Back in Trump's America

And suddenly, from the horizon, as we crossed the bridge from New Jersey, the tip of the Empire State Building emerged—Trump’s New York. The promised land he vowed to restore to greatness passes before us, before me, inside a Tesla. Is there anything more symbolic than being in Elon Musk's car on the way to Trump's city?

In the car, there are two immigrants from the former Soviet Union and me. It may sound sentimental, lacking analysis and information, but this is the New York Trump promised—a place of opportunities for everyone.

Yes, this city stood under Biden, and under Obama, and it will continue to stand under whoever comes next. But something about this cold February night, as everything slumbers around us, feels more optimistic than ever.

To the left, on the bridge, the smokestacks begin to shrink into the distance. I think about my visit a decade ago, when Trump was still just a dream. Back in 2016, the idea of him winning seemed like satire, and now, eight years later, it’s hard to believe it all happened.

Yes, New York still has the congestion tax that the president is working to repeal, but Mayor Eric Adams—who initially supported illegal immigration but changed his mind since, and due to that started facing legal accusations, is now out of harm's way.

Perhaps the president will clean up and restore this city—after all, he loves this city. And aside from a handful of extreme liberals, let’s not forget that this city loves him too. We saw it when he came to speak in the Bronx as part of his election campaign, and crowds gathered to see him.

My grandparents immigrated here after the Holocaust. My parents studied, married, and built lives here. I won’t lie—visiting Biden’s America in recent years has been difficult.

But now, as he begins to clean up the world, there is great hope that the president will do the same for America. And tonight, the hope that this will happen in New York has never felt stronger.

And as these words are written we here of the Pro-Hamas protesters in Borough Park, still I guess, there's much left to clean up.