President Donald J. Trump, invited by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, recently took the well of the house to delineate what his administration had accomplished and what its plans were for the foreseeable future. Although Clintonesque in length, it was filled with facts as well the now standard rhetorical device of singling out everyday Americans for their dreams, accomplishments, and losses.

The accomplishments by the Trump Administration in just 45 or so days in office are, in a word, breathtaking. The border is sealed ending the huge financial burden imposed on states and localities, the illegal migrant population are being identified and deported bringing safety back to our cities, foreign investment in America has skyrocketed, there are peace talks in the Middle East, headway toward peace talks in Europe are likewise underway, military recruitment is reaching record highs.

Democratic pollster Doug Schoen even had to confess, “We did get a vision on Tuesday night. We did get a clear sense that we have a president who is a bold, transformational leader dedicated to revitalizing the American Dream.”

Mr. Trump came to the session from a position of strength.

According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted on February 19-20, 2025, President Trump has achieved a 52% approval rating, marking one of the highest ratings of his tenure. Additionally, 58% of voters expressed greater satisfaction with Trump’s performance compared to the previous administration. Notably, 72% of respondents support the establishment of a government agency dedicated to efficiency improvements.

Furthermore, public sentiment regarding the nation’s trajectory has improved, with 42% of voters now believing the country is on the right track — a 14-point increase since January.

Accordingly, Mr. Trump came to the joint session of Congress in good faith to ask that they join with him and the GOP majority to enact common sense changes and laws. And as a unifying gesture, offered the socialist Democrats a civil way to show unity by acknowledging those special guests, including a six-year-old boy battling brain cancer with a dream of being a police officer and was awarded an honorary position with the Secret Service, and telling another high school senior that his dream of going to West Point had been approved. These examples and actions were nothing other than uplifting.

But the socialist Democrats would have none of it.

Dressed in Ukrainian colors, they refused to stand, let alone applaud, for the recognition of these outstanding young people or the others who were invited because of those losses they had sustained during the Biden Administration’s open border policy. They did applaud, however, only when Mr. Trump mentioned the billions of dollars that America has shoveled to Ukraine.

But since the socialist Democrats “Stand with Ukraine,” as do others, it’s with a look at what exactly they’re standing for. And it’s not pretty.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, remains in office although his term expired in May 2024. This is so because he imposed martial law in 2022 and Ukraine’s elections are postponed during martial law.

This, then, may give insight on why Mr. Zelenskyy isn’t real keen on peace with Russia.

In his latest public statement while visiting Europe, Mr. Zelenskyy declared that peace with Russian is “Far, far away.” No wonder.

Denying or foregoing peace means Mr. Zelenskyy keeps martial law, and so long as there’s martial law, Mr. Zelenskyy stays in power and can use the tools of martial law to his own end, such as taking action against his political opponents.

And Mr. Zelenskyy did that quite well.

Among those so targeted was Petro Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine (2014–2019) and leader of the opposition party European Solidarity. In 2022, Poroshenko was accused of treason. Although briefly detained and later released on bail while the investigation continued, Mr. Zelenskyy, imposed sanctions on Poroshenko in 2025.

Mr. Zelenskyy also has taken measures that limit certain civil rights.

These actions include signing a a decree combining national TV channels into a single state-run broadcast; banning political parties with alleged (even some not so alleged) ties to Russia; imposing a controversial media law passed in late 2022 expanding state regulation over news outlets, and restricting public protests and certain forms of political speech.

And, no matter how you cut it, these acts are suitable only to a dictator.

Next time the slogan “I Stand with Ukraine” pops up, think about what that means.

Differing with the national political leadership is one thing, but never, ever stand against the United States of America.

Gary Wisenbaker is a REALTOR© with Century 21 Realty Advisors and can be reached at gary50155@gmail.com and (912) 713-2553 .