Leader of the Free World

On Tuesday, January 7th, 2020. Iran conducted a deliberate campaign of agression against the United States by launching 12 ballistic missiles at US Bases in the Middle East. The attack was in response to President Trump's decision to kill Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. These two actions combined with both the U.S. and Iran exiting The Iran nuclear deal agreement reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, China, Germany) and the European Union has destabilized what appears to have been a cold peace. If you were watching, there's no way you didn't feel it. Is this the beginning of the end? One minute we're ordering pizza. The next minute we're praying missiles to stop flying through the air.

On Wednesday, January 8th, as we would have expected, here comes President Trump, flanked by the highest ranking members of the US military, standing ready to brief the American people regarding the incident... The room was bustling with noise moments before he arrived. At the point where America's top officials and President Trump entered the room, there was nothing but silence. It was obvious that everyone in the room may have had an opionion, but none of them really knew what to do. Further, none of them knew what President Trump was going to say. And yes, you could see, hear, and feel it right through the television, fear. They were all afraid. They were all angry. And they were all hoping for a miracle... And They Got One.

It doesn't matter whether you agree or disagree with the actions of President Trump or the actions taken by the Iraninan leadership. You have to admit that President Trump delivered the best speech he could have possibly delivered. Some of you are sitting there cringing as you read this. You're like, Oh My God, what the hell are you saying? Did you even see the speech? I disagree. How did you come to that conclusion? My answer is by looking at what took place after the speech. You see, the speech was in the morning with a long day ahead. Threats regarding retalliation for the strikes had been made clear. If President Trump had decided to announce a potential military response to the attacks, there may have been further attacks by the Iranians before the day had come to an end. Further, by standing tall, showing some concern for the Iranian people and appearing to be willing to negotiate with the Iranian leadership, President Trump demonstrated that he truly is the leader of the free world. He communicated to the world that America does have the capability to be destructive but doesn't seek to engage in an unnecessary conflict. If that's not leadership, I don't know what is. You don't have to like President Trump but you have to give him credit. This was his finest moment.