OPINION:
We know the big winner on Election Day: Donald Trump.
He’s on top with a vengeance, capping the biggest comeback since Richard Nixon rose from his political obituary to win the White House in 1968.
Now Mr. Trump will reenter 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and (I wish) roll out the figurative guillotine for Jack Smith, Christopher Wray, Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas, Letitia James and Fani Willis.
That won’t happen. The president-elect has long said the best revenge is success. And he’ll win, win, win with the wall, deportation, increased oil production and kicking men the hell out of women’s sports.
His victory speech early Wednesday was about making America great again. And man, did the country need that lift after this downer of an election season.
Not even the lovefest at Madison Square Garden could fend off liberal woe. Rather than spend one lonely moment cheering the most significant MSG hit since Joe Frazier decked Muhammad Ali in the 1971 Fight of the Century, the mainstream media whined about a comedian’s joke.
And the crying never ended. Even in the thick of election night, two CNN reporters wallowed in Puerto Rico’s garbage and how it could sink Mr. Trump.
What?
The comic’s MSG line had all the heft of Tim Walz’s “weird” shot at J.D. Vance. Just weak.
All Mr. Walz turned out to be was the creep that Tucker Carlson called him months ago. If this campaign had a loser to the nines, it was the Minnesota governor.
Even more pathetic was Vice President Kamala Harris, who had the spine of a string in picking Tampon Tim over Josh Shapiro as her running mate only because the Pennsylvania governor, a true-believer talent, is Jewish.
If you didn’t think Ms. Harris was kaput as Election Day darkened, consider that she dissed her packed fans at the would-be victory party. Evidently, commenting off the cuff was scary enough to send her packing into political oblivion.
Then there was Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. Mr. Trump praised him at the presidential party, highlighting how he leaps at the chance to parry with the networks “and absolutely obliterates them.”
Indeed, he’s J.D.: Just Dauntless.
Get ready for him to tower among vice presidents in American history.
Soon after Mr. Vance takes the oath on Jan. 20, he’ll shine brighter than any other VP except Richard Nixon, a star of a veep for President Dwight Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961.
Nixon set the standard for consequential vice presidents. He was in crucial meetings with Ike amid the Hungary, Suez and Vietnam showdowns. He ran Cabinet meetings upon Eisenhower’s heart attack in 1955. He stared down a rock-throwing mob in Caracas, Venezuela. And he mopped the kitchen floor with Soviet boss Nikita Khrushchev.
After forgettable veeps such as Elbridge Gerry, George Dallas, William Wheeler and Charles Dawes, Nixon deserves the title of first modern vice president.
Nixon was just 40 when he became vice president after two years in the Senate. Mr. Vance will be the same age when he assumes his job promotion after two years as senator.
He especially came of age in the VP debate last month, where only one guy showed up. That was J.D., whose serious grasp of the issues made a joke of Mr. Walz.
Here was the senator’s searing shot at the governor: “You’ve got a tough job here. You’ve got to pretend that Donald Trump didn’t deliver rising take-home pay, which of course he did. You’ve got to pretend that Donald Trump didn’t deliver lower inflation, which of course he did. And then you’ve got to defend Kamala Harris’ atrocious economic record, which has made gas, groceries and housing unaffordable for American citizens.”
Mr. Vance was so convincing; Byron Donalds, my congressman who would’ve also made a rumbling running mate, posted on X: “I think Tim Walz is voting for Trump/Vance. He agreed with JD 5 different times and kept nodding in agreement.”
Mr. Vance will be just as fierce in the Oval Office with Mr. Trump. If the president deviates from booting migrants, you better believe his VP will push him in the right direction. Ditto on all other crucial decisions.
One more matter with the future vice president. As soon as he takes the oath of office, he’ll be the front-runner for president in 2028. That will be Trump’s last full year in the White House.
As with Nixon, Mr. Vance will seize the VP-president sweepstakes.
So get ready for a 2028 Madison Square Garden replay. It’ll be President Trump’s farewell and Vice President Vance’s hello.
• Bucky Fox is an author and editor in Cape Coral, Florida.
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