President Donald Trump spent his fourth year in office running for re-election on major accomplishments for the country but also battling the effects of the Chinese coronavirus.
Despite a challenging year, there were key victories for the president and his supporters felt particularly vindicated about their decision to vote for him.
These moments are “MAGA moments,” when it was clear Trump was keeping his campaign promise to his supporters to Make America Great Again.
Here is this year’s list:
15. President Trump Marks SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch – May 30
President Trump celebrated the first crewed mission from the United States since the last space shuttle flight in 2011 aboard an American rocket launched in tandem with SpaceX and NASA.
“Today, we once again proudly launch American astronauts on American rockets, the best in the world, from right here on American soil,” Trump said during his speech.
It was a triumphant moment for supporters of the American space program who cringed when American astronauts began relying on Russian rockets to get into space.
The moment again emphasized President Trump’s promise to rebuild America’s dominance in space.
14. Donald Trump Walks to St. John’s Episcopal Church to Challenge Violent Protesters – June 1
President Trump’s critics in corporate media, the Democrat party, and even elected Republicans savaged the president’s decision to walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church to challenge violent protesters who tried to burn down the structure the previous night.
“The biggest victims of the rioting are peace-loving citizens in our poorest communities, and as their President, I will fight to keep them safe,” Trump said prior to his walk to the church. “I will fight to protect you. I am your President of law and order, and an ally of all peaceful protesters.”
Many of Trump’s supporters celebrated that the president stood up to the mob as a symbol of law and order in front of a church that had been lit on fire by violent leftists the previous evening.
13. Space Force Personnel Receive the Name ‘Guardians’ – December 18
President Donald Trump’s newly created Space Force announced that personnel would be known as “Guardians.”
“The name Guardians connects our proud heritage and culture to the important mission we execute 24/7, protecting the people and interest of the U.S. and its allies,” the Space Force branch of the military announced.
The name immediately triggered “Guardians of the Galaxy” jokes, citing the Marvel characters from pop culture but the new Space Force branch of the United States military continued to grow after it’s creation in 2019.
The Space Force grew to 2,400 personnel in 2020 and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base were re-designated as Space Force facilities.
12. Trump Invokes Centers for Disease Control Title 42 to Return Border Crossers – May 18
President Donald Trump’s administration used the CDC’s Title 42 to quickly remove border crossers from the United States in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The administration argued it was critical to remove border crossers from the United States, rather than detain them in confined spaces where they could spread the virus.
It was the first time in the United States history that a president used it in this way, setting a precedent for future action to limit migration when it risks public health.
11. Donald Trump Awards Rush Limbaugh a Medal of Freedom – Febuary 4
President Trump paid tribute to legendary broadcaster Rush Limbaugh at his 2020 State of the Union speech, surprising him by awarding him the Medal of Freedom.
“Rush Limbaugh, thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country,” Trump said, asking First Lady Melania Trump to award him the medal for the country’s highest civilian honor.
Days earlier, Limbaugh announced he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 advanced lung cancer.
“This is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet,” Trump said.
10. Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Challenging Big Tech Censorship – May 28
President Trump understood that his supporters were angered at the social media companies who were unfairly censoring conservative content. But part of him believed his political movement could still beat the unfair forces of Big Tech.
In May, however, the president signed an executive order challenging the Section 230 provisions carved out for them in the Communications and Decency act.
He said:
As a Nation, we must foster and protect diverse viewpoints in today’s digital communications environment where all Americans can and should have a voice. We must seek transparency and accountability from online platforms, and encourage standards and tools to protect and preserve the integrity and openness of American discourse and freedom of expression.
9. Donald Trump Levels a Travel Ban on China to Fight Coronavirus – January 31
President Trump’s first term faced its greatest challenge with the dawn of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, but he acted early by leveling a travel ban from China’s Hubei Province. Any Americans returning to the United States were subject to 14 days of quarantine.
It was an aggressive decision to defend against the growing threat from the virus, and something that even the skeptical Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted was effective at slowing the spread of the virus.
“We prevented travel from China to the United States. If we had not done that, we would have had many, many more cases right here that we would have to be dealing with,” Fauci said in February.
The overall fight against the coronavirus took a political toll on the Trump administration, but many Americans agreed with his decision to ban travel from China.
