Inauguration Day

In the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol building, this meme circulated: 

The message here is that on 1/20/2017, Donald J. Trump went from being easily the biggest outsider ever to be inaugurated the President of the United States to his term ending in a bizarre, carnival-like fashion. I was convinced that shameful display by some of his most ardent supporters on 1/6/2021 would define Trump's legacy. Throw on top of that a second impeachment as well as multiple criminal indictments, it seemed a forgone conclusion that a third campaign for President of the United States would be even a bigger joke than how people viewed his 2016 run.

And yet......here we are today as Trump was officially inaugurated the 47th POTUS in the culmination of the most improbable political comeback our nation has ever seen. 

Said comeback would still be tops if he "only" faced a perpetually hostile media, two impeachment attempts and those multiple indictments. But add to that two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign and you now have a President Trump who is far more empowered and emboldened than he was his initial term. Yes, any attempts to gin up, say, a "Russia collusion" type hoax will be met with scoffing and ridicule due to the fact Trump effectively broke the collective backs of the legacy media. Until that institution does some serious introspection, alternative forms of media (i.e. podcasts, online streaming, etc.) will continue to dominate the day. The crazies know this, which is why there have been attempts to kill Trump. It's literally the only option to stop the proverbial Trump train. 

I have been a frequent critic of Trump and thus haven't been shy of the fact that I wish he would have imposed a self-banishment. And while I won't shy away from pointing out areas where I feel he is in grave error, I will absolutely give credit where credit is due here: Donald J. Trump is the most compelling political figure of my lifetime and he has overcome challenges which I believe no other presidential candidate could have surmounted. Like his predecessors, he will be in my daily prayers. 

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