The White House
Kyle Sammin: Could we just be normal?
During the 2024 election campaign, I heard more than one on-the-fence moderate say of the Democrats, “all they had to do was be normal.” All of the fringe gender ideas, the unrestrained illegal immigration, the refusal to even admit that crime was a problem, all of it led to the Democratic Party being marginalized by the loudest, farthest-left voices within it. And so they lost.
They lost — and Donald Trump won — because they presented an image so far out to the leftward fringe of society that even people who didn’t love everything about Trump were willing to give him a second chance, just to stop the madness.
After the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, many of those same people — and many even in the Republican Party — are asking the same question: can’t you just be normal? Could Trump, instead of tweeting bizarre screeds at all hours of the day and night, be instead the guy who on the campaign trail seemed to speak the language and understand the concerns of the average American?
Consider one of the big questions of the election: illegal immigration. On this issue, Joe Biden and his people dropped the ball immediately and purposely the moment the old fellow was sworn in. Through a series of repeals of Trump policies and executive orders from the first term, Biden signaled a certain, shall we say, flexibility about the treatment of illegal entry into this country.
That turned very quickly into a wave of illegal immigration like this country has never seen, accomplished through repeal of Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy for would-be asylum claimants and an extremely credulous and slow-moving response to the claimants it allowed into the country. Millions entered, claimed asylum, and were told to hang around and receive benefits while the claim was processed. It was a loophole a mile wide, an exception that swallowed the rule.
Trump fixed this problem more or less immediately by returning to the old policies. People who claim to be seeking asylum can do so in the first safe country they get to, rather than disingenuously forum-shopping across the Rio Grande. In Trump’s first full month in office, February 2025, Border Patrol agents apprehended 8,347 illegal aliens crossing. A year earlier, that number was 140,641 — a decrease of 94 percent.
This is an amazing victory on an important issue. And the next step — deporting people here illegally from the past few years — could have continued just as smoothly. For many of them, the government already knows where they are. Others bring themselves to the authorities’ attention by committing new crimes. The law on illegal immigration already gives the government the power to deport them (the Biden administration also had this power and chose not to use it.) It is another easy win on an issue the people want using tools that already exist in settled law.
Instead, we’re fighting over whether a guy deported by accident without a single hearing is somehow beyond the reach of the entire judicial system. The guy in question, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, quite possibly could have been deported legally, if the administration had followed the process. But they didn’t, and all nine Supreme Court justices have agreed on the fact that they didn’t. So now, instead of an orderly process of law, we have chaos and wild claims of executive power turning an easy win into a pointless loss.
This is not the only such case.
Lots of people think the federal government is too big and too costly — and they’re right. But the Silicon Valley approach to problem solving (move fast and break stuff) is not a great fit for the government. Yet that is how Elon Musk and DOGE are proceeding. Taking a little bit of time to get things right would save a world of unforced error. We could still get things done more quickly than the usual pace of government action, but without the chaos. The people voted for change, not anarchy.
“Move pretty fast and don’t break stuff” isn’t as snappy a slogan, but it better reflects the will of the people — and would represent a better solution for what ails the bloated state.
And of course, we have the tariffs. Plenty of people saw our trade with China as unbalanced, unfair, and the cause of much misery at home. We trade our factories for cheap goods and bankrolled a communist government in the process. Some rebalancing of trade would have been welcome.
And, to his credit, Trump’s harshest tariff treatment has landed on China. But he has also singled out allies like Canada, Japan, Israel, and the EU nations for tariffs, even though their trade with us has been essentially fair. America can go it alone, if necessary, but why would we want to? Why antagonize longstanding friends and trade partners whose military and economic might will be necessary as a new Cold War begins with Red China?
And, of course, there is the method by which these tariffs have been delivered — temporary executive actions instead of permanent laws passed by Congress. What company is going to reshore its manufacturing on the basis of a temporary tariff that could disappear tomorrow? There’s a way to do trade protection right, but this isn’t it.
