By Timothy D. Naegele[1]
John Bolton has been a "slimeball" for years; and it is only fitting and proper that among President Trump's initial actions, he pulled Bolton's Secret Service protection.[2] When I left The Pentagon after having top security clearances—and receiving the prestigious Joint Service Commendation Medal[3]—I lost my security clearances, and I expected that.
While I went to work in the U.S. Senate, I no longer worked on national security matters. Why Bolton has retained any security clearances, much less Secret Service protection, is baffling. Other security clearances have been revoked as well, which is long overdue.[4]
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and historian Newt Gingrich has described President Trump's Inaugural Address as "among the most revolutionary inaugural addresses in American history."[5] I concur, and have described it as "brilliant."[6] Yet, those who suffer from "Trump derangement syndrome," or TDS, will scoff at everything that our President says and does.
Hence, it is only fitting and proper that the Trump-Vance administration unleashes "Hell." They will be blamed for it anyway, even if it never happened. After surveying the inaugural addresses of Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, he concludes with respect to Trump's:
The amazing thing about President Trump’s revolutionary rejection of the old order was that it occurred in five different areas. It was decisive in each: cultural, governmental, political, economic, and America’s role in the world.
First, the most important break from the old order was the cultural repudiation of the left in virtually every direction. The emphasis on winning, the work ethic, and merit was a total repudiation of wokeism and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The explicit statement that there are only two sexes, male and female, struck at the heart of the left’s rejection of objective truth. The insistence on teaching patriotism is a direct confrontation with the left’s passion for undermining and diminishing America. The degree to which a religious spirit surrounded and permeated the entire inaugural experience was unprecedented. President Trump exhibited the greatest willingness to be surrounded by religious activity since President Roosevelt went on radio and led the nation in prayer as our young men stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day 1944. Contrast the music, prayers, and religious leaders in attendance with what you would expect at a leftwing gathering.
Second, the instructions that all federal workers must come back to work or face termination is a signal of how directly and aggressively President Trump intends to overhaul and shrink the federal government. The nominees for Cabinet he has sent to the Senate all share the same entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to the Make America Great Again philosophy, and willingness to take on the old order and the bureaucracy which created it.
Third, President Trump’s direct appeal to African Americans and Latinos – and his pledge to work with them – and his gratitude to the auto workers represents a continuation of his growing appeal. Many voters who used to be Democrats have proven to be increasingly willing to shift to a Trump-led Republican Parry.
Fourth, a Trump energy system is radically different from the climate-crazed, economically destructive, and bureaucratically implemented left. His commitment to making America the leading energy producer takes head on one of the greatest goals of the modern left. They want less energy, Trump wants more. They want to close off land for development. Trump wants to make development easier and more profitable. They want to strangle the industry until it dies. He wants to create jobs and more export opportunities. They want higher taxes. Trump wants lower taxes. They want a trading system which continues to export American jobs to foreign countries. Trump wants a system based on growing American businesses and making America the economic leader on every front. They want bureaucracies to dominate and define how people live. Trump wants maximum free choice. He wants people to be citizen-customers not obedient servants.
Fifth, and finally, the Trump approach to an American-centered foreign and defense policy is a decisive break with the post-Cold War effort to define and dominate the entire planet. The establishment loved policing, educating, funding, and giving priority to the feelings of others including our enemies. In the name of some humanitarian internationalism, the United States was supposed to spend the blood of its young men and women – and the money of its taxpayers – on a wide range of dictatorships and badly run countries. The Gulf of America described by President Trump is the symbol of a startling break with the passivity and maintenance of status quo, which defined the last generation since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
With these five major breaks from the old order – and their initial implementation through a blizzard of more than 200 executive orders in the first 24 hours – President Trump has made it clear he intends to govern as he campaigned. He is the advocate of working class interests and American interests. It was an extraordinary start to what I suspect will be an extraordinary presidency of historic consequence.[7]
We can only hope and pray that God blesses President Trump and the American people, and allows wonderful things to happen.
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© 2025, Timothy D. Naegele
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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6 and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams. He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com
[2] See, e.g., https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-boltons-secret-service-protection-discontinued-by-trump-administration/ ("John Bolton's Secret Service protection discontinued by Trump administration")
[3] See, e.g., https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ ("Accomplishments")
[4] See, e.g., https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/trump-revokes-security-clearances-former-officials-hunter-biden-laptop-letter/index.html ("Trump revokes security clearances of former officials who signed Hunter Biden laptop letter with executive action")
[5] See https://gingrich360.com/2025/01/21/president-trumps-revolutionary-inaugural/ ("President Trump’s Revolutionary Inaugural")
[6] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/20/a-blessed-day/ ("A Blessed Day")
[7] See supra n.5.