Trump’s Biggest Accomplishment So Far? Moving the Overton Window

Donald Trump hit the ground running in 2025 in a way that was impossible in 2017. 

There are two reasons he has been able to do that: the obvious one is that he has been preparing for this moment for four years and has an excellent team of his choosing at his side; the less obvious one is why he has that team in place and why his opponents are mostly failing to get traction. 

It’s easy to say that Trump got a mandate in 2024 in a way that was more ambiguous in 2016 or that Democrats were blindsided by their election loss and need time to recover their bearings before establishing a #resistance. But the #resistance is still there, and the media is still 100% in lockstep. It’s just that their power is much weaker because what appeared radical to the American people in 2017 now seems pretty unremarkable. 

Trump’s ideas and policies seemed unthinkable to many Democrats for most Democrats during his term, and it was mandatory to oppose Trump during that term. It was so unthinkable that in the eyes of almost half the country, it was unremarkable to accuse Trump of being Hitler 2.0. While the number of people who thought that to be true shrunk over time, the needle only moved for Democrats and some moderates from “unthinkable” to radical, never reaching “acceptable.”

Guys I think I broke AOC pic.twitter.com/Z3nhg8m4kR

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 22, 2025

Trump went from being pure evil in the eyes of many Democrats to merely mostly evil. And, as you can see, there is still a remnant of the Democrats for whom this is still the case, and they loudly say so. 

NEW: Democrat Senator Chris Murphy accuses Elon Musk of doing a “heil Hitler” salute at Trump’s rally, gets shut down by UN ambassador nominee Elise Stefanik.

Murphy: “What do you think of Elon Musk doing two heil Hitler salutes last night?”

Stefanik: “Elon Musk did not do… pic.twitter.com/64j93vQw4S

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 21, 2025

But Trump won the war for the Overton Window. Now, trans activists who ran the White House, our health departments, the Department of Education, and even the State Department under Biden are seen as the Radicals. The Overton Window has moved so much that the more Democrats and the Media keep insisting that Trump is outside the mainstream and LITERALLYHITLER, the more discredited they become outside the radical circles in which they thrive. 

CNN: “There’s been a massive shift from when Trump was first getting into office 8 years ago… I think the American people are going to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt to do what he wants to do.” pic.twitter.com/Bz3HHSY0Eq

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 22, 2025

When Trump was pushing his immigration policies during his first term, he was pilloried for being cruel, and support for his policies–while OK with his base–was relatively weak in the center of the political aisle because agreeing with Trump out loud was socially unacceptable. The media in general is trying to whip up anger against Trump again, but I doubt it will work. 

AOC 2.0 is not as good as the original. https://t.co/bD5A3DIhGr

— David Strom (@DavidStrom) January 22, 2025

Comparing Trump to Hitler is anachronistic. Nobody buys it anymore, and switching targets to people around Trump is unlikely to succeed because even left-wing organizations are hesitant to go there. As the Democrats are trying to paint Elon Musk as Hitler, the Establishment is hesitant to follow the progressives this time. 

Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.

People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all. https://t.co/0gLdMCU3UV

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025

Democrats–even liberals who are not radicals in the social sense (they may be policy leftists, but not insane) are looking to work with Trump to get things done. Republicans who would have pushed somebody like RFK Jr. away as kinda nutty are lining up behind him. Republicans who were bothered by gay marriage are now reconciled to it and actively embracing one of the most “gay” administrations in America and singing along to YMCA with glee because the alliance on other conservative issues is more important than fighting the last battle. 

I haven’t seen a bad word about Trump’s Cabinet members–some at the pinnacle of power by any standard. Conservatives like the policies and don’t see them as alphabet ideologists. 

Trump’s success in his second term is predicated on this shift in the Overton Window, and his enemies’ relative weakness is, too. 

GM @SnoopDogg pic.twitter.com/5B4gjSn2sH

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 22, 2025

The American people as a whole see a man who they thought to be radical on many policies as pretty normal now. They may not agree, but they are not afraid to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. 

That is huge.