Donald Trump’s Remarkably Normal Press Conference

At Mar-A-Lago yesterday, Donald Trump introduced Howard Lutnick, his pick to run the Commerce Department, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who has pledged a $100 billion dollar investment in a tech-focused project that could see the hiring of 100,000 new American jobs. After Trump’s comments on the economic future he foresees once he officially takes office on January 20th, he did something the American President has not been able to do for four years – conduct a press conference where the questions and questioners were not pre-selected by a very nervous White House Press Office. 

Trump’s appearance lasted a little over an hour, with the the last 40 minutes or so consisting of back and forth with the traveling press corps. And despite media’s attempt to focus on the stuff they believe to be topics to bait Trump into saying something crazy, the President-Elect was thoughtful, forthcoming where he could, and non-committal where it made sense to be so. Normalcy is right around the corner. 

The plurality of questions focused on vaccines, trying to pin Trump down on whether or not his nominee to run the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., would ban all vaccines. Here’s one exchange on whether he’s worried that RFK, Jr. will be too radical on vaccines.

Garrett Haake of NBC News cannot stand Donald Trump. That much has been crystal clear in his reporting all year long, and he immediately went for the most controversial Trump nominee to conservatives in order to exploit a rift. Trump didn’t buy into his premise at all.

On the Marco Rubio selection to be Secretary of State, and the Senate seat that now becomes an appointment for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to fill, the President-Elect stayed above the fray and chose not to pick whom he prefers. He praised DeSantis, praised Rubio, and had good things to say about the job Lara Trump did at the RNC this past cycle. But he stopped short of issuing threats and edicts. 

When it comes to the slate of nominees that are currently making the rounds in the Senate with one-on-one meetings, he refused to take the bait from another reporter on whether no votes on his nominees should get them primaried. 

He’s not going to get directly involved in primarying Republican Senators. But if they are a no on a nominee out of spite or stupidity rather than over a legitimate concern, he thinks the process will generate a primary challenge. That is exactly the right answer. 

On Syria, and the rise of Turkey as a problematic actor in the region to say the least, Trump navigated the issue to give people a sense for how he’s thinking about it. 

Ask yourself if Joe Biden could have talked extemporaneously on Syria for over four minutes. Ask yourself if Kamala Harris could have. 

On the mysterious drones flying over New Jersey, including his club at Bedminster, this is how Trump answered it.

Trump knows what’s going on. He’s obviously been briefed. He knows the Pentagon and White House knows what’s behind all this, but he is questioning their decision to not be transparent with the American public. When asked directly if he’s been briefed, the President-Elect does not fall for the bait. 

By not wanting to comment on it, he signals that yes, he’s in the loop, disagrees with the way they’re handling it currently, and it’s on his list of things to fix beginning in 34 days. 

Regime media still wants there to be a fight amongst conservatives in Trump’s base about RFK, Jr. and vaccines, so they went back there again. And they asked virtually the same question – aren’t you worried he’ll revoke vaccines? Trump calmly, rationally, rejected the premise, and explained what will change at HHS, which sound awfully good. 

On the assassination of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Trump resonated the viewpoint of virtually the entire country that’s not part of the fever swamp on the left. 

Similarly, on the Duke lacrosse players who were falsely accused of rape, Donald Trump reminded people that it seemed like a hoax to him years ago. 

On his successful settlement with ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, regime media didn’t expect how he responded to the question.

Donald Trump wants a robust, but fair media. A healthy republic depends on it. We do not have that right now, and Trump will continue picking apart the bias and the corruption where and when he can. 

By the way, if you want to see everything wrong with regime media that needs fixing, watch the gaggle chase down RFK, Jr. the moment he entered the Senate office building on his way to an appointment with South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. 

RFK Jr., Trump’s pick for HHS, arrives at Capitol Hill to meet with Senators and gain their support.

As he made his way to Sen. Rick Scott’s office he was asked about the polio vaccine and he mumbled “I’m all for the polio vaccine.” pic.twitter.com/fEo6OHgF2I

— Cristina Corujo (@cristina_corujo) December 16, 2024

On what Day One will look like on January 20th, Trump outlined some of the executive actions and other things that are at the very top of his to-do list, including Israel and Hamas, Apple, and a lot more.

There were some parts of his press conference that I took issue with on a policy standpoint. After generating record support with the 18-30 year-old crowd, Trump has had a change of heart on banning TikTok, being that it helped him immensely in bypassing regime media. I disagree. I still believe the social media platform is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to collect data and sow societal decay here. I am all for the tech behind TikTok, but believe it’s in our national security interest to force the sale by the CCP to an American company to run instead of having all the data go back to Beijing. Trump is waffling on the national security concerns, but he’s doing it because he just saw how powerful a tool it was during this election cycle. But regardless of the topic, Trump had an informed point of view, and was in full command of his faculties. 

It is reassuring that competence is coming. Now by contrast, to our north, incompetence may indeed be on the way out as Fidelito, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is reportedly considering resigning from office. And you thought you’d get tired of all the winning.

Our dear friend John Ondrasik, the creative force that is Five For Fighting, has had it up to here with this French-speaking, tin horn wannabe dictator, and wrote an ode to Justin Trudeau. Here you go. 

The next prime minister of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, seized and/or pounced. 

JUST IN: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is considering resigning, according to CTV News.

Sources have reportedly told the outlet that Trudeau is “considering prorogation or resignation” and may address Parliament today.

“Sources tell CTV News that the prime minister has… pic.twitter.com/G3UoaKYeU8

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 16, 2024

Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a no-confidence vote, and elections are forthcoming. Germany will almost certainly move rightward in response to immigration and other economic issues compounding due to green energy policies. 

We are watching Canada’s Liberals falling apart in real time. In the U.K, Britons have found out after f’ing around with a resounding vote for Keir Starmer to lead a Labour government. 61% now disapprove of Starmer, 65% think the British economy is going to get worse in 2025, and 70% think the government is on the wrong track. And that’s saying something being Starmer’s government is literally only 5 months old. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is rolling. He’s at 55% approval, and he’s accomplishing that by following through on the most radical things possible – a dramatic return to Constitutional government, fiscal discipline in the Executive Branch, and a foreign policy that gets us out of protracted conflicts while supporting our allies. In other words, Trump’s radicalism is what conservatives used to call normal.