For an alternate viewpoint, see “Counterpoint: Five Signs Our Country Isn’t Lost.”
For those on the right side of the political aisle, 2024 was a mixed bag. On the one hand, we had to trudge through the final year of Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency while fighting tooth and nail to prevent the administration from inflicting further economic carnage. On the other hand, we also were given an enormous gift at the beginning of November with the victory of Donald Trump. Now, without further ado, I present the top five moments of 2024.
First, it goes without saying that the election on November 5 was, by far, the best moment of 2024. At the start of 2024, things did not look good for Donald Trump as he faced a litany of felony charges across multiple jurisdictions. However, despite the legal onslaught, Trump refused to back down.
Aside from his legal problems, Trump faced several opponents as he fought for the GOP presidential nomination. Let’s not forget that in the spring, most political pundits and talking heads thought Trump could not win the Republican nomination for president. Yet, Trump emerged victorious and united the GOP under the Make America Great Again banner.
Then, Trump pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in political history as he cruised to victory and helped the Republican Party gain control of both houses of Congress. This election will go down in history as a turning point, considering the vast inroads Trump made among voters who traditionally voted for Democrats.
In second place among the best moments of 2024 comes President Biden’s devastating debate performance. Although the polls were tight heading into the debate between Trump and Biden, the absolutely pitiful performance by Biden completely changed the state of the race. Soon after Biden flopped in front of millions of Americans, the Democratic Party pulled the plug on his re-election effort.
Of course, this short-sighted move benefited Trump greatly as it demonstrated that the sitting president was senile. Even more important, it led to the rise of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket. Considering that Harris can barely speak coherently without flip-flopping on basically every central policy position, it really was a blessing in disguise that she inherited Biden’s place and was eventually destroyed by Trump.
In third place, and this could have easily been first or second, comes Trump’s survival of two assassination attempts. In midsummer, Trump was crisscrossing the country, holding outdoor rallies. Unfortunately, Trump’s proclivity to engage with his supporters nearly cost him his life. However, despite two would-be assassins somehow evading Secret Service detection, and one got several shots off, Trump was largely unharmed. While this was a blessing, we also must never forget that one person, Corey Comperatore, died at the Butler, Pa., rally and two others were wounded.
In a slightly different direction, for the fourth-best moment of 2024, I suggest the incredible technological feat achieved by SpaceX. On October 14, SpaceX launched its Super Heavy Starship, the most powerful rocket in the world. Then, in an unprecedented engineering marvel, the 23-story tall Super Heavy booster returned to the launch pad in an upright position and was “caught” without a hitch. It was like something straight out of a science-fiction movie, and it clearly demonstrated that the age of space exploration has entered a new chapter.
Rounding out the best moments of 2024, in fifth place, let’s return to the political arena and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is an early Christmas present for anyone leaning to the right side of the political aisle.
For decades, conservatives and libertarians have been warning that the size and scope of the federal government is totally unsustainable and that big government is bad news for personal liberty. Finally, some significant spending cuts and institutional reforms are in the offing. With the national debt exceeding $36 trillion and trillion-dollar deficits the new normal, we need to downsize the federal bureaucracy and get back on sound fiscal footing before it is too late.
