President Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the House chamber on Tuesday night for his fifth address to a joint session of Congress reminded me of a column I wrote in September 2015 headlined, “The American Voter is Mad – and Perfectly Rational.” If you’ll indulge me, here is an excerpt from the “Told You So” file, 14 months before Trump was elected the first time.
“No one knows exactly how it happened,” the column begins, “All we know is that Mr. American Voter agreed to go to anger management counseling, and the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to split the cost.”
In the first “counseling session,” Mr. American Voter describes how things were going along fine until September 11, 2001, and then what followed was “a disaster”: “Fourteen years of war and it feels like the terrorists have won,” “when I go to the airport, they throw out my shampoo,” “the government takes over the health insurance business and now it’s costing me more,” “the financial markets crash in 2008” and the government decides to “bail out everybody who caused it.”
Then, “everything’s more expensive” and the government says “There’s no inflation!” Good jobs are “gone or out of the country” and “90 million people have left the workforce” but the government says “They’re not unemployed!” and “Job creation is strong!”
“And on top of everything,” Mr. Voter rages, “we’ve got an open border and millions of people who came into the country without legal authorization. What does the government say? ‘It’s all good!’”
Mr. American Voter says he’s angry all down his left side and all down his right side, angry at obscene CEO payouts and angry that “anybody who stands up for the interests of Americans is called a nativist or an isolationist or a wing nut.”
As the counselor leaves the room to get a bigger notepad, Mr. Voter yells, “And another thing. I’m sick of hearing that American history is some kind of criminal record. I want Andrew Jackson on the 20. I want Alexander Hamilton on the 10. I want William McKinley on the mountain. I want George Washington taught in elementary school.” Then he demands the counselor’s bill, refusing to have it sent to the Democratic and Republican parties because they’ve already “run up $19 trillion in debts” and his kids have enough bills to pay.
In the nearly ten years since that was written, the debt is up to $36 trillion, which may help to explain why Mr. American Voter isn’t angry over Trump canceling foreign aid contracts or using DOGE algorithms to hunt down waste, fraud and insane spending.
Mr. American Voter doesn’t seem to be angry that the Gulf of Mexico has been renamed the Gulf of America, though Hillary Clinton was seen snickering contemptuously when Trump brought it up during his Second Inaugural Address. Clinton, who once called Trump’s supporters “a basket of deplorables,” joined outgoing President Joe Biden, who called them “garbage,” in the section of seats reserved for people who no longer have a job in government.
McKinley is back on the mountain, portraits of Hamilton and Jackson are hanging in the Oval Office and staying on the currency, and Trump went well beyond ensuring that George Washington is in the elementary school curriculum. He issued an executive order titled, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”
The January 29 order states, “Parents trust America’s schools to provide their children with a rigorous education and to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation and the values for which we stand. In recent years, however, parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”
To promote “patriotic education,” the order re-establishes “The President’s Advisory 1776 Commission,” which Trump created during his first term and Biden canceled. The order also promises to revoke federal funds from schools that use them to “support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.”
Will Mr. American Voter need anger management counseling over that? It doesn’t seem so.
It’s evident that Trump’s second term is shifting something fundamental in the public culture of the United States. He is ending the era that has seen U.S. history divided into just two categories: Already Apologized and Haven’t Apologized Yet.
Remember being told that U.S. taxpayers must contribute their hard-earned money to international climate funds to be handed out to various third-world leaders as penance for American industry and transportation?
Well, that’s over. “I withdrew from the unfair Paris Climate Accord, which was costing us trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying,” Trump said on Tuesday night.
Ever had a conversation with a high school student and been shocked at the vitriolic anti-American rhetoric that pours out, combined with no familiarity at all with the achievements and the sacrifices of Americans throughout U.S. history?
Well, that’s over. The president’s executive order defines “patriotic education” as “a presentation of the history of America grounded in: an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America’s founding and foundational principles; a clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history; the concept that commitment to America’s aspirations is beneficial and justified; and the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper.”
The American apology tour is over. Trump doesn’t apologize for holding allies to their commitments, or for taking a hard line against enemies, or for having a powerful military that’s trained to win wars and not to provide emotional support. Trump doesn’t apologize for a secure border, for pursuing a trade policy that benefits American workers, for making the U.S. energy independent or for firing unelected bureaucrats who try to stop him.
If that makes you angry, I can give you the number of a good counselor.
Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on X @Susan_Shelley
