The Patriot Post® · Evaluating Donald Trump's Second Term Thus Far

If President Donald Trump’s first term could be described as amateur hour, his second term could be described as more seasoned professional. It’s important to point out that neither of these descriptions fully does justice to either term, but on the whole, they do capture the overall perception and distinction between the two.

Trump is just nearing the midpoint of his second term; however, it has thus far produced arguably more significant accomplishments than his entire first term, which was significantly hampered by an establishment Republican Party that seemingly fought against him as much as it fought for him. Moreover, he was hampered by the bogus Russian collusion hoax through the first half of his first term.

It’s fair to say that, during his first term, Trump was a genuine political outsider who had much to learn about how to effectively confront the Washington establishment. His cabinet choices proved to be a mixed bag, even as he saw tremendous success on the economic front, which was unfortunately derailed in the last year of his first term by the global COVID pandemic.

But now, Trump is more of a seasoned political veteran. He is attuned to the Washington establishment’s tactics and clearly returned to the White House with a much more focused and strategic plan to implement his desired policy agenda.

So, here is a look at how Trump has been doing in his second term so far.

First, the good. Trump has been tremendously successful with one of his primary campaign promises — tackling and shutting down the Biden administration’s open border malfeasance. By the end of 2025, the Trump administration had effectively shut down the border as illegal crossings decreased to record lows.

Trump’s immigration enforcement, while certainly causing controversy among Democrat-controlled cities and states, has seen roughly two million illegal aliens removed from the country via either forced deportations or voluntary self-deportations. Democrats and leftist activists have fought hard against these immigration enforcement efforts, but Trump has largely prevailed.

Trump also deserves high praise for addressing head-on the problem of racism in the form of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” His administration, buoyed by U.S. Supreme Court rulings, especially with regard to race-based college admissions programs, has forced America’s institutions of higher education to dump DEI.

His second term has also picked back up with deregulation. This has been especially evident with the Environmental Protection Agency, headed by Lee Zeldin, which has ended much of the department’s climate alarmist agenda, reorienting the EPA to focus on actual pollution issues rather than carbon emissions.

Energy policy under Trump has gotten much better, as he has ditched Joe Biden’s green energy-only obsession and once again embraced an all-of-the-above policy, which includes more fossil fuels, but is highlighted by a push to build up America’s long-lagging nuclear energy development.

Overall, Trump’s cabinet picks have proven much more capable, as highlighted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has overseen impressive foreign policy actions. Of course, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was arguably the best pick in his first term, so maybe Trump just has a knack for that post.

But not all of Trump’s second term has been roses.

The economy, which was significantly impeded by Joe Biden’s economic policies and open border, has yet to see the same level of economic growth and success that the nation enjoyed during most of Trump’s first term. As noted, much of this can be blamed on Biden; however, Trump’s massive tariff actions certainly have not helped bring down the cost of living.

While one can argue that Trump’s protectionist actions may be well-intentioned, as he seeks to save American jobs, they have thus far failed to produce the kind of economic development needed to spur significant growth in the U.S. economy. This has opened the door for the Democrats, who have made affordability one of their leading campaign talking points.

Even more troubling has been Trump’s retreat from his first term’s strong opposition to abortion. He clearly reasoned that the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 derailed the Republicans’ midterm election efforts, and he seems to have maintained this view, as he appears to want to avoid the issue entirely. This has been a real disappointment for conservatives.

Trump’s apparent desire to exact retribution for the lawfare campaign he was subjected to by Democrats and the Biden administration has, unfortunately, resulted in a seeming lawfare effort against several of his enemies, such as the disgraced former FBI Director James Comey. While understandable, this has only fueled a narrative of Trump pushing the Justice Department to engage in a tit-for-tat.

Then there has been the conflict with Iran. While Trump’s actions to bomb Iran’s nuclear weapon development facilities were commendable, the later joint operation with Israel has left many asking about a clear objective.

Ultimately, Donald Trump’s greatest achievement was saving us from a Kamala Harris administration. But on its own merits, Trump’s second term to date has been more impressive than his first.