President Trump has taken several actions in recent days that highlight his “America First” leadership. Here’s a quick rundown:

• The Trump Administration, acting with our allies in Canada and Europe, imposed new sanctions against Russia due to its continued aggression in Ukraine. Once again, the president is demonstrating that he is not Putin’s puppet or somehow beholden to the Kremlin. (Mr. Mueller, call your office!)

• The president publicly challenged the CEO of General Motors and local union leaders over the closure of a plant of Lordstown, Ohio. At least 1,700 jobs are being lost. I know presidents can’t micromanage the economy, but U.S. taxpayers bailed out GM, and the president just gave GM a big tax cut. I applaud Trump for calling on one of our great American companies to put American workers first.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced recently that international bureaucrats attempting to prosecute U.S. military personnel will not be allowed into the country. Radical groups routinely accuse the U.S., Israel and our allies of committing war crimes. The Trump Administration is not wasting its time on their nonsense and is putting our heroes in uniform first.

• Surrounded by members of law enforcement and Angel families, President Trump vetoed the congressional resolution terminating his emergency declaration at the southern border. The president noted that this power has been used nearly 60 times before, often involving “foreign citizens in far-off lands.” But he is determined to put America first by securing our borders. By the way, Trump donated his first quarter salary to the Department of Homeland Security.

Challenging Trump

The #NeverTrumpers are desperate to find a credible primary challenger to Donald Trump. They don’t actually believe that individual has any chance of winning the nomination. But that’s not the point. 

History shows that serious primary challenges against a sitting president increase the chances of that president losing the general election. And defeating Trump is all they care about.

Right now, William Weld, the liberal ex-governor of Massachusetts, is the only Republican running against Trump. But Weld is not a credible candidate in my view. 

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appears interested, as does former Ohio Governor John Kasich. And if former Florida Governor Jeb Bush jumped into the race, his ability to raise money would certainly make him a credible candidate. 

But ponder this: Where has Jeb Bush been over the past 10 years during the most fundamental battles for the future of our country? 

He left political office in 2007 and was AWOL during the Obama years. I never heard about Jeb Bush again until he entered the 2016 primary, evidently believing that as a member of the Bush dynasty it was “his turn." 

Donald Trump is not going to lose a primary challenge. If Bush, Hogan, Kasich and Weld are interested in a political fight — and there are plenty of fights to engage in right now — they should get into the fight on behalf of the right team. 

America can’t afford the extremism today’s Democrat socialists are espousing. Whatever disagreements they may have with Trump are dwarfed by the damage the socialist left would do to this country. 

We are fighting for the survival of capitalism in America. We are fighting to prevent live-birth abortions in America. We are fighting to preserve religious liberty in America. We are fighting for the future of freedom in America!

Mocking Faith

It’s become an unfortunate tradition that whenever tragedy strikes, the left mocks the prayers that give so many people comfort and meaning. Last week it was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s turn.

After the horrific mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand, the New York congresswoman tweeted, "What good are your thoughts [and] prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” In doing so, she managed to unite Christians, Jews and Muslims in outrage at her arrogance.

It’s sad that the left feels free to attack the faith of millions of Americans after such tragedies. AOC seems to regard prayer as akin to a rabbit’s foot, a good luck charm that’ll give you anything you want. But of course, prayer and faith don’t work that way.

It’s natural and healthy to turn to prayer during times of distress. Prayer helps us avoid bitterness. It heals and gives us meaning. And prayer has the unique ability to bring people together, exactly what we need right now.

Ocasio-Cortez is probably too young to remember it, but on the morning of 9-11, the nation was in shock as it learned about the terrorist attacks that had just killed thousands of their fellow citizens. Dozens of members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, came together on the steps of the Capitol and sang “God Bless America." 

Without faith in God and country, such an extraordinary moment of bipartisanship could never have happened. If Ocasio-Cortez had been in Congress at that time, I take it she would not have participated.

AOC is an avowed socialist, a belief system that, at its root, sees God and faith as the enemy of the state, competing for the people’s loyalty and affection. I have often commented that many progressives see government as their god. It’s not hyperbole, my friends.

The irony is, if Americans ever end up living under the socialist system the left envisions, our prayers will be the only thing we have left.