On tariffs, as on illegal immigration and the size of government, Trump has a majority on his side. But he’ll lose it just as fast as Biden lost his if he embraces pure chaos.
The request is not wishing for the impossible, just the ordinary. Bill Maher is no Trump fan, but when he met with the President last week he found himself talking to a man who seemed a lot more normal than the caricature out of left-wing nightmares. The presidency is isolating, and being huddled all day with oddballs like Musk and Peter Navarro can affect anyone. But now that he’s won the long-sought victory, if Trump wants to use it to really succeed in office he should remember the thing that got him there: being normal.
Kyle Sammin is the managing editor of Broad + Liberty.
It has not even been 100 days… it has been 86 days since Trump started his second term. Donald Trump’s second term as President began on January 20, 2025, following his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States. Today is April 15, 2025.
To calculate the number of days:
January 20 to January 31, 2025: 12 days (inclusive of January 20).
February 2025: 28 days (2025 is not a leap year).
March 2025: 31 days.
April 1 to April 15, 2025: 15 days.
Total: 12 + 28 + 31 + 15 = 86 days.
Your article exhibits bias against the Trump administration through its tone, framing, and selective emphasis, which collectively paint a negative picture of Trump’s leadership and policies despite acknowledging some successes.
Describing the administration’s actions as “chaos” and its legal arguments as “wild” suggests disorder and extremism, even though the Supreme Court case mentioned (Kilmar Abrego Garcia) is presented as a procedural error rather than intentional overreach. While the article acknowledges Trump’s success on illegal immigration—highlighting a 94% decrease in Border Patrol apprehensions—it quickly shifts to criticize perceived missteps, giving disproportionate weight to negatives. How about you focus on the vast amount of media lying about this specific issue for four (4) long years? Labeling key figures like Elon Musk and Peter Navarro as “oddballs” is a personal attack that discredits their contributions without engaging with their ideas or roles substantively.
Your language primes the reader to view the administration as dysfunctional, even when discussing policy wins, and reflects a subjective bias rather than neutral reporting. A more neutral approach would balance critiques with deeper analysis of policy outcomes and broader context, avoiding loaded language and speculative assertions. Perhaps you simply want more tax money used to push arguments and propaganda directed at children questioning what exactly a woman is? Trump Admin is not perfect. They tried to kill Trump because he was not normal. Now he is President… and you want “normal?” We locked ourselves up for years over a severe cold that most people didn’t know they had unless they took a test. That was “normal” … and it sounds like that is the normal you want.
Everything Trump is doing is exactly what he told us during the campaign and debates. Why is it not normal now? Maybe you underestimated how insane the left obstructionists are.
“Maybe you underestimated how insane the left obstructionists are.” – Does that include all 9 Supreme Court Justices when they ruled against Trump on Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Judah, Trump fixed the border in less than 2 weeks,,, without any new legislation needed. The media lied, and lied, and lied about the topic for 4 years. Trump realized China and Europe were using legal loopholes (Transshipment and Final Assembly, De Minimis Exemption, and Nearshoring in Mexico) to avoid U.S. tariffs involved leveraging the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by routing goods through Mexico and Canada for final manufacturing or assembly… And the media lied, and lied, and lied about it. Even radio hosts on 1210 AM didn’t understand what was going on… and they reported poorly concerning the topic of Canadian tariffs. Some contributors on Broad + Liberty still don’t want to understand the issues and have asked Trump to be nicer – they have no idea what they are talking about with the Mexican and Canadian tariffs.
Regarding Garcia… use actual facts. The Court’s unsigned decision upheld a lower court’s order requiring the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador, while directing the district court to clarify its use of the term “effectuate” to respect executive authority in foreign affairs. The lying media will bray about this issue… while real news such as retail stores like RiteAid, Wawa, etc. are being closed because basic criminal conduct was not punished. No one rational cares about a MS13 gang member that was ejected from the United States, early. The guy never should have been in the United States. I don’t like Trump much, but his second administration is doing a great job so far!
