The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution sets forth six purposes of the revolutionary experiment in self-government – the first being the lyrical goal of forming “a more perfect union.” The other five are “to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for common defense, promote the general welfare,” and finally, “to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.”

These six lofty goals are the purpose of our government and the basis upon which the American people – and those around the world – judge our nation. Fail at one or more of these goals, and the people will look for new leadership.

President Trump is succeeding in furthering four of the aims – and then some: Crime is down sharply, our military is proving its mettle, the borders are secure, the censorship complex is in retreat, government encroachments on free enterprise have been rolled back, the DEI extremists are in retreat, and the economy is rocking. 

Another goal – to promote a more perfect union – is a work in process, as states controlled by those who hate the president continue to test the limits of federalism. Democratic Party leaders in Minnesota, Illinois, California, and Oregon openly flout federal laws, seek to frustrate federal oversight, and demonize federal law enforcement. 

In current lingo, the anti-Trump forces are keeping their nullification of federal law “sub-kinetic.” Although Minnesota called up the National Guard in response to the federal immigration law surge, their mission so far is to hand out milk and cookies to the street guerrillas who are seeking to provoke federal law enforcement officers.

The idea here seems to be to deliberately disrupt domestic tranquility as a tactic to undermine the president’s popularity. It’s working. Tranquility is a peaceful, calm state, without noise, violence, or worry. That’s not what we have in Minneapolis or, on any given day in Chicago and a handful of other cities in states controlled by Democrats.

Tranquility is intangible and hard to measure, but it’s probably the governmental goal that encompasses all the other goals for most people.

On the other hand, human beings are attracted to drama too. They like a good fight now and then, especially if we’ve convinced ourselves it’s over principle. We crave it, and it adds spice to life. Some people just don’t feel alive if there isn’t drama. But we don’t look to government to create drama, we want government to mediate and moderate it.

The dilemma is that tranquility is not conducive to high voter turnout; contented people are less vigilant about maintaining tranquility than worried people are in achieving it. This is the political paradox of tranquility: Ensuring it may also mean losing the next election.

In 2024, Americans turned back to Donald Trump and gave him a second term in the White House because the Democrats failed at many basic governmental tasks – inflation, open borders, crime, and national defense policies. All this incompetence was compounded by the Democrats’  authoritarian impulses on everything from COVID policy to free speech – and by the  scurrilous lawfare against Trump and his loyalists.

In the first year of his second term, Trump executed a quick turnaround on the big substantive things government is supposed to do. By way of response, Democrats have created the deportation drama with Trump as the villain.

Trump can give as good as he takes and of course is no stranger to drama. He has a flair for the dramatic and is a master showman. He is proud of these skills, but, having outperformed Democrats on every other goal, Trump the ringmaster has to master the tranquility paradox or risk losing to his haters. This won’t be easy: In word association, “tranquil” does not leap to mind in response to “Trump.”

How then does Trump beat the Democrats at tranquility when they are free in the states they govern to stir up drama and create sympathetic victims – with the news media happily going along for the ride?

He needs a three-track strategy to win the tranquility game.

First, he needs to continuously remind the American people who is creating the drama and why. Democratic political leadership has outsourced the battle to its private street-theater actor troupes – their repurposed political activists funded by shadowy nonprofits.  

Citizen journalists have obtained information about how the anti-Trump activists organize confrontations with federal law enforcement, as well as how this effort is being financed, and its links to elected officials in the state. Now confirm, broadcast, and if – but only if – criminal activity has clearly occurred, prosecute unsympathetic wrongdoers. 

The Civil Rights Division at Justice is already on the case; the administration should make sure Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has the resources she needs to get this job done. 

Second, sidestep his opponents’ attempts at destroying domestic tranquility. Continue to pursue mass deportation in areas where doing so does not undermine tranquility. And pursue deportations in areas where Democrats control in a manner that makes the government the hero and not the villain. That means, for now, targeting criminals, not “Dreamers,” in areas where Democrats want drama, and make sure everyone knows which bad guys were detained by ICE: with names, faces, nation of origin, and the crimes they committed.  

Trump has already made a move in this direction by sending Barack Obama’s favorite ICE man to Minnesota: Tom Homan. Homan was not involved in the ham-handed response to recent tragedies created in Minnesota and he’s been outspoken in the past about focusing federal resources on detaining the worst illegal immigrants first. 

Third, Trump should ostentatiously strive to Make America Peaceful Again. He needs to own that goal and not leave that opportunity for his opponents to seize upon. Trump has been a winner, but too many people overlook that he wins by knowing when and how to compromise: after flattering, threatening, and squeezing the best deal possible under the circumstances. 

America’s Golden Age is within Trump’s grasp, but he has to win the tranquility game in order to get there. The master showman, the deal maker, the peacemaker – the change agent who thrives by keeping others off balance – Trump can win at tranquility, too.