President Trump promised to drain the swamp. He has turned it upside down, kicked it around, and is jumping on it.
His opponents are left defending fraud, waste and corruption, paper straws and deranged men hellbent on destroying female sports.
We have seen nothing like this ever. President Trump’s first days were well planned and executed. He and his team hit the ground running. Elon Musk operates at a level that leaves even his billionaire genius peers awestruck. We are witnessing a digital 1776 revolution.
The world is now different.
Trump 2.0 has normalised the impossible.
On his confirmation Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared, “Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security.”
Meanwhile, our Prime Minister Chris Luxon lamely states, “Oh look, you can’t be living in the 21st Century and deny human-induced climate change is real. It is real. There is no room for climate change denialists or minimalists in the 21st Century, I put it to you. That’s why the National Government signed New Zealand up to the Paris Agreement. That’s why we are deeply committed to Net Carbon Zero by 2050.”
President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement.
Mr Luxon has doubled down.
Net Zero shackles and chains us. We can work hard and smart but to little or no material gain. We need cheap reliable energy. And lots of it. Mr Luxon’s show-ponying robs us all. Net Zero is a recipe for economic disaster.
The Trump 2.0 changes are so massive and so fast they are proving impossible to report. We can keep informed but only by following Elon Musk and other US leaders on X. There is transparency but the speed and comprehensiveness of change has proved the legacy media as unfit for purpose as the bureaucracy and pre-Trump politics has proven. The legacy media and government are intertwined in corruption and are now exposed and rotting.
The cultural shift is also dramatic. One anecdote illustrates it.
In a classic “gotcha” the media screamed that one of Elon Musk’s 19 year-old engineers had unwisely said bad things online about Indians under the moniker “Big Balls”.
He resigned. The normal course would be apologies all around and self-flagellation with the policy reform knocked off course and the media hunting their next victim.
Not now.
The Vice President of the United States J D Vance posted on X:
“Here’s my view:
I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.
We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.
So I say bring him back.
If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
When asked, President Trump agreed.
“Big Balls” kept his job.
Congressman Ro Khanna posted to J D Vance that he wanted “Big Balls” to prostrate himself and pay penance, “for the sake of our kids”.
(J D Vance’s wife is Indian.)
J D Vance replied:
“For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up.
Racist trolls on the internet, while offensive, don't threaten my kids. You know what does? A culture that denies grace to people who make mistakes. A culture that encourages congressmen to act like whiny children.
I cannot overstate how much I loathe this emotional blackmail pretending to be concern.
My kids, God willing, will be risk takers. They won't think constantly about whether a flippant comment or a wrong viewpoint will follow them around for the rest of their lives.
They will tell stupid jokes. They will develop views that they later think are wrong or even gross. I made mistakes as a kid, and thank God I grew up in a culture that encouraged me to grow and learn and feel remorse when I screwed up and offer grace when others did.
I don't worry about my kids making mistakes, or developing views they later regret. I don't even worry that much about trolls on the internet. You know what I do worry about, Ro?
That they'll grow up to be a US Congressmen who engages in emotional blackmail over a kid's social media posts.
You disgust me.”
Boom.
If there was a moment where everything changed, I would nominate these J D Vance’s posts.
No more bullying and kowtowing. No more fake outrage and fake apologies. Men have taken charge. They have had enough.
America is back.
America is back but where is New Zealand?
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