One of President Donald Trump’s greatest lines during the 2016 presidential campaign was his promise that, “We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you’ll say, ‘Please, please. It’s too much winning. We can’t take it anymore, Mr. President, it’s too much.’ And I’ll say, ‘No it isn’t. We have to keep winning. We have to win more!’” Trump’s second inauguration on Monday represented the triumph of a movement years in the making. The winning has begun again.

Unfortunately, the reactions of too many on campus since the election can only be characterized as “tired of winning.” Before the election, the Oct. 31 “Collegian Weekly: Wednesday will be another normal day” predicted that the dining hall’s Warm Cookie Wednesday would be the most important part of the day after Election Day. Most of the professors featured in the paper’s coverage of the election in the Nov. 7 article “Trump reclaims the White House” expressed either apathy or outright dismay at Trump’s victory. How is it that even Hillsdale College could not muster excitement in light of this historic moment?

Some will think this take overly simplistic, but we should actually enjoy winning.

Trump’s non-consecutive victory is a historic moment that we should be genuinely grateful to have witnessed. The campaign was full of emblematic images: the Trump mugshot, the “fight, fight, fight” picture after the assassination attempt, Biden wearing a “Trump 2024” hat, Trump working at McDonald’s. Trump’s resurgence was the greatest political comeback in American history — and in the years to come, we ought to remember this year of winning fondly.

Because of his eccentricities rather than in spite of them, Trump has brought back exuberance to American politics. If 2016 presented a shock to the entrenched uniparty system — which proceeded to undermine Trump’s first term — 2024 not only dismantled the influence of the media and federal bureaucracy, but it also provided a robust vision for America’s future. Trump’s first executive orders signed Monday night started enacting that vision.

As Trump returns to office experienced in the inner workings of Washington, D.C., and determined to enact a fresh agenda, his second term has the potential to breathe new life into an American political order stagnant from decades of bureaucracy and mismanagement. 

And Trump makes this winning fun. He’s hilarious and endlessly clever. Even before taking office, Trump’s electoral victory led to the toppling of Canada’s dictatorial prime minister and temporary peace in the Middle East. Not to mention the revival of America’s Manifest Destiny. (So much winning.) Trump’s second inaugural address, which began with the emphatic statement that “the golden age of America begins right now,” exuded confidence that the new administration will be capable of enacting real change.

People who tire of politics frequently complain that the government never acts; that Congress, the president, etc., don’t listen to the people. Not only is Trump promising to act — he already has. Of course, the normal political squabbles will resume. Policies will be negotiated. America still faces challenges that, by nature, will endure for longer than one presidential term. And even if you consider yourself conservative, you personally may not agree with everything Trump wants to accomplish. “Tariff” may not be your favorite word in the dictionary, even though it should be. However, resist the temptation to join the bandwagon of killjoys who complain about every slight divergence between the Trump presidency and their personal Kallipolis. Reflect back on the last four years of chaos, dysfunction, and censorship. We asked for change. We shouldn’t complain when we get it.

Trump fundamentally transformed the modern Republican Party and conservative politics. And that’s a good thing. Just as Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign sought to offer a “choice, not an echo,” likewise, for the first time in decades, Donald Trump’s agenda presented the people with a real choice. The people chose decisively. We should enjoy witnessing the result. As Trump said on Monday, “We’re going to win like never before.”

 

Jonah Apel is grad student inVan Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship.