On election night, the (then) president-elect was victorious. He won a decisive victory; even Democrats, at least the honest ones, are having to admit that he won a mandate. On Inauguration Day, he doubled down on victorious, taking the reins out of the hands of the confused, befuddled, and incompetent Joe Biden, then launching into a flurry of executive orders that went on into the night - and oh, by the way, attending a few inaugural balls along the way.

But last night, we saw Trump truly triumphant. He strode into the joint session of Congress, shaking hands, grinning, with his head held high. This was the moment he had worked toward the last four years: He suffered lawfare, he suffered two phony impeachments, he suffered non-stop negative coverage from the legacy media, he suffered the hatred - there's no other word for it - of every Democrat politician at every level of government. And, at a June '24 Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally, a moment that will be written in history as a changing point in the 2024 election, he evaded a fatal shot by an attempted assassin by literally an ear's breadth.

Last night's speech was more than just a political speech. It was an expression of triumph over all of that. President Trump stood at that podium, looked to his right at the ranks of angry, frustrated Democrats, grinned at them, and said, "America is back."

The Democrats, for the most part, reacted like petulant, spoiled children. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was ejected from the chamber for throwing a hissy-fit, waving his cane and shrieking like an angry toddler. The rest held up stupid paddle signs, a gesture that can only be described with one word: Impotent. Tip O'Neill is probably spinning in his grave like a gyroscope.

Republicans, at long last, have had enough of this kind of behavior. My colleague Rusty Weiss noted one such moment:

See Related: Dem Rep’s ‘This Is Not Normal’ Sign at Trump Speech Goes Airborne After Fed Up Republican Launches It

In my nearly half a century of watching politics, I've seen a lot of political speeches. I watched every State of the Union address Ronald Reagan delivered, along with many of his other speeches. Until now, I would have recognized The Gipper as the best speechifier in the recent annals of American history. After last night, though, I'm not so sure.

Now, Donald Trump's style is very different than Reagan's sunny optimism. He called out the Democrats directly, pausing from his prepared remarks to point out that they wouldn't stand or applaud, not for him, but for the families of Lakin Riley and Jocelyn Nungary, for 13-year-old DJ Daniel, a brain cancer survivor who wants nothing more than to be a cop and who the president made an honorary Secret Service agent; they sat on their behinds while he announced the capture and extradition of the planner of the Afghanistan Abbey Gate bombing, while he announced the capture and extradiction of 29 major Mexican cartel figures. They sat there on their behinds, with their idiotic auction-house paddles, and acted like asses.

I would call it embarrassing, except that if today's Democrats have taught us one thing, it's that they are not capable of embarrassment. Some of us gray-haired older types remember when Democrats were people we disagreed with but who we could generally work with. They had different opinions, but there was always some common ground, and the differences weren't taken so personally. 

Those days are gone. And don't think for a moment that the voters aren't noticing it. The American people are reacting very positively to the president's speech - and not so well to the Democrats' childishness.

See Related: Polling and Analysis About Voter Reaction to Trump's Address Will Make Trump's Day, Deepen Dems Despair

A year ago, I would have written - I did write, in fact - that I was afraid for America's future. I wasn't optimistic. My parents, born in 1923 and 1928, children of the Great Depression and the young adults of World War 2, always believed that they had seen America's best years. Until recently, I would have unhesitatingly agreed. But now, I'm seeing a glimmering of hope - the sense that we may yet be able to turn this thing around. They called Bill Clinton "The Man from Hope," and Barack Obama was all about being President Hopey-Change. They didn't deliver. But Donald Trump is delivering. It's not perfect; there have been and will be setbacks. Personally, I'd like to see a little more attention paid to the national debt, which is an existential crisis. But under Donald Trump and his DOGE, we're at least moving to stop the digging.

President Trump's speech last night was his triumphant moment, more than the election, more than the inauguration. It was a moment of triumph for all of us, except the Democrats, who were forced to sit there and take it. And that's fine. After the last eight years, they have it coming.

America is back, baby. Get used to it.