President Donald Trump has become very effective at using the Democrats’ own weapons against them. In his second term, he has only become more precise in his ability to leverage the power of the executive branch to bring about positive change in fighting against the radical Left’s agenda.

Last month, Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills had a bit of a fracas. Mills asserted that her state would not comply with Trump’s executive order that protects women’s sports. Trump, in typical fashion, called her out (to her face), telling her that Maine would not receive federal funding if Maine did not comply with federal law. To which Mills replied, “We’ll see you in court.”

University of Maine System (UMaine) of state-funded schools has agreed to comply with President Trump’s executive order baning men from women’s sports.

This makes Maine Governor Janet Mills look worse than usual after her defiance against Trump on the matter not too long ago. pic.twitter.com/wvLDo9VM0Y

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 21, 2025

The governor refused to comply, so Trump’s Department of Education and Department of Agriculture both did investigations into Maine. Attorney General Pam Bondi followed up on those investigations, and ultimately, federal funding to the tune of $250 million was stopped. This convinced Mills that it wasn’t a battle worth fighting.

It’s a shame that it took the president having to wield that kind of tool for Governor Mills to relent on an 80/20 issue. The vast majority of Americans do not want men competing in women’s sports, taking their medals, and violating their privacy or their safety. Mills’s stance is hardly surprising, though, considering hers is the position of the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress. Leftist lawmakers are so dedicated to transgenderism that they are happy to vote against women’s rights to placate a fringe minority.

This capitulation by the Pine Tree State is a major victory for women of all ages there. What Governor Mills lost, all of Maine’s women gained.

Furthermore, this isn’t the only recent instance of Democrats caving. Columbia University is also finally taking steps to clamp down on the illegal and sometimes violent pro-Hamas protests. The Trump administration let the university know that it was withholding $400+ million in federal subsidies and grants because Columbia was choosing not to protect its faculty, staff, and students by allowing rabble-rousers to take over buildings, prevent students from getting to their classes, and hand out pro-Hamas, pro-terror propaganda. These rabble-rousers are even being strongly supported and encouraged by some Columbia faculty.

In an agreement with the federal government, Columbia has agreed to enforce a mask ban, allow the campus police to arrest students, and install a vice provost over the department that houses Middle East, South Asian, African, and Palestinian studies. This last concession has a more broad directive to ensure that the department approaches these subjects with balance.

While the school itself is finally taking steps to fight back against the radicals on campus, the students are continuing to escalate. On Monday, protesters wore masks on campus in direct opposition to the new ban. Columbia is already facing its first test of resolve. Will it again placate the mob, or will it stand up and force the protesters to face consequences? We’ll have to wait and see.

These concessions by a leftist governor and a leftist university are almost as sweet as the cave by Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer on the continuing resolution. President Trump and the GOP are on a winning streak right now, and it is quite a thing to see.

UPDATE: As predicted, Columbia is not actually complying with the agreements it made with the federal government, specifically vis-à-vis the mask ban. Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, privately told faculty and staff that there would be no such enforcement of the ban despite the school's public agreement with the federal government. She was, in fact, upset with the Board of Trustees for not defending the school against accusations of being a hotbed for anti-Semitism. Therefore, no consequences can be expected for those who arranged their “mask-in” on Monday. The federal government is now justified in cracking down even harder. Since $400 million wasn't enough to get Columbia to change, perhaps placing a moratorium on its $5 billion in total federal funding will get Armstrong’s attention. Fool around and find out.