinions and decide how they stand on specific and controversial issues such as abortion, crime, violence and family matters.

But wait, maybe America a not a place where everyone can express his or her opinions without fear of retribution? Some people on the far left rejoiced when they heard Charlie was gone. How does the shooter’s single action, the firing of a bullet to kill a man of peace, register with America? Among many other laws, the shooter violated Kirk’s freedom of speech.

Kirk was a great person based upon the reaction of many Americans to his demise; he probably would have eventually rivaled Martin Luther King Jr. and other great leaders who believed that passive resistance was the desirable way to make changes. Perhaps Kirk would have aspired to be to be elected president someday. Good God, America really could use a smart, honest and well-read person in the White House. No, not in this world. Violence is what idiots resort to when they want people to listen to them. Unfortunately, violence is a road to chaos and sadness.

R.I.P. Charlie Kirk. I wish I had a chance to meet you.

Congressional committees are one of the most unprofessional and unproductive aspects of the US government. The disrespectful questioning that takes place at each meeting is appalling.

This situation is greatly responsible for the inability of Congress to effectively oversee the actions of the Executive Office including the president. The committees are also responsible for identifying bad behavior by government officials. Meetings should be a place where the best ideas and suggestions of Congress can be incorporated into new laws. Unfortunately, they are used to make speeches and ridicule members of the opposition party.

In recent years, I have casually followed the sessions of Congress dealing with difficult and political issues. It seems that people responsible for every complicated and controversial topic are dragged into a meeting where they must answer impossible questions, be criticized and then raked over the coals by political sycophants and uninformed electees of Congress looking to make political points.

RFK Jr. had a rough day last week when a senate committee met with him. Actually, anyone who appears before a congressional committee has a bad day. Democrats attacked RFK for his position on vaccines. Their efficacy and risk to the public were supposed to be the subject of the committee’s meeting.

Democrats were waiting with sharpened knives in hand. First of all, they never not once, gave RFK a chance to answer a question. They intimidated him rudely after each comment he made. They confused the issues so that RFK was all over the place trying to explain his perspectives, his actions and his expertise.

This is not a new technique to make political points. However, when congressional people call witnesses a liar and convolute the witness’ comments, it does no good for anybody.

The public has a right to know what the Executive Branch and Congress’ opinions are relating to vaccines. Sometimes opinions differ, and arguments arise. It’s good for the public to hear all sides of the story before they have to make a decision about their children. The perspectives of Congress and HHS should be vetted if they are in conflict. The meeting held was just a whole lot of screaming and name calling on both sides by various loud mouths. The loudest mouth in the group was the senator from Massachusetts (Warren).

After watching the proceedings, I have no idea whether I should have my children take certain vaccines that are readily available.

It is criminal that our electees cannot have a productive meetings on important topics.

Unfortunately, RFK was totally ineffective and unable to make points in defense of himself.

For years, Congress has been holding embarrassing unproductive meetings on the most serious issues facing our government. It’s about time that the people involved were polite and not aggressive when they try to uncover facts. The RFK meeting was just a very bad group of people trying to intimidate a government official, not for the benefit of Americans, but for the benefit of their own political aspirations. Next time you go to the polling place consider whether your representative is seeking the truth.