When Donald Trump headed back to the White House on Jan. 20, most folks knew him fairly well. They knew his priorities: He’d secure the border, jumpstart US energy, push to end the wars in Ukraine and Middle East and curb lefty cultural excesses. He’d put the interests of America, and its workers, over those of other countries. He’d Make America Great Again. Even so, few could’ve imagined how the returning prez would manage to transform the nation as dramatically as he has in a matter of weeks, not only via his executive orders, but by shifting the debate, restoring common-sense views and saying and doing what his predecessors haven’t. Trump rolled in like a tornado, signing 26 executive orders on his first day — more than any other president. He also holds the record for first-100-days EOs. Heck, even before taking office, Trump managed to secure a deal for the return of more than 30 hostages from Gaza, with the first released the day before his inauguration. And practically overnight, he ended the border crisis, with the numbers of migrants plummeting more than 90%. Yet another top Trump priority — making the world economy fairer to the United States — has sparked major economic shifts, though not necessarily good ones. His tariffs have helped drive down his approval ratings, with one poll showing him with the lowest rating of any president since World War II. Still, for better or worse, Trump’s actions have been nothing short of stunning. He’s moved the Overton Window — shown what’s possible and put the lie to Democrats’ claims that some things are just not fixable. And if he can get his act together, there are strong grounds to hope for amazing developments over the next four years. Let’s look at all the issues more closely: Migrants: Of all Trump’s 100-day accomplishments, fixing the border mess is, hands-down, his biggest. In just his first full month in office, “southwest land border encounters” averaged a mere 418 per day, down from a peak of 9,741 under Biden, per Customs and Border Protection data. That’s a mind-blowing 96% plunge. How’d Trump do it? By rescinding Biden’s invitación to would-be migrants: He ended his predecessor’s parole program and CPB One app, flipped catch-and-release to catch-and-detain (or -deport) and began hunting, prosecuting and booting illegal migrants in the country, particularly violent-criminal ones. Sure enough, as Todd Bensman puts it, “aspiring border-crossers” no longer wanted to “pay the smuggling money on a lost cause.” The left, meanwhile, wants the illegal migrant waves to keep coming. It hypes the case of alleged MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia, hoping to derail all of Trump’s deportations. Yet the courts clearly OK’d Garcia’s deportation — just not to El Salvador, citing his (now-outdated) claim gangs would target him. Due to an administrative error, he was sent there anyway. But that’s hardly reason to end all deportations, which are a key part of dissuading newcomers. The economy: Trump’s performance here merits lower marks. While his intent of rebalancing trade with the rest of the world, and especially China, is admirable, his execution of the strategy has been blundering. His steep, on-again, off-again tariffs have sown chaos, fear and uncertainty and damaged America’s reputation around the world. Since Jan. 20, the markets have ridden a roller coaster. The Federal Reserve projects negative growth for the first quarter of the year. Indeed, the turmoil has been so massive that Trump had to backtrack on his country-by-country trade-deficit tariffs, and has signaled a coming rollback of his massive 145% surcharge on Chinese goods. Trump could turn things around by delivering a series of quick tariff deals that improve the economics for US exporters, boost investment and jobs here at home and stave off imminent price shocks and supply shortages. Cutting needless regulations and unleashing American businesses will help mitigate some of the lasting tariff damage. Energy: This is another clear area of triumph for the prez. His moves to boost energy production will surely charge up economic activity. Already, he’s ditched Biden’s irrational ban on liquid-natural-gas exports, moved to shed burdensome regulations, scrapped the EV mandate, pushed pipeline projects and more. As Dan Turner reports, Trump has “ushered in a change in the nation’s mindset on energy,” viewing production as beneficial, rather than harmful. And he’s silenced the climate-alarmist lobby intent on taking the nation back to the Dark Ages. All that will encourage investment, boost energy supplies and reliability and lower prices. Taxes and spending: Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency didn’t produce the $2 trillion promised, but it has reaped some savings and, notably, it’s exposed outrageous waste and woke-fueled abuse ($1.5 million for DEI in Serbia; millions for nonexistent unemployment claims). DOGE can actually be a valuable tool in reining in runaway spending. But it needs to focus more on the nitty-gritty — follow the money rather than chase sexy headlines. Trump and Congress also need to tackle the bigger spending issues — like entitlements and defense procurement. Those are certainly tougher nuts to crack, but the overall growth in federal outlays, and in the monster national debt in particular, is simply unsustainable. Meanwhile, it’s absolutely imperative that Trump push through his “big, beautiful” budget bill quickly, preserving the economically vital tax cuts of his first term, and perhaps producing a few more, such as scrapping taxes on tips. Republicans in Congress have made gains on that front, but Trump himself has been distracted by his tariff plans. He needs to switch gears and get this done. ASAP. Culture: On his very first day, Trump closed every DEI office in the government. Bravo! He then went to sign numerous executive orders to level the playing field for people of every race, sex and sexual orientation — including one making it US policy “to only recognize two genders: male and female” and another to keep men out of women’s sports. He’s also pushed back against the noxious doctrine of “disparate impact” — which defines racism as based on outcomes rather than opportunities. Trump has also fought the surge in Jew-hatred, canceling billions for universities like Columbia and Harvard that refuse to take stronger steps against it on their campuses. Ukraine: You can’t fault Trump for wanting to end the bloodshed in Vladimir Putin’s horrendous war against Ukraine. Yet Trump and/or his advisers seem to think selling out Ukraine and appeasing Mad Vlad will do that. It won’t. Putin is already proving that by rejecting even cease-fire proposals that are outrageously favorable to Russia, even as he steps up his bombing of civilians. Trump & Co. need to understand that Putin, not Zelensky, is the villain. And that appeasement will ultimately come back to haunt. Israel: The Jewish state and its US supporters have breathed a sigh of relief that Trump has replaced the Janus-faced Biden and backed Israel beyond its wildest dreams. Trump has not only given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu free rein to pursue Oct. 7’s Hamas perpetrators and rescue hostages; he’s also voiced out loud a solution that can actually lead to long-lasting peace: removing Gaza’s radicalized population, at least until the Strip can be rebuilt. True, that’s likely to prove a fantasy: Much of the world would resist it, and no one’s offering to host 2 million Gazans. But it certainly changed the conversation. Trump has also vowed not to let Iran — the biggest threat to Israel and the region — get nukes, hinting he may take military action if he can’t stop Tehran diplomatically. The risk for Trump: being tempted to sign on to a bad deal (a la President Barack Obama) just to get any deal. The president has made progress on other issues as well. And he’s managed to control his mouth far better than during his first term. No, he hasn’t yet made good on all his promises; no president could’ve, in the short time he’s been back. And he seems unlikely to ever keep some of his promises (see: New York’s congestion pricing). In that sense, Trump’s hurt his own credibility: He vowed “all hell will break out” if all Hamas’ hostages aren’t released. That he’ll impose tougher sanctions on Moscow if it resists a cease-fire. That the tariffs will make America rich. The world’s still wondering what’s the hold-up. We know: It’s not like Trump to acknowledge his limitations, at least not publicly. But if he can refrain from threats and promises he can’t deliver on, and focus on what’s realistic and achievable, there’s a world of good he can do over the next four years. He’s already made some stunning progress. Work out the kinks, Mr. President. Stay focused.