As my radio listeners know, I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States. What an experience! I want to thank those of you who followed my frequent social media updates; to those who left “I’m so jealous!” comments on my photos and videos, rest assured that I’m not actually best friends with Sean Hannity, Eric Bolling or the Fox & Friends crew now – it just looked like I was, thanks to the magic of selfies. Plus, keep in mind that I didn’t have access to the TV coverage you did all day long. I missed seeing the Obamas board the Executive One helicopter en route to Andrews Air Force Base; instead, I got to witness people on the ground who thought Trump was in the helicopter en route to the White House. I guess you don’t have to be informed to be excited about Inauguration Day.
So what happens now? If you’re Donald Trump, you get right to work. If you’re the Senate Democrats, you do everything in your power to keep him from working. Even though Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary pick, Tom Price, said there is no plan to “pull the rug out” from anyone who is covered by Obamacare, the Democrats are stalling his confirmation with all their might. Just because Ben Carson doesn’t fit their mold of what an African-American government servant should believe, they’re throwing him irrelevant questions about whether he would give the LGBT community fair housing treatment and forcing him to promise he won’t let the Trump family profit from any HUD involvement. And because Rex Tillerson has done business with Russia as the CEO of a major American corporation, we are bound to see his confirmation vote becoming a contentious issue next week – just wait and see.
The bottom line is this: The Democrats are embarrassed. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen a President who was focused on getting things done, versus basking in the glory of his new title. Trump knows there’s stuff to do, and he’s there to get it done. Unlike Obama who appointed cabinet positions as favors to his friends from Chicago, Trump thoughtfully interviewed candidates who were recommended to him based on their knowledge, experience and abilities. He didn’t care whether they had done anything for him in the past; he cared what they could do for America’s future.
So far, he’s running the country like a business – the way we knew always he would.
Ed Hoffman is host of The Main Event, which is broadcast on select talk radio stations in Southern California and available on-demand via podcast. Follow him on Twitter @EdHoffman, and like him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TheMainEventEdHoffman.