What a start to the year for the Trump administration. The federal government’s revenues increased annually by 13%, the stock market is breaking records, Gross Domestic Product growth may exceed 5% in 2026, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Venezuela no longer has a dictator who is cozied up to China and Russia.
The tariff naysayers have quieted down over the economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks like Nostradamus. But if you pay attention to mainstream media, it’s not as big of a story as it should be.
That is a shame, and I thought it deserved to be highlighted. Those results are good for America. All I have been hearing about is the ICE operation in Minneapolis. You would think the entire city is a playground for fraud by some members of the Somali community or an ICE war zone.
The economic story needs oxygen. It is good for all Americans to see that type of growth in an economy that is ever-changing.
You may dislike the Trump administration; you do not dislike your retirement savings. There is a seismic difference between how people tell you they feel and the economic results.
Trump should entertain, not pick on blue cities
Credit: hand
Credit: hand
President Donald Trump is about to have quite a 2026. America turns 250. The World Cup is going to take over in June and July. The United Fighting Championship is coming to the White House for an event. America’s founding documents are going on a nationwide tour so the masses can see them in our common spaces, across America.
The Romans used to pacify the common men with “Bread and Circuses.” Trump is about to deliver a master class on how to entertain. The summer of 2026 will have America in a very festive mood.
Liberals, hear me out. Minnesota has fraud problems. Minnesota is in direct physical conflict with federal law enforcement. And it does not look entirely peaceful.
But fraud is across the government. Congress has an important job with the appropriations process. They also have an equally important job investigating the use of funds. But the Trump administration has a law enforcement problem.
Americans have a lack of tolerance toward elected leadership when it comes to federal law enforcement policing the streets.
Trump has consistently picked on large population centers because it is easy win for his dwindling base. But the law enforcement practice is not new, and it is not necessarily always Republican, either. It ends in an ugly manner, such as the Kent State University shootings over Vietnam protests or in the South during the 1950s and 1960s over racial desegregation. It is easier to point out when it ended poorly than when it had a successful outcome.
For a president who I believe is a populist, this sure was pound-foolish.
President’s decision could lose GOP U.S. House
Successful results may be undone by Trump’s hubris.
Working as a field officer in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be a dangerous job, but ICE officers are responding to orders; they do not necessarily agree with the assignment. They are currently centerpieces of Kabuki theater. But violence toward them is the wrong answer, and liberals ought to be better. Those who work in federal law enforcement do not have autonomy. Protesters are wrong to target ICE agents individually.
Trump is having his Tiananmen Square moment, the 1989 showdown between the Chinese Communist government and anti-government protesters.
I am a self-professed Republican. There is not a major U.S. city that I desire to live in. I like my slice of suburbia. But America’s big cities also represent the values of their constituents. They are great rallying cries for conservatives. But Americans have the right to live anywhere. The Trump administration is taking a hapless stand in Minnesota, the only state that President Ronald Reagan lost in 1984. What an unforced error.
Trump can make Venezuela an ally. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Cuba’s leadership may fall by the end of 2026. Unprecedented growth. Rising exports. Trump accounts. The world’s great sporting event. All under the backdrop of our country’s 250th birthday. The year of a lifetime.
There are a lot of wins and potential wins out there in 2026, Mr. President. Chase those. If you continue down the path with federal law enforcement in blue cities and states, you are handing the Democrats victory in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026, not to mention your down-ballot conservatives.
You have transferable energy. You have a unique ability to be the wind in the sail or the anvil around the ankles. If you lose the House of Representatives, your power will wane immediately. A legacy is defined by accomplishments. A legacy may also be defined by the cost. Choose wisely. Republicans need your help, Mr. President.
Ben Burnett is a business owner and former member of the Alpharetta City Council. He is a Republican. He is a contributor to the AJC.
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