It’s counterintuitive, and the opposite would be far worse. But we’re still duty-bound to prepare for the electoral fallout.
Because, in all probability, it’s coming with a vengeance in 2026.
I don’t want to sound unappreciative, because I’m delighted with the results. Ask yourself: Would you rather solve illegal immigration, halt border crossings, stop violent crime, and deal with the political consequences — or live in a country with nonexistent borders and a runaway crime rate?
When we consider the alternative, what choice did we have? Of course we’d rather solve these problems! (Especially after the Biden-era immigration chaos.) A country without borders isn’t a country.
But during the 2026 midterms, we’re going to be victims of our own success.
I was born in the 1970s. And I was always puzzled by the 1945 election in the United Kingdom, when the great Winston Churchill — the legendary lion of England who had rallied the U.K., defeated the Nazis twelve weeks earlier, and had an 83% approval rating — lost in a landslide, with the Labour Party capturing 393 seats in the House of Commons.
Churchill’s Conservative Party was left with only 210 seats.
Recently, my 19-year-old son asked me similar questions about the 1992 U.S. election: How the heck did President George H. W. Bush, after winning the 1991 Gulf War and having an approval rating of 90%, get obliterated by Gov. Bill Clinton on Nov. 3, 1992 — with President Bush only carrying 18 states?
Unlike 1945, I lived through the 1992 election. (First election I ever voted in.) So I remember what happened: The ’92 election was about the future, not the past.
The Gulf War was done, as was the Soviet Union. The problems of tomorrow were strikingly different, it seemed, from the problems of the past.
And so the American people decided that they required a different solution.
Since the end of World War II, the #1 foreign policy objective of the Republican Party was winning the Cold War. But once victory had been achieved, the American people quickly turned the page.
As did the British people at the end of World War II.
It’s probably unfair, but that’s the political reality: Voters don’t “reward” politicians for what they’ve done in the past — even when they did an exemplary job.
Instead, we vote for ‘em to do things in the future.
That’s because political elections aren’t a referendum on the policies of last week, last month, or last year, but what’s coming next. It’s always, always, always about the future!
Back in 2024, the issue of illegal immigration was a big, fat albatross around the neck of the Democratic Party. President Biden’s approval rating on border security was a dismal 18%.
Meanwhile, for Trump supporters, immigration (82%) and violent crime (76%) were two of their three biggest issues. (The other being the economy.)
Today, illegal border crossings are no longer a problem. President Trump not only successfully closed our southern border, but over 2.5 million illegals were removed from the United States.
And violent crime? The U.S. murder rate is now at its lowest level since 1900!
You could forgive FBI Director Kash Patel for gloating:
Axios just reported the lowest murder rate since 1900, down 20% from 2024, and somehow forgot to mention President Trump or the historic results of this FBI.
Nearly 200% more arrests. Violent gangs crushed. Fugitives hunted down.
Media gymnastics can’t hide the reality that… pic.twitter.com/48s9JPtXcw
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 22, 2026
These are all monumental achievements, but sometimes politicians are punished for solving problems.
If the U.K. had still been waging a desperate war with Germany, I’ll bet you a Diet Coke that Winston Churchill would’ve continued as prime minister in ‘45. And if the Soviet Union hadn’t collapsed — and the Cold War had heated up — I’m not so sure the American people would’ve handed the keys to Bill Clinton in ‘92.
For 50+ years, closing the border, stopping illegal immigration, and getting tough on violent crime have been winning issues for conservative candidates. They’re politically popular positions that resonated with voters, motived our base, hurt the Democrats, and gave a big edge to the GOP. They’re keystone positions for the Republican Party.
Nine times out of ten, when the three biggest issues are closing the boarder, stopping illegal immigration, and getting tough on violent crime, the Republican candidate will win in a landslide!
But what do we run on when all three of those issues are off the table?
Answer: We better pivot.
Because history shows us that the American people already have.
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First: It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battlelines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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