It is clear that Donald J. Trump will be a remarkable second-term president. His courage and endurance over the last nine years have already made him an historic figure, and his recent comeback on November 5 is just the beginning.
In the four years he spent out of office, President-elect Trump had time to think through how to change the establishment and what steps to take to remove the dictatorial elements in the American system.
It is believed that his second term would begin on January 20, 2025, when he would become President de jure, which is the Latin term for something being in the law. However, it appears that President Trump’s fame, energy, and drive, along with President Joe Biden’s decline, have led to a new model. The reality is that President Trump has become the de facto President, which means “in reality or as a matter of fact.”
When French President Emmanuel Macron greeted President Trump with the full honors of state during his recent trip to Paris, it was clear that the mantle of American power had shifted decisively to President Trump. When President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Macron to discuss Ukraine, it was clear where the center of world power resided.
The fact is that President Trump is the de facto President, he is the practical leader of the United States even before his inauguration. He is negotiating with leaders and sending signals about massive domestic and foreign policy changes, and he is essentially eliminating President Biden and Vice President Harris from the public stage by the sheer scale and energy of his activities.
It can be seen in the examples of the images of President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which were a powerful contrast to Meloni’s recent meeting with President Biden, in which she had to find him and lead him back to a group photo. Furthermore, Meloni is a conservative populist who is finding solutions to illegal immigration and creating economic growth, in a manner similar to President Trump.
Although it was initially thought that the de facto presidency of President Trump would start on January 20, 2025, it is now clear that it has already begun. The torch has been passed from a liberal Democrat to President-elect Trump, and he has the energy and strategies to push forward and continue to enact the policies on which he campaigned. With a 55% to 33% lead, President Trump can continue to move forward, and if his strategies work out, the 13% that are undecided will likely join the pro-agenda side, giving him a 2:1 advantage.