“GOLDEN Age” or STONE Age?

This post has been coming for a long time, and the title came to me a few nights ago.

I’m a Christian, conservative Republican. I never voted for Reagan, but saw the light just after he was re-elected in 1984. I was living near a college campus and witnessed students driving around town honking their horns after Reagan’s FORTY-NINE state shellacking of Walter Mondale.

At the time, I was an immoral, Left-sympathizing hedonist. And I thought my fellow students were nuts!

Soon after, I was exposed to more rational minds, and a more serious exploration of Christianity than I encountered in my twelve years of Catholic school, where I never went too deep with my spirituality.

I began to realize that it was ME who was nuts!

I became a great admirer of Ronald Wilson Reagan, and I remain one today.

Fast-forward to Donald John Trump. After first backing Ted Cruz during the 2016 Republican Primary, I ended up coming over to Trump, as did a lot of Christian conservative Republicans. We admired his “take no prisoners,” “don’t back down–DOUBLE down!” attitude.

In a world where politicians didn’t speak their minds publicly, and ran for cover when challenged by the media, Trump was clearly a breath of fresh air.

So I voted for Trump in ’16, ’20, and ’24. And if the choice was Trump or any national Democrat they’d put up against him, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat again.

I mean, what rational person could be FOR a border INVASION, rampant inflation, far-Left social policies, abortion-on demand, trans mutilation surgeries for kids, etc., etc.? This is what the Democrats stand for these days. ANYONE who doesn’t go along with this can look like “the Second coming” by comparison. Trump has been the beneficiary of this comparison.

But just because I’d vote for him against the Democrat candidate, and just because I am THRILLED by Trump’s actions to virtually halt the flow of illegal aliens streaming across our borders, attacking “waste, fraud, and abuse” through DOGE, and any number of other pro-American actions Trump has taken, it doesn’t mean that I don’t see some ominous storm clouds appearing.

Putin “Can Finish Off Ukraine”?

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a threat while launching a new nuclear submarine in northern Russia: “Not long ago I said we’d grind them [Ukraine] down — now it looks like we’ll finish them off.”

Putin made the threats amidst news that Britain and France are sending military teams to Ukraine to “deter” Putin.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph (UK) revealed Trump’s plan to recoup the American People’s “investment” in Ukraine, “laying claim to half of Ukraine’s oil, gas, and hydrocarbon resources as well as almost all its metals and much of its infrastructure.”

That sounds like a great deal for American taxpayers, but Ukraine can’t be happy with it. Yet, it might be the price of “peace.”

The Telegraph piece goes on…

“…It dovetails with parallel talks between the US and Russia for a comprehensive energy partnership, including plans to restore West Siberian gas flows to Europe in large volumes, with US companies and Trump-aligned financiers gaining a major stake in the business.”

Trump has made his career on deal-making, and he is banking on his ability to make some huge ones here. But it really all depends on the question of whether Putin can be “bought off” through energy production, and forgo his desire to restore the “Soviet Union,” as this ten-year-old article notes. “Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century,” Putin said in an address to the Russian people.

Might Makes Right?… And the Signal Chat Mess

I think most objective observers would agree that Vladimir Putin embodies a “might makes right” military policy. It appears that he does what he can get away with. A striking example of this policy–in the form of his use of chemical weapons–is detailed in this video.

Unfortunately–though not nearly to the degree of Putin–Trump displays a similar attitude, such as in his assertion that the U.S. will take control of Greenland “one way or another.” Understandably, there are strategic reasons for wanting to control Greenland, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is owned by Denmark, who has no interest in letting go of it.

This cannot be construed as anything but a threat from Trump. And not surprisingly, Putin seems to have no issue with it. Why would he, based on his actions against Ukraine! How could Putin oppose Trump’s desire to take Greenland with a straight face?!

Strangely, Trump’s Greenland statement didn’t seem to bother most Trump supporters. It’s all “the art of the deal,” right? Never mind the message it sends to the world–the “strong” can steamroll the “weak” to get what they want.

