What the left calls ‘chaos,’ the rest of us call ‘winning’

They never learn, the libs. Back in 2016, they provided hours of entertainment assuring themselves that Donald Trump would “never be president” (“take it to the bank,” said Nancy Pelosi, who in another galaxy, long, long ago was speaker of the House). Patriotic citizens, eager to instruct the public about the dialectic of hubris and nemesis, stitched together many joyful compilations of Hollywood celebrities, ditto-head news readers and Democratic politicians intoning that party line. 

Then, after the impossible mutated into the inevitable and Trump was elected, the narrative shifted to “the walls are closing in on Donald Trump.” If it wasn’t Russia, Russia, Russia it was Stormy Daniels, putatively shady business deals or putative efforts at insurrection. Once again, the entertainment committee was on the job, and many “walls-are-closing-in” compilations flooded the internet for fun but no profit. 

For those scouring the news cycle for the next meme, I offer what seems to me the word of the day: “chaos.” The latest cover of the Economist now even declares that we are living in an “Age of Chaos”. Yes, that’s right, like some character out of the Book of Revelation Donald Trump has unleashed chaos upon the world. He is in the process of gutting, defunding or eliminating all the left’s favorite playpens, from the Department of Education to the National Endowment for Democracy. Thanks to the efforts of Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency, he has revealed the sorry truth that “NGO,” which we were told meant “non-governmental organization,” actually means “nurturing governmental officialdom,” i.e., diverting taxpayer dollars for oneself, one’s relatives and people who can do you some favors. Which is to say that the “non” in “NGO” really means “all” or “limitless.” As one canny commentator on X observed, “Over the last few months, we’ve come to a realization that should have landed much harder: NGOs weren’t just adjacent to government, they were the parallel government.” 

Indeed. Remember all that talk about “the deep state?” NGOs were a critical enabling yeast:

We were shocked. I was too. But looking back, it’s exactly what you’d expect. NGOs operate outside the chain of command. They answer to no electorate, no oversight, no public mandate. They can push any agenda they choose without accountability.

The moment Biden took office, the plan was already in motion. NGOs had the infrastructure, the logistics, the funding pipelines; everything ready to go. They didn’t need permission. They just needed power. And when they got it, they had it all set up from day one: overnight, we were flooded with illegal immigrants under the cover of a coordinated strategy that had been waiting in the wings.

Donald Trump has upset that apple cart. For people who care about things like fiscal sanity, accountability and transparency, it is a welcome restoration. For people who have made their living exploiting the many opportunities for corruption the status quo ante offered, it is chaos, a plunge into outer darkness.  

Once again, the tergiversations of the punditocracy and the public-teat-sucking political class are amusing to behold. Donald Trump announces a raft of tariffs in an effort to bring critical industries back to the United States and to level the economic playing field. The markets weep for a few days. One by one, countries line up to make a deal with the world’s largest economy. At last count, some 90 countries have signaled their intention to trim the tariffs and other trade barriers they have erected against America. Even China is making some agreeable noises. Trump has responded by delaying the imposition of certain tariffs, a canny bit of flexibility that the anti-Trump chorus has denounced as “panic.” “No One Is Buying the White House Spin,” screams one headline. But in fact, countries are lining up to buy it, and it’s no spin, it’s negotiation.  As the investor Bill Ackman put it, “A willingness to adjust a strategy based on new facts and data is a sign of the strength of a leader. It is not an indication of weakness.” 

A couple of days ago, Trump secured an “historic” deal with Panama to push out the Chinese from control of the canal and restore America’s priority. As I write, Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, is in Argentina to finalize talks with President Javier Milei. Team Trump is firing on all cylinders. The pace is dizzying. Is it also evidence of chaos? According to yesterday’s news sources, yes. “Trump trade team chases 90 deals in 90 days,” scoffs Reuters. “Experts say good luck with that.” Experts, eh? Poor dears. They may call it “chaos.” It’s what the rest of us call “winning.”