8. March For Life Speech – January 24
President Donald Trump made history in 2020 as being the first president to speak personally live on the National Mall for the March for Life.
The president’s speech and his personal attendance at the march moved pro-life activists across the country, who celebrated gains for the movement under his presidency.
“Every life brings love into this world. Every child brings joy to a family. Every person is worth protecting,” Trump said. “And above all, we know that every human soul is divine, and every human life –- born and unborn –- is made in the holy image of Almighty God.”
7. Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony – September 15
President Donald Trump hosted a peace agreement signing ceremony with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates as part of his ongoing effort to normalize diplomatic relations between Arab nations and the state of Israel.
“For years you had blood in the sand … now you’re going to have peace and it will be a real peace,” Trump said during a meeting with the three Arab nation leaders and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s diplomatic achievement even drew praise from some of his sharpest critics with other Arab nations considering joining the accords.
Morocco joined the peace agreement in December.
6. Donald Trump Celebrates Failed Democrat Attempt to Impeach Him – February 2020
President Donald Trump spoke at the White House after the Senate acquitted him of Impeachment charges brought by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat party.
“It was all bullshit,” Trump said bluntly at the White House hoisting a copy of the Washington Post announcing his acquittal.
The president gathered with his biggest defenders in the impeachment battle to celebrate the victory.
“Fortunately we had great men and women who came to our defense,” Trump said. “If we didn’t, this would have been a horrific incident for our country.”
5. President Trump’s Speech at Mount Rushmore – July 3
President Trump delivered a speech at Mount Rushmore on July 3, celebrating the return of the fireworks display in front of one of America’s favorite monuments.
Trump used his speech to defy the movement by leftists to cancel and remove America’s monuments and heritage. He observed:
In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished. It’s not going to happen to us.
Trump’s repeated defiance of the woke mob and “cancel culture” was a welcome contrast to the growing acceptance of the left’s attempt to censor and blacklist America’s heritage.
4. The Killing of Qasem Soleimani – January 3
President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani for his record of organizing terror attacks against the United States.
“Under my leadership, America’s policy is unambiguous: To terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American, we will find you; we will eliminate you,” Trump said after a drone strike killed the Iranian general. “We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans, and our allies.”
3. Donald Trump Signs USMCA trade deal – January 29
President Donald Trump signed the ratified USMCA trade deal with Mexico and Canada at the White House, years after campaigning to replace NAFTA with a better deal.
Trump noted:
Two decades of politicians ran for office vowing to replace the NAFTA — and this was a catastrophe: the NAFTA catastrophe. Yet once elected, they never even tried. They never even gave it a shot. They sold out. But I’m not like those other politicians, I guess, in many ways. I keep my promises, and I’m fighting for the American worker.
For President Trump, the USMCA was not just a political milestone but a personal one as well, as he publicly criticized America’s trade policy as a private citizen.
2. Donald Trump Celebrates Development of First Coronavirus Vaccine Under Operation Warp Speed – November 13
President Trump celebrated the successful development of a coronavirus vaccine by Pfizer, which announced the news just days after the 2020 presidential election.
“No medical breakthrough of this scope and magnitude has ever been achieved this rapidly, this quickly,” Trump said in the Rose Garden as he celebrated the news. “And we’re very proud of it.”
It was a stunning achievement by President Trump who repeatedly pushed forward on the development of the vaccine, even as critics mocked his assertions it could be developed and delivered by the end of 2020.
Trump was vindicated, and throughout the pandemic, his administration prioritized beating the virus with a vaccine rather than enacting draconian lockdowns.
“This administration will not go, under any circumstances — will not go to a lockdown, but we’ll be very vigilant, very careful,” he said.
1. Donald Trump Hosts Swearing-in Ceremony for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett – October 26
It was an unthinkable moment for President Trump to nominate and replace a third Supreme Court Justice in his first term.
But in late October, the president hosted a swearing-in ceremony for Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away just weeks before the election. Trump said:
She is one of our nation’s most brilliant legal scholars, and she will make an outstanding justice on the highest court in our land.
Trump’s decision to choose Barrett amid the high political stakes of a presidential election cemented his judicial legacy, ensuring many contextualist, originalist, Constitutional rulings for decades to come.
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