It’s become predictable: President Donald Trump attempts something that might help America, and Democrats oppose it.
It’s a reflex rather than a reasoned position. It’s not about policy; it’s about posture.
They’ve reached the point where opposing Trump seems more important than admitting when something works. They clearly do not understand how the mind of a businessman works during negotiations.
Take tariffs. When Trump introduced them, Democrats wailed about “taxes on consumers.” Yet, here we are months later, with billions pouring into the Treasury. Tariff revenue has topped $100 billion — money that directly strengthens our negotiating hand abroad and our balance sheet at home. You’d think even the most partisan economist could applaud that. Instead, they pretend the gains don’t exist — as if a government collecting billions in new revenue is somehow bad for taxpayers.
Public safety? When the Trump administration sent the National Guard to high-crime areas, the reaction from Democratic leadership vented their spleen. Governors and mayors sued, judges blocked deployments, and activists screamed “fascism.” Never mind that these were neighborhoods where families were literally begging for help. He sent help to stop the bullets — they sent lawyers to stop the help.
Border enforcement? For decades, both parties have agreed that illegal immigration is a problem. But when Trump acts, it somehow becomes “inhumane” or “racist.” His administration reports more than 2 million people leaving the country, through a mix of deportations and voluntary returns, many of them assisted with transportation or relocation funds. That’s efficiency. But Dems describe it as cruelty, ignoring the strain that unchecked immigration puts on city budgets and social systems.
Energy policy? Trump expands drilling and prices stabilize, and suddenly we’re told we’re destroying the planet. Never mind that American oil means fewer imports, less dependency, and lower costs for everyone. For Democrats, it’s not about clean air anymore; it’s about keeping their environmental lobby happy. The fact that affordable energy benefits working families escapes them.
Even when Trump does something as harmless as renovating the White House, they find a way to object. A privately funded ballroom — designed for state dinners and national events — has Democrats seething. “It’s extravagant,” they cry, forgetting the basketball court installed under Barack Obama’s watch. One critic even went so far as to say she hopes it’s used for Trump’s funeral.
And then there’s the war on drugs. When Trump authorized strikes on smuggling boats off the Venezuelan coast, most Americans probably thought, “Good — about time.” Not Democrats. They immediately claimed he was “really going after Maduro,” as if blowing up cartel boats packed with narcotics was some sort of geopolitical chess game. Only in Washington, D.C., could destroying drug shipments that kill Americans be spun as a bad thing.
The same pattern repeats with foreign policy. When Trump brokered a peace accord between Israel and Hamas — an accomplishment that would have earned any other president a Nobel nomination — critics called it “inhumane,” claiming it didn’t solve every grievance in the Middle East. Of course it didn’t. But it stopped rockets from flying, at least temporarily. You’d think peace, even an imperfect one, might get a nod of approval.
It’s as if Democrats have lost the ability to separate the man from the measure. If Trump’s name is attached, they’re automatically against it — even when the policy helps the people they represent. They’ll support border security until he enforces it, energy independence until he achieves it, and crime reduction until he tries it. Then suddenly, it’s unconstitutional or immoral.
Meanwhile, the numbers tell a different story. The economy is steady. Markets are climbing. Inflation has cooled. And for all the noise, ordinary Americans — the ones who don’t spend their days refreshing Twitter — seem quietly content that someone is finally treating the job like business instead of theatre.
That may be what frustrates Trump’s critics most: results. The more they predict collapse, the more the country refuses to cooperate. They protest, they litigate, they shout, and yet the trains still run, the lights stay on and people keep finding work. Every time Trump rebuilds a bridge, reopens a factory or signs a deal that favors American workers, the opposition is outraged.
We’ve reached a point where success itself offends them. They’d rather be right in theory than wrong in reality. But while the shouting continues, the country moves forward — sometimes despite its loudest citizens.
So, yes, Democrats can mock, sue and resist until their voices give out. But at the end of the day, the tariffs still collect billions, the borders still hold, and the markets still rise.
Logic may have taken a holiday, but America hasn’t.
Alan Webber, a Bourbonnais resident, has been a weekly contributor to the opinion pages of
The Gilman Star and City News, as well as a few publications in
Arizona, for the past four to five years. He is also a blogger, occasional podcaster and the author of two novels — ‘Whipping Post’ and ‘Roll Me Away.’ Raised in Iroquois
County, in Chebanse and Clifton, he owns A.N. Webber Inc., a trucking company in Kankakee, and graduated from Clifton Central High in 1975. His blog appears at www.webberswhippingpost.com.
He can be reached at awebber@anwebber.com.