David Hadley : Trump 2 . 0 one year in – successes amid the drama

presstelegram.com · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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In October 2024 I endorsed Donald Trump for president. Many considered my endorsement newsworthy since I had not supported Trump in 2016 when I represented the South Bay in the State Assembly. One year into Trump 2.0, where do I stand now? Bottom line: I don’t regret my vote. This column will cover the successes of Trump 2.0 so far. Next weekend I will share my disagreements, concerns and advice for the administration. Let’s get past the Trump Derangement Syndrome and screams of “fascism!” and look at the facts. 2025 was a year of peace and prosperity for Americans. Real wages rose over 1%. Inflation declined to about 2.5%. Mortgage rates dropped almost 1%. The U.S. murder rate declined over 20%. Fentanyl deaths dropped over 20%. All branches of the U.S. military exceeded their 2025 recruiting goals for the first time in years. 2025 was also a year of constitutional government. Yes, Trump aggressively asserted the powers of the presidency, and the administration spent a ton of time in court. But there were no ignored Supreme Court rulings, no defiance of Congress. Our simmering constitutional – or nullification – crisis lies in the efforts of governors and mayors in places like Minnesota to make it impossible for the Federal government to enforce U.S. immigration law. President Trump has restored strength and energy to the presidency. The obvious decline of then-President Biden, the lies from his allies and media protectors to hide that truth, and the primary-free coronation of Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ 2024 nominee, were all disasters. I often disagree with Trump, but I know who is making the decisions in his administration. Trump has secured our southern border. This major policy achievement has seemingly been forgotten now that we have no video of endless caravans streaming north. We cannot forget, our only 2024 alternative to Trump was the Biden/Harris open borders debacle. President Trump shepherded the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to passage last July despite razor-thin majorities in Congress and lock-step opposition from Congressional Democrats. This legislation protected us from what would have been dramatic tax increases if Congress had not acted, and it created a favorable tax climate for business investment that makes me optimistic about continued economic growth. Trump 2.0 has continued his first-term work to increase U.S. energy production. Oil/gas prices have been falling and the world is investing in American energy. This is not only great news for our economy, it is great geopolitics. President Trump has been able to deal with petro-states like Iran, Venezuela and Russia without the fears of spiking energy prices that have haunted American presidents for 50+ years. The vast economic and strategic gains we are reaping from American energy dominance are coming at literally no cost to the environment. U.S. per capita carbon emissions have declined by a third since 2000, but that doesn’t matter when China commissions one new massive coal-fired electric plant every single week. Come on people, this is simple math. With Democrats opposing any efforts to reform our bloated Federal budget, Trump 2.0 has made only limited progress on spending and deficits. But Trump is trying – DOGE, defunding the unnecessary and politically biased public broadcasting services, trying to close the counterproductive Department of Education, and attempting to unwind COVID-era giveaways on student loan repayments and SNAP/Medicaid eligibility. We need more of this as we confront unsustainable deficits and debts. Internationally, Trump 2.0 has strengthened America’s position in multiple regions. His biggest 2025 successes were in the Middle East – ending the war between Iran’s proxies and Israel on favorable terms, returning all Israeli hostages, and severely damaging Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Extraordinary U.S. actions to seize Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and impose immense pressure on the Venezuelan government have greatly weakened China in our hemisphere and may yet bring down the evil Castroite regime in Cuba. Trump has also made progress in Europe. It has not been pretty – Europe has gotten very comfortable sheltering under the American security umbrella while defunding their own militaries and buying Russian oil & gas. Intense pressure from Trump 2.0 has led NATO members to increase their support for Ukraine, increase their defense spending and reduce their purchases of Russian energy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent speech at the Munich Security Conference was a tour de force of tough love for our European friends. Whether you voted for Trump or not, let’s give credit where credit is due. His administration accomplished a lot this past year. Tune in next week to see where I think President Trump needs to course-correct. David Hadley represented the South Bay of Los Angeles in the California State Assembly 2014 – 2016.