I’ve spent my whole life in a small town and worked with my hands for more years than I care to count. I’ve never had much use for people on the evening news telling me what I’m supposed to think. So, take this for what it’s worth, one old man’s opinion, not gospel.

I’ll say this plainly: I’ve never cared for how Donald Trump is portrayed. Not because I believe the man is a saint, no human is, but because the picture being painted rarely matches the parts of the real story that manage to get through.

Take his work ethic. Whatever you think of Trump, he has spent decades building hotels, golf courses, businesses, and political movements. I was raised to believe there is value in showing up, putting in the hours, and finishing the job. Nobody has ever credibly accused Donald Trump of being lazy. Where I come from, that counts for something.

There is also a generous side of him that rarely receives much attention.

In 1988, a three-year-old boy, the son of a New York rabbi, needed medical treatment in California. The child could not fly commercially because of the equipment keeping him alive, so Trump sent his private plane to transport him.

In 2013, Buffalo bus driver Darnell Barton stopped his bus and talked a woman down from a bridge railing, saving her life. After hearing about it, Trump sent Barton a $10,000 check.

In 2014, Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi returned home after spending seven months in a Mexican prison following a wrong turn near the border. Trump sent him $25,000 and a personal letter.

Those events are documented. I also investigated some other stories commonly attributed to Trump, including the stranded Marines and the man with a flat tire whose mortgage was supposedly paid off. Those stories do not hold up. I would rather share three true examples than repeat ten stories I cannot defend. A man’s real record should be enough.

Here is my opinion: when only the worst stories about someone are repeated while his decent actions are left on the cutting-room floor, that tells us something about the people doing the editing. I am not asking anyone to agree with me. I am simply tired of being given only one side of the story.

The same thing is happening with Trump’s second term.

His most immediate accomplishment has been the dramatic reduction in illegal border crossings. His administration restored aggressive enforcement, expanded detention and removal operations, ended broad catch-and-release practices, and pressured other countries to cooperate. Historically low southwest-border apprehensions represent a restoration of national sovereignty and the rule of law.

Trump’s first signed legislation of his second term requires the federal detention of certain noncitizens charged with theft-related and other specified crimes. It was an overdue response to preventable crimes committed by people who should not have remained free in this country.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved major portions of the 2017 tax cuts while expanding the Child Tax Credit and providing tax relief involving tips, overtime, seniors, and qualifying American-made automobile loans. It also funded additional border-wall construction, detention capacity, Border Patrol agents, customs officers, and thousands of ICE personnel.

Trump reversed Biden-era restrictions on oil, natural gas, coal, pipelines, LNG exports, and federal leasing. Reliable and affordable American energy is essential to national security, agriculture, manufacturing, and household prosperity.

His administration also moved to eliminate federal DEI mandates and restore the principle that Americans should be judged according to their qualifications, ability, and performance—not racial preferences or ideological compliance.

Trump defended women’s athletics by directing federal agencies to enforce Title IX based on biological sex. His administration challenged taxpayer-funded gender-transition procedures involving minors and restored parental rights, medical caution, and biological reality to federal policy.

All active-duty military branches met or exceeded their fiscal-year 2025 recruiting goals, producing the Defense Department’s strongest overall recruiting performance in 15 years. Trump also pressured NATO allies to move toward spending 5% of GDP on defense and related security investments. American taxpayers should not be expected to carry a disproportionate share of Europe’s defense burden.

Through tariffs, trade negotiations, procurement policies, and investment agreements, Trump encouraged companies to build factories and critical supply chains in America. He also pursued agency consolidation, workforce reductions, contract reviews, grant cancellations, and a $9 billion recessions package targeting foreign aid and public broadcasting.

Trump’s greatest accomplishment may be restoring a clear governing philosophy: secure the border, enforce the law, protect American workers, rebuild domestic industry, demand fairness from our allies, reject progressive cultural mandates, and put American citizens first.

Critics will dispute his methods and results. But from where this country boy sits, Trump has demonstrated something Washington often insists is impossible: campaign promises can become government policy.

Make of it what you will. I know what I think.