On this blog, I discuss our country’s biggest problems. I want all Presidents to succeed because if the President succeeds, then the country succeeds. In my opinion, President Biden failed for three reasons: he refused to close our southern border, he allowed inflation to take off (with excessive Covid stimulus spending), and he practiced a weak foreign policy (starting with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan).
Now it is President Trump’s turn. Will he succeed or fail?
Consider: What President Trump is doing right:
- Illegal southern border crossings are at the lowest level in decades. They dropped to just over 7000 in March 2025 from frequently over 200,000 per month under Biden.
- Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is making a strong effort to cut federal spending. The Fed can’t get inflation under control by itself. It needs fiscal restraint from the President and Congress. We are currently running annual spending deficits of almost $2 trillion. This must be significantly reduced and getting this done appears to be a priority for Trump.
- Trump has ordered an end to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in the federal government. DEI has gone overboard in recent years. Hiring should be primarily merit-based with perhaps some occasional affirmative action around the edges.
What President Trump is doing poorly:
- He is over-emphasizing tariffs. Free trade is supported by 84% of voters. Tariffs amount to a tax on consumers. They should only be used sparingly to protect fragile domestic industries, especially for national security reasons. U.S. foreign trade consists mostly of high-level services and goods. It is neither feasible nor desirable to restore the manufacturing of low-cost goods.
- He should stop attacking Fed Chair Jerome Powell. We need a strong and independent Federal Reserve to maintain the strength and the stability of the dollar. Trump’s attacks on Powell are making investors nervous and thereby hurting economic growth.
- He is creating too much controversy with poor leadership choices. He should immediately fire Pete Hegseth from the position of Secretary of Defense. Hegseth is a borderline alcoholic. He is lax on national security and he is continually squabbling with his staff.
- A strong foreign policy means helping Ukraine defend itself from Russian invasion. The American people strongly support helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia, as long as long as there are no American boots on the ground. No doubt a compromise will be necessary to end the fighting. But making too many concessions to Putin will just encourage him to invade other countries in the future.
Conclusion. Trump needs to focus on the basic issues of a strong economy and strong national defense. He is partly doing this, but he is also prone to getting sidetracked on petty personnel issues that accomplish nothing and create unnecessary controversy.
It Does Not Add Up 
Trump is attacking colleges and universities seemingly because he wants to gain control over them. Our higher education is a huge strength and Trump has already disrupted this. Our scientific research and researchers are the best in the world, but Trump is attacking this. They will go elsewhere. You should listen to Farid Zakaria’s Sunday morning show today. He says we became great in this area because of Hitler (caused brilliant minds to immigrate to the US, WWII, and the funding of science by the federal government. Cancelling visas for students and faculty is sending a strong message and we will pay the price.
Cracking down on universities is part of the overall effort to cut federal spending. Universities will continue to do well without massive sums of federal money. The federal government is now spending $2 trillion per year more than it collects in taxes which is unsustainable and must be greatly reduced to avoid another fiscal crisis in the near future.