A new American golden age is imminent. As President Trump declared in his inaugural address, “The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation. And we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.”
This rallying cry - equally bolstered by a commitment to also unleash a “revolution of common sense” - is renewing Americans’ - and even Europeans’ - sense of optimism about the future. Our nation could use a jolt of optimism following four years of government overreach and economic malaise a la the Biden-Harris administration.
A commitment to achieving energy dominance by shoring up more production of reliable domestic energy could help kickstart our new golden age. Coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and geothermal - not part-time energy sources solar and wind - will be supercharged and make us net-exporters of energy again. This is made clear in his Day One “Unleashing American Energy” executive order that calls for “ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible in every State and territory of the Nation.”
President Trump wants us to export “liquid gold” - liquified natural gas (LNG) - to our European friends to cut their reliance on Russian oil and gas while replenishing our emergency reserves and ensuring our supply isn’t further depleted. The 47th president is also unshackling restrictions, upwards of 70 regulations, lobbed at natural resource-heavy Alaska by safely allowing reasonable - not unfettered - energy development and critical minerals exploration that won’t harm its natural surroundings.
Promoting energy abundance will be possible when tied with deregulation. As in Trump 1.0, this second term promises to unleash more deregulation without decimation of the environment or social norms. This past week, the Trump White House announced a new memo entitled “Eliminating 10 Regulations for Each New Regulation Issued” that orders “whenever an agency promulgates a new rule, regulation, or guidance, it must identify at least 10 existing rules, regulations, or guidance documents to be repealed.” This standard is up from the two-for-one and seven-for-one cuts of the first Trump term.
“Overregulation stops American entrepreneurship, crushes small business, reduces consumer choice, discourages innovation, and infringes on the liberties of American citizens,” the memo added.
The Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), helmed by Elon Musk, has equally identified bloat and waste to nix to help fulfill Trump’s America First agenda. However, it remains to be seen how effective this commission, set to expire on July 5th, 2026, will be. But Americans - myself included - are excited about our government getting serious about cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.
If President Trump desires to usher in a 21st-century Golden Age, he can look to his fellow Republican and the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, for some inspiration. Coolidge was in office a century ago and unleashed a “golden age” of prosperity sandwiched between World War I and the Great Depression.
Silent Cal cut taxes and enacted a “war on waste” that contributed to an era dubbed “Coolidge Prosperity” between 1923 and 1929. His namesake presidential foundation notes his policies restored fiscal health to the U.S. The national debt decreased by $5.9 billion during this time frame, and a bevy of taxes were significantly reduced, as well. He even oversaw a budget surplus. This is largely attributed to his Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, a fan of “trickle-down economics” (free enterprise). The University of Virginia summarized “Coolidge Prosperity" as being marked by “robust growth, rising wages, declining unemployment and inflation, and a bull market.”
Could President Trump’s America First agenda to unleash a new golden age be bolstered or derailed by tariffs? We’re in a game of “wait and see.”
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation aptly noted, “Tariffs are distortionary, regressive taxes that raise prices for US businesses and consumers.” But this isn’t stopping President Trump from deploying them. This week, President Trump is levying a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, and a 10% tariff on goods coming from China. He’s even threatened tariffs on the European Union if they decline to import LNG from us.
Interestingly enough, Coolidge shared President Donald J. Trump’s penchant for tariffs – an official Republican Party platform position during the 30th president’s time. Conservatives today, however, are divided over the newly announced tariffs on Mexico and Canada–myself included. It seems the 25% tariff on Canada is geared towards making the uber left country our 51st state.
As we’ve witnessed before, tariff tensions will likely blow over. President Trump will renege on tariffs after the Mexican and Canadian leaders bend to his wishes. It worked on Colombia’s president; it’s sure to succeed with our North American neighbors, too.
Overall, we’re only a few weeks into Trump 2.0. We’ll see if his instincts, especially on tariffs, work and usher in a new golden age.
