Remember when former President Donald Trump, during the 2016 campaign, promised that we would get tired of winning? At one of his rallies, he said:

“We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you’ll say, ‘Please, please. It’s too much winning. We can’t take it anymore. Mr. President, it’s too much.’”

"We're gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you'll say, 'Please, please. It's too much winning. We can't take it anymore. Mr. President, it's too much.'

– Donald Trump, April 12, 2016pic.twitter.com/IYPk0SD6tE

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) March 18, 2020

Six years later, Trump’s words seem to be coming true — even without him in the White House. The GOP is set to retake the House and possibly even the Senate. At the state level, Republicans are expected to make key gains. Black and Hispanic voters are starting to consider giving conservative candidates a chance, as the party puts forth more minority candidates.

On every major issue, public opinion is on the Republicans’ side. Democrats have managed to flub nearly every single problem thrown at them, and it does not appear their performance will improve anytime soon. They have taken the wrong side on issues like sexual orientation and gender identity being taught to little children, the economy, energy independence, crime, law enforcement, immigration, and a host of others.

It would be easy to assume that Democrats’ ineffectiveness is why conservatives are in such a favorable position. This is not inaccurate. But I would also argue that for the first time in recent memory, conservatives are getting some things right for a change.

Instead of rolling over and letting progressives infuse their sick ideology into the classroom, parents and activists mobilized to vociferously repudiate the far-left agenda. They showed up at school board meetings to take their officials to task. Conservative media is constantly exposing more and more examples of problematic teachings on sexuality, gender, and race being injected into school curriculum.

When Disney and the rest of the left tried to shame conservatives into not supporting Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, they stood firm and called out progressives for pushing the idea that teachers should be instructing small kids on sexual orientation and gender identity. The value of Disney’s shares plummeted and the company lost billions of dollars – and the bill still passed.

To put it simply, conservatives have started learning how to go on the offense instead of remaining on the defense. I wrote earlier about how it is more effective to force the left to defend their ridiculous arguments than to continue defending ours. While there is much improvement to be made in this area, Republicans are doing better than they have in days past. Indeed, some are even developing novel and innovative ways to reach the public. Republican activist Scott Presler has been registering voters at gas stations, where voters are suffering due to skyrocketing gas prices.

Today, I spent 7 hours registering voters at a gas station in Manhasset, NY.

I’m very sleepy & sunburned (😴+🥵), but I’ll be out tomorrow, too.

(The democrats are really angry we’re registering voters at gas stations. Bless their hearts.)

— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 19, 2022

So, why has this change occurred? What made conservatives finally realize the importance of getting on the ground and fighting back against the far left?

Three words: Donald John Trump.

Even though the former president is no longer in office, his presence and influence are still very much alive on the right. When he came onto the scene, he showed us how it’s done. He didn’t back away from any battle. He did not hesitate to aggressively savage the activist media and call them what they are: The enemy of the people. Trump didn’t practice civility toward those who were acting in bad faith.

In other words, he showed us how to fight.

Not only that, he got us to see that any Republican leader who is not willing to advocate fiercely for their constituents is not worth supporting. He shone a spotlight on the squishy milquetoast Romneys and Flakes in the party who were too feckless to push a conservative agenda amid attacks from the left.

Of course, Trump is not perfect. Sure, he got into petty Twitter feuds, and his mouth has gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, he has been a net positive for the conservative movement and the Republican Party. It is why so many of us want candidates who are “Trumpy.”

In fact, one of the reasons why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is so popular is because he is perceived as one of the more Trump-like figures on the right. Indeed, many have pointed out that he has the former president’s strengths without his weaknesses. If Trump does not run in 2024, DeSantis will almost certainly be the frontrunner. His willingness to get into the mud with Democrats has been one of his most endearing qualities to those who grew weary of being represented by weaklings.

Of course, this isn’t to say there are not areas where Republicans are falling short. Moreover, the left still has control over the country’s cultural institutions and maintains a powerful level of influence over society. This is still an ongoing conflict. But it seems the right is finally starting to understand what needs to happen if they are going to prevent the left from turning the nation into a socialist “utopia.”

It is worth remembering that while this is a welcome paradigm shift, it won’t accomplish much if we fail to take advantage of the momentum Trump started years ago. Conservatives must continue learning how to fight effectively. More importantly, we must make sure we are sending the right people into office at the federal, state, and local levels. Going on the attack needs to be second nature instead of going back to our comfortable defense zone. America is at a critical point in its history, and we need people who are willing to fight wholeheartedly for the soul of the nation. Will we be up to the task?