President Trump speaks to the media before departing from the White House in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

He is performing effectively.

It’s time for the Trump haters to ditch their “unfit” trope.

From former CIA chief John Brennan on the left to the Never Trumpers on the right, Donald J. Trump is “unfit” to be president. Or so they insist. Somehow, they claim, a combination of incompetence, mental illness, and excessive fast-food consumption all render Trump incapable of executing his duties.


While this has been an absurd and ugly lie since Trump’s inauguration, these stalwart naysayers now should see that Trump is entirely equipped to do his job. Trump’s critics surely will disagree with his policies and decisions. But the last few weeks should make even them admit that, whether they cheer or jeer his actions, he actually is performing as president, and effectively so.

President Trump had a nearly flawless state visit with Queen Elizabeth II in London in June, followed by D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth, England. That’s where Trump dramatically read President Franklin Roosevelt’s prayer for American GIs as Operation Overlord began. Trump spoke as a massive photo of FDR loomed over him.

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity,” Trump recited. “They will need Thy blessings, for the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces, but we shall return again and again.”



How moving.

The next day found Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron, and other European leaders above Normandy’s beaches to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France. Trump delivered a solemn and touching speech, arguably the best of his tenure. He honored the mind-bendingly valiant GIs who liberated Europe. Some 170 of these nonagenarians were there to accept the effusive gratitude of Trump and his counterparts.

“Seven decades ago, the warriors of D-Day fought a sinister enemy who spoke of a thousand-year empire,” Trump said. “In defeating that evil, they left a legacy that will last not only for a thousand years, but for all time — for as long as the soul knows of duty and honor; for as long as freedom keeps its hold on the human heart.”

Even before Trump flew to Europe, the southern-frontier crisis boiled over. In May alone, according to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, “we encountered a modern record of 144,000 border crossers, a record day of over 5,800 border crossings in a single 24-hour period, and the largest single group ever apprehended at our border — 1,036 individuals.”


To end this chaos, Trump threatened to slap ever-higher taxes on Mexican imports, unless America’s southern neighbor slowed or stopped the relentless, northward march of illegal aliens. Mexican officials could not jet to Washington swiftly enough. After a three-day negotiation, they agreed to deploy 6,000 troops on the Mexico–Guatemala border. Another 15,000 Mexican soldiers mobilized to their border with America. The ever-expanding caravans already have slowed. Border apprehensions fell from 132,887 in May to some 95,000 in June — down 28.5 percent, and the first monthly drop since January.


Trump turned his attention to Iran, which blasted a U.S. drone out of the sky on June 20, just days after it bombed a Japanese ship in the Gulf of Oman, apparently the sixth such vessel that Tehran has struck since May 12. Just ten minutes before a U.S. military retaliation, Trump canceled the action. He reckoned that a projected 150 Iranian deaths would be disproportionate to the demolition of an unmanned drone. The trigger-happy mad bomber of leftist lore instead exercised restraint. Any further aggression by the ayatollahs would expose them as warmongers. This would make an American armed response almost the polite thing to do. Meanwhile, Trump applied even harsher economic sanctions on Iran’s top thugs, squeezing them harder, without firing a shot.

At the White House, Trump signed an executive order to increase price transparency in hospitals. This should help Americans shop for medical care, thus spurring competition and slicing costs. Trump also showcased the “right-to-try” law that he signed in May 2018: He introduced Erika Jay, who explained that she had been waiting to die but gained access to experimental anti-cancer drugs. Thanks to right-to-try, she is alive and well.


Trump also announced an effort to deregulate the home-construction industry and boost the supply of affordable housing.

Trump earned applause for bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom on supply-side guru Arthur Laffer. This should hush Never Trumpers who still bafflingly claim that Trump “is no conservative.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) caved in on June 26 and let the House pass a less restrictive, bipartisan Senate bill to provide $4.6 billion for humanitarian relief on the southern border. Under pressure from Trump and his allies, Congress finally addressed complaints of overcrowding and other discomforts in overwhelmed illegal-alien detention centers.

Around this time, self-defeating Wayfair workers displayed their pro-illegal-alien compassion by protesting their employer’s decision to supply these facilities with beds. Better, these workers reasoned, for illegal-alien children to sleep on the ground than for Wayfair to give Trump the time of day. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) calls these structures “concentration camps,” even though people clamor to enter them, they are free to go home, and yet they stick around and remain in “cages,” which Obama built. Cement floors are not ideal, but they appear to trump living across the street from MS-13.

Trump also prospered at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. He and Chinese president Xi Jinping resumed trade talks. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 since have reached record highs.

Trump capped June by visiting South Korean president Moon Jae-in in Seoul. Trump arranged an impromptu, “Hey, I’m in town; let’s meet” mini-summit with North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un. Trump became America’s first sitting president to enter North Korea, via the Demilitarized Zone. Trump and Kim met for 55 minutes and then resurrected denuclearization talks.

President Trump knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s getting it done. He is, indeed, fit for office, as confirmed by these and other victories — not least the confirmation of 123 constitutionalist federal jurists.


Finally, as the Russiagate hoax recedes into memory, Democrats’ fading impeachment chants underscore their status as Earth’s sorest losers — ever. As these storm clouds vanish, Americans are seeing how President Trump can govern when he does not hear nearly every Democrat and journalist scream “RUSSIA!” 24/7/365. Just imagine if William Barr, and not Jeff Sessions, were attorney general from Day One, and the Russigate/Mueller travesty never happened. Americans could have had for the last two and half years the president who has governed for the last four weeks.

Michael Malarkey contributed research to this opinion piece.