“Regarding Garcia… use actual facts. ” – Lets talk about facts. Fact, Mr Garcia has a court order stating that he can not be deported. Fact, the Justice Department admitted in court that Mr. Garcia should not have been deported. Fact, the Supreme Court has unamously ordered Mr. Garcia’s return to the U.S. Fact, the DOJ has provided no evidence to prove their claims regarding Mr. Garcia.
“I don’t like Trump much, but his second administration is doing a great job so far!” – That makes you an oxymoron.
” Trump realized China and Europe were using legal loopholes (Transshipment and Final Assembly, De Minimis Exemption, and Nearshoring in Mexico) to avoid U.S. tariffs involved leveraging the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by routing goods through Mexico and Canada for final manufacturing or assembly…” The USMCA was negotiated by Trump in his first term. If there were any loopholes, that makes it his fault. It is perfectly normal for parts to be ordered from one country and assembled in another.
You have no credibility after your claims that I am a bot, one person, and multiple people. Let me know which reality I am.
Standing up for the MS-13 wife beater who illegally entered the country. Not surprising.
Standing up for a repressive communist regime. Not surprising.
Standing up for a Jew that helped Nazis during WW2. Surprising, but there you go, as long as the Nazi facilitator funds disruption of Trump and chaos in America.
I know what you are, and so do you.
As usual you have no facts to back up your claims.
“Standing up for the MS-13 wife beater who illegally entered the country.” – Any evidence of this has not been provided by ICE.
“Standing up for a repressive communist regime.” – So its not Trump’s fault that there were loopholes in the USMAC that he negotiated?
“Standing up for a Jew that helped Nazis during WW2. ” – This has been debunked so many times I am not even going to bother.
“I know what you are, and so do you.” – What am I?
1. PLENTY OF EVIDENCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY COURT RECORDS.
2. DOESN’T MATTER. LOOPHOLES MAY HAVE BEEN OK THEN. NOT NOW. DEAL HAS CHANGED.
3. DEBUNKED BY NO ONE EXCEPT YOU, AND APOLOGISTS THAT LIKE TAKING HIS MONEY, WHICH DOESN’T COUNT.
4. TDS INFECTED LEFT WING LIBERAL LUNATIC.
There. I answered your questions. Tell me: Will you sponsor the MS-13 wifebeater to comeback an live in your house?
“1. PLENTY OF EVIDENCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY COURT RECORDS.” – None of which has been made available to the public. So if you have a link feel free to share it.
“2. DOESN’T MATTER. LOOPHOLES MAY HAVE BEEN OK THEN. NOT NOW. DEAL HAS CHANGED.” – According to the “Art of the Deal”, Trump is an expert in negotiating. This failure means he is not.
“3. DEBUNKED BY NO ONE EXCEPT YOU, AND APOLOGISTS THAT LIKE TAKING HIS MONEY, WHICH DOESN’T COUNT.” – George Soros and his parents were Jews hiding from the Nazi’s in plain sight. How does a 13 year old boy who visited an empty home, with a Hungarian government employee who was also hiding his Jewish wife, aid and abet the Nazi’s?
“4. TDS INFECTED LEFT WING LIBERAL LUNATIC.” – You suffer from TAS, Trump agreement syndrome.
“Tell me: Will you sponsor the MS-13 wifebeater to comeback an live in your house?” – Since he is not a member of MS-13, is nt a wife beater, and has a court order that protects him from being deported. Yes I would.
“3. DEBUNKED BY NO ONE EXCEPT YOU, AND APOLOGISTS THAT LIKE TAKING HIS MONEY, WHICH DOESN’T COUNT.” – How do I get Soros to pay me to do this? I could use a side hustle.
Here’s “a” link : https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline
Will you shut up about the legality of this MS-13 wifebeater – Liberal cause poster boy hero? There are numerous links to all kinds of records. He is not afforded ‘due process’ since he was here illegally. It will make it to the SC, and will be overturned. Maybe you should go visit him with those 2 other DEM BOZOS.
It was the right deal prior to 2020. 4 years of China running roughshod over the Biden (or whoever has been running the country) administration has nullified it.