U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance was scheduled to visit Greenland solo, but because of the political fallout generated by a national security scandal regarding the inclusion of an anti-Trump journalist in a high-level Signal group chat where an imminent airstrike in Yemen was being discussed, it was decided that Vice President J.D. Vance would join his wife in Greenland in a scaled-back visit.

White House Spokesperson Taylor Budowich slammed The Atlantic (its Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included in the group Signal chat), calling them “scumbags.”

“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” National Security Advisor Michael Waltz posted Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that argument, contending in a statement: “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT “war plans.'” Her attempt to spin the narrative away was blasted by many on social media.

Axios reported, “President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other administration officials strongly denied that ‘war plans’ and ‘classified materials’ were shared — essentially daring The Atlantic to publish info it had previously opted not to release.”

The Atlantic followup article published jarring DETAILS of the Signal group chat.

Trump / Republican Credibility In Jeopardy

Unfortunately, much of President Trump and his team’s good work–which includes successful attacks against the Houthis terrorist group in Yemen (what the Signal group chat scandal deals with)–is suffering political and even credibility damage.

All that was necessary to keep the Signal scandal to a minimum was to admit a mistake, say how it would not be repeated, and move on. Of course, the Media would have slammed Trump and his administration, and kept on the story as long as possible, but Trump and his team significantly exacerbated the scandal by spinning the reality of what happened into attacks on The Atlantic and its Editor-In-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg

Trump famously said in The Art of the Deal, and later re-phrased in a 2012 Tweet, “When someone attacks me, I always attack back…except 100× more.”

It’s hard to argue with success, and it’s unlikely that Trump would ever have become as successful in business or have become a two-time President of the United States without employing this philosophy, but there’s an old saying that things work until they don’t.

There’s at least a couple of things that Trump is known for, one is the above statement. The other is that he almost never apologizes. The two principles often work together. When the Signal chat scandal hit, instead of apologizing and moving on, Trump AND HIS TEAM (Trump hires LOYALISTS) spoke virtually as one, refusing to simply own up to what happened, and striking out at The Atlantic reporter, and Biden and his administration.

This show of “fighting” strength is actually an Achilles’ heel–a way to switch from “victim” to aggressor. In this dog-eat-dog world of ours, the strategy more often than not works… Unless your bluff is called.

The Trump administration’s bluff was called by The Atlantic and their reporter with disastrous results. And Trump and team have only themselves to blame.

Can Old Dogs Learn New Tricks?

I mentioned at the start of this post Ronald Reagan winning forty-nine states in 1984. I understand that our culture has declined morally in many ways since then. And our election procedures are more corrupt now (thank God that President Trump is helping to strengthen our elections, including requiring proof of citizenship!). So winning forty-nine states would be quite a challenge today.

Even though Reagan was a man of strong principle, his spirit was one of charity and unification. That spirit helped him win almost every state in 1984! For all of Trump’s great attributes (and he has surpassed Reagan in a number of areas, including making good on Reagan’s unfulfilled promise of moving to disband the U.S. Department of Education!), his style can “win,” but it tends to “make enemies” almost as much as it “makes friends.”

That’s not an ideal quality for the President of the UNITED States and the leader of the “free” world.

To keep it simple, I’d define Reagan’s style as “win-win,” with Trump’s sometimes closer to “we win–you lose.”

And Trump’s team is a reflection of him. As much as I admire Trump’s young (just twenty-seven) Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, for her boldness and habit of doing her homework; when she refuses to admit that the information disclosed in the Signal chat was indeed about “war” plans (at least battle plans–are we really going to play word games here?), and instead went on an attack (as did other administration members who were involved), she was only acting as Trump himself would act and in fact did act in this situation.

Acting in this manner hurts the character of those who do it, insults the intelligence of the American People, and inflames and gives credibility to America’s enemies–yes, that includes much of the “fake news” Media. When the “fake news” people appear to be operating with more honesty than you–you should KNOW you’re in trouble!

In Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal, the political and credibility issue was not so much the break-in, but the coverup, which–though he won re-election after the break-in, he was forced to resign later after extensive investigations showed his participation in the coverup.

Even the fallout from Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal was primarily about a perceived moral failure–that Reagan initially denied trading arms for hostages–when it can be argued that effectively he did.

Reagan got back into the good graces of the American public within eight months when he famously told Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” after earlier calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” Trump has never made a statement of similar clarity about Putin or his designs of reconstituting that empire. But I digress…

As other Presidents have been hurt by statements or actions that were perceived as coverup, making dishonest statements damages the reputation of President Trump and his team. I’m not saying that the “Signal” scandal will bring them down (it won’t), but if their approach continues to be: 1. Don’t admit a mistake. 2. Strike back hard when (rightly) accused; then their reputations and grip on power will eventually erode too.

Is Trump SAVING America and the World?

It goes without saying that the world is a very dangerous place, and it’s only getting more so. The Russia-Ukraine war may not only continue–it could get much worse, notwithstanding Trump’s efforts to bring peace, and remembering his constant assertion that he’d end the war in a day if elected. Recently Trump said that he was being “a little sarcastic” when he made those claims. I don’t think voters picked up the sarcasm.

Europe is now stepping into this conflict with boots on the ground.

Israel is in a state of war with Hamas and others. We are now involved in Yemen.

And if China decides to move on Taiwan while we are involved elsewhere, what can we do? China conducted a military drill near the island last week.

We need God’s grace and a unified America to survive and prevail in the coming turmoil. That takes moral strength and clarity.

Trump was nearly assassinated, and most believe it is only through the grace of God that he is alive today. That experience does seem to have humbled Trump some. But if God did indeed save him, then it was a sign of grace on His part. So that Trump can do His will.

Trump has said that “God saved me so I can save America.” There may be truth in that (at least in a physical sense), but I believe that can only happen if Trump and his team are determined to walk with God. And it should go without saying that the American PEOPLE need to walk with God too.

A Culture on Shaky Grounds

While there is much “shock and awe” going on in the Trump administration (much of which I heartily applaud!), and a lot of high-profile pushback against “wokeism,” there is evidence that the American culture remains largely adrift. For a good barometer of this, according to Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), in 2023, abortions went UP in America to over a MILLION. Remember, this is AFTER Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Per KFF’s study, “The upward trend in abortion volume is likely due to a combination of reasons, including expanded telehealth capacity, the ability to mail medication abortion pills to patients, and the lower charges for telehealth abortions through virtual clinics compared to in-person care. Medication abortion via telehealth accounted for 20% of all abortions in June 2024.”

Trump successfully nominated three pro-life Supreme Court Justices during his first term (thank God and Trump!), and his administration has taken some pro-life actions. One such action is Health and Human Services (HHS) Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to stop federal funding from going to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research using the body parts of aborted babies.

All that said, Trump has been inconsistent in his support of life. And Melania has taken a pro-“choice” stance in her recent book. I understand that it could be said that Trump is a “work in progress” on the issue, and he’s come a long way from his “pro-choice” past.

Given our contentious national fight over abortion, it is difficult for any politician who wants to win national office to navigate this “mine field.” Certainly wisdom must be employed. But we must closely examine our consciences to ascertain the difference between wisdom and expediency.

I do not believe God will continue to grant America mercy if we continue to butcher unborn children for convenience.

So are we really entering a “golden” age, as President Trump declares, or will we in danger of being sent back to the “stone” age?

Perhaps the best way to consider this questions is the way President Abraham Lincoln did during the Civil War, when one of his advisors said that he was grateful God was on the Union’s side. Lincoln’s response was one for the ages: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

For Trump’s sake, and for America’s sake, let us strive and pray to be on God’s side–only then will a “Golden” age be possible.

Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. He promotes natural health, success, and freedom during chaotic times.