MORNING GLORY: President Donald Trump has become the 'punisher-in-chief'

Fox News contributor Bill McGurn weighs in after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed the lowest approval rating among U.S. political leaders and discusses the Democratic Party's midterm messaging plan.

The first year of the second term of President Trump concludes today. Only extreme partisans will deny that 45-47 hung a lot of wins on the wall this past year — the closed border, "eight-and-a-quarter" peace negotiations, the "one big beautiful bill," Operations Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve and the wonderful combination of falling inflation and rising wages and, of course, rising domestic oil and gas production and the march towards small, modular nuclear reactors. (President Trump, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright don’t often get the headlines for our energy breakout, but AI and our country’s national security depends on continuing and expanding it.)

Most important to the world of his achievements in his first year back: President Trump is not only the commander in chief of the mightiest military in history, he knows how to use it. Trump restored America’s deterrence that had been forfeited by our collapse in Afghanistan by becoming "The Punisher."

Iran, Islamist terrorists across Africa, from Somalia to Nigeria and Nicholas Maduro have all suffered devastating blows that punished them for behavior outside the guardrails that President Trump set. Iran is still on the likely receiving end of another massive, but rapid and devastating, hit that could leave Kharg Island and other oil export facilities in Iran in ruins and the ayatollahs and the IRGC bereft of any means to finance their massive murdering sprees.

TRUMP SAYS JD VANCE WOULD BE 'PROBABLY FAVORED' FOR 2028 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

It turns out that it is not wise to ignore Trump’s demands on matters he defines as vital to America’s national security.

Today also marks Vice President JD Vance’s first year as the only other official elected by the entire country. Spare a moment to zoom in on the 41-year-old former senator from Ohio, investment banker, Yale-trained lawyer and Marine.

The vice president has been the ideal #2 in year one: He supports his boss, messages for him, provides his best advice and is willing to go where dutiful vice presidents have to go: Europe and anywhere else the president sends him.

But Vance also emerged in the first year of the second term of President Trump as the John Wick of the Sunday shows and Euro-gabfests.

MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS PLACED........

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