Why Trump 2.0 Has Been Fast and Furious: 'We Had the Chance to Plot'
Since President Trump invoked the words, "So help me God" on Inauguration Day, the non-stop flurry of activity has not slowed down one bit. It's been quite a difference from his first term as president. Back then, he signed 33 Executive Orders during his first 100 days. Now, in just the first three weeks, he has signed 59.
"The luxury of a second term is you don't have to run for reelection," says Corey Lewandowski, a senior advisor to President Trump. "You can just go in all in with your ideas."
The president also has more momentum this time around. In 2016, his victory came as a bit of a shock. By winning the popular vote in 2024, he now has more of a mandate. Eight years ago, only 49 percent approved of his inaugural address. This time around though it jumped to 62 percent. He also has a more supportive GOP in Congress that is wary of crossing him.
Case in point: Certain cabinet choices labeled controversial are making it through the confirmation process. There's also another big contrast according to Corey Lewandowski: Those closest to him are completely different than last time. "The big difference is surrounding himself with people who actually have the same philosophy this time, unlike in Trump 1.0 who look good but should never have been there."
Gone now are establishment types like former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary General James Mattis, and Chief of Staff John Kelly. Replacing them are loyalists, disruptors, and friends like his disciplined new Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Joining her are like-minded cabinet members such as new Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem just to name a few.
Overall, it's a much more organized operation planned over the last four years.
"There's nothing that bothers him at this point," Tony Kinnett with The Daily Signal tells CBN News. "There's nothing that he's worried about in terms of electability. He's not looking toward things that hampered him in his first administration. He spent the last two years working through every single detailed plan with those that he was looking to bring into this next administration. In two years, you can get a lot of planning done."
Lewandowski puts it bluntly. "If we would have had eight years in a row, we wouldn't have been as successful as we're going to be with the four-year break in between because we had the chance to plot."
The biggest difference so far is the speed at which campaign priorities such as targeting the federal bureaucracy are delivered. In his first term, the Executive Order that made it easier to fire certain federal employees didn't happen until just before the 2020 election. This time, that order came on day one with a much broader scope. So whether it be deportations, tariffs, or banning men in women's sports, President Trump seems more result-oriented at a much faster pace. Some say this focus could be due to surviving an assassin's bullet. It has clearly affected his outlook.
"I think it did," Lewandowski says. "I also think the weight of the office is different when you've been in it and you've left and you've come back to it... What he is embarking on for the next four years will fundamentally, historically, and profoundly change this country forever."
That is certainly Trump's goal, and unless Congress or the courts get in his way, it could happen at lightning speed.
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