In his own words, Soros said that ‘it was the best time of my life’ working for the Nazis. I doubt if he would pay you to propagandize him. Your arguments are weak, like a pigeon playing chess.
Here’s “a” link : https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline
Will you shut up about the legality of this MS-13 wifebeater – Liberal cause poster boy hero? There are numerous links to all kinds of records. He is not afforded ‘due process’ since he was here illegally. It will make it to the SC, and will be overturned. Maybe you should go visit him with those 2 other DEM BOZOS.
It was the right deal prior to 2020. 4 years of China running roughshod over the Biden (or whoever has been running the country) administration has nullified it.
In his own words, Soros said that ‘it was the best time of my life’ working for the Nazis. I doubt if he would pay you to propagandize him. Your arguments are weak, like a pigeon playing chess.
The Soros quote is out of context, the original is ;
“”It was also a very strange experience for me because it was actually probably the happiest year of my life — that year of German occupation — because for a 14-year-old kid to have an adventure — first of all, I had a father who understood what’s going on,” Soros said in the interview. “We were confronted by unspeakable evil. It’s like a David-and-Goliath fight, and you are on the side of the angels. And you actually prevail by surviving. So, for me, it was a very positive experience. It’s a strange thing, you know, because you see incredible suffering around you. And, in fact, you are in considerable danger yourself. But you’re 14 years old, and you don’t believe it, that it can actually touch you. You have a belief in yourself. You have belief in your father. It’s a very happy-making, exhilarating experience.”
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/may/14/instagram-posts/billionaire-and-philanthropist-george-soros-is-sti/
“Will you shut up about the legality of this MS-13 wifebeater” – According to the police report he has no criminal record after they checked 9 databases, the “reliable source” is anonymous, and if wearing Chicago Bulls clothing makes him a member of MS-13 then we better deport a lot of Chicago Bulls fans. What you failed to mention was that the Department of Justice admitted in court they should not have deported him, he has a court order not to be deported, and all 9 members of the Supreme Court have ordered his return.
“He is not afforded ‘due process’ since he was here illegally.” – “The Supreme Court confirms that the fourteenth amendment does apply to non-citizens. The majority opinion in the Supreme Court case, Zadvydas v. Davisholds that aliens, although not citizens are entitled to Due Process of law. In Zadvydas, the Court held potentially permanent detention of an illegal immigrant awaiting deportation unconstitutional, as the illegal immigrant still had liberty rights.” https://sites.law.duq.edu/juris/2018/10/16/illegal-immigration-and-the-right-to-due-process/
The only game you are playing is hop scotch and you are making up your own rules.
The SC has NOT ordered his return, pigeon. They told the lower court to define ‘facilitate’. “The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner,” the DOJ attorneys wrote in the seven-page filing.
“Taking ‘all available steps to facilitate’ the return of Abrego Garcia is thus best read as taking all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here,” they continued. “Indeed, no other reading of ‘facilitate’ is tenable — or constitutional — here.” Nice try pigeon. Do you also deny that he abused an beat his ‘wife’? Regarding due process: In general, deportation in the United States requires due process, but there are exceptions. For example, expedited removal allows for rapid deportations, even without a full hearing before an immigration judge. However, even in expedited removal, individuals have the right to express fear of persecution and potentially seek asylum, according to the American Immigration Council. Additionally, due process rights for non-citizens can vary depending on their status and circumstances. If Garcia wasn’t a gang member, why did he fear gang violence retribution? I guess 3rd time was a charm for this ‘system gamer’, plus impregnating his ‘battered wife’ to make himself more of a charity case for the 3rd judge. All this TDS lunacy from dem senators drinking margaritas with an illegal wife beating gang banger whining for his release. Reminds America of the Felon drug addict George Floyd Dem congress phony prayer service while they wore tribal colored scarfs that actually were from tribes that captured and sold slaves during the slave trading days. Keep it up, morons. Pretty soon you’ll have AOC as your leader. Oh – wait…