In just 9 days, Donald Trump has shown he truly understands the machinery of government power. Example #1: Colombia.
When socialist Colombian President Gustavo Petro turned away two U.S. military aircraft returning some of his country’s criminals, he likely expected the usual Trump response – angry social media posts and generic threats. Instead, he got a masterclass in United States power.
The retaliation came fast and precise. A 25% tariff on Colombian imports, doubling within days. Visa sanctions targeting government elites, their families, and allies. Customs inspections grinding Colombian exports to a standstill. And banking restrictions poised to cripple their economy. It was a full-spectrum assault.
The result? Colombia caved within hours. The Colombian president even volunteered his personal plane to bring back his citizens.
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This wasn’t a temper tantrum. Trump laid out specific, immediate deterrents that were sure to end in Colombian capitulation. He didn’t just demand compliance; he made disobedience untenable.
Trump didn’t just send a message to Colombia. He put the world on notice that harboring criminals rejected by the U.S. comes with swift and severe consequences. No more pleading or diplomatic niceties; cross the line and face economic ruination.
Goodbye DEI
The same surgical approach marked Trump’s executive orders, especially his recent assault on DEI programs. Gone were the vague culture war slogans or proclamations about “wokeness.” Instead, his administration delivered a bureaucratic kill shot—a systematic dismantling of policies that have shaped federal institutions for decades.
Trump’s new order doesn’t simply halt DEI programs. It anticipates and neutralizes attempts to rebrand them under different names. It weaponizes the False Claims Act to punish contractors sneaking DEI practices into government contracts. It orders the DOJ to hunt down and punish the “most egregious” offenders across corporations, universities, and nonprofits, with multi-billion-dollar targets in their crosshairs.
The Department of Justice must identify “the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” across multiple sectors and propose specific enforcement actions. They’re required to target up to nine major institutions violating federal law – including corporations, massive non-profits, and universities with billion-dollar endowments.
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The impact was immediate. Federal websites scrubbed DEI language within days. Agencies that once defied Trump’s initiatives in 2017 seemed eerily compliant this time. Bureaucrats have clearly learned that this isn’t symbolic posturing—it’s a purge.
The contrast with his first term is striking. Back then, Trump governed like a CEO issuing memos, leaving bureaucratic resistance to undercut him at every turn. Now, his team knows the machinery of government inside out—how to dismantle entrenched programs, exploit legal frameworks, and pressure institutions to enforce their agenda. They’re well positioned to defeat the bureaucratic resistance.
The Colombia incident shows this isn’t a fluke. When Trump threatened “immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters,” his team had already identified exactly who would be hit and how. When he called for “IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions,” the mechanisms were already in place.
His opponents still think they’re up against the improvisational chaos of 2017. They’re wrong. Trump 2.0 isn’t just angry – he’ll effectively achieve much of his agenda, albeit it stymied somewhat by the judiciary.
Trump’s first term was marked by dramatic gestures that often fizzled in the face of bureaucratic resistance. This time, his message to both allies and opponents is clear: the Trump administration won’t waste time learning on the job.
What’s especially telling? The silence from career bureaucrats who typically resist such changes. They see the detailed planning, the anticipation of their usual countermoves, the strategic use of existing laws. They recognize they’re dealing with someone who’s learned their game – and intends to win it.
Whether you celebrate or fear this development, one thing’s clear: We’re witnessing the emergence of a far more sophisticated operation than anything we saw in Trump 1.0.
The question isn’t whether his opponents will ever recover, but how much he’ll reshape the system before they realize the rules have changed.
Ken LaCorte writes about censorship, media malfeasance, uncomfortable questions, and honest insight for people curious how the world really works. Follow Ken on Substack
