Like him or hate him, the very millions of Americans who voted ex US President Donald Trump to power in 2016, were satisfied enough to vote him again in last November's presidential election with a record breaking 74 million votes.
Why do they love him so much? Because he did exactly what they elected him to do.
In his farewell address to the nation, in a video shared on YouTube on Tuesday, Trump said, “I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because THAT’S WHAT YOU ELECTED ME TO DO.”
He then spoke about the nature of his presidency, describing himself as the first “true outsider” to get elected that believed that the United States government should work for its citizens first.
He added, “I fought for you. I fought for your family. I fought for your country.”
The love Trump enjoyed from his conservative base wasn't because he was a perfect human, but the fact that he kept his promises to the American people.
However, not everyone was pleased with the Trump administration. His policies which were tailored to largely appease his conservative base, were loathed by liberals. While his America First policy, which priorities America over foreign nations, made him enemies in the international front.
But, while Trump's policies seem to have made him more enemies than friends, he nevertheless, claims to have achieved so much both domestically and internationally.
Same sentiment was shared by his then Secretary of state Mike Pompeo who said the Trump administration has achieved so much not only for the United States, despite his 'America First' policy, but also so much more for the world in general which with time, the world would understand and appreciate.
“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished — not just in the national security, foreign policy space, which I’ve worked with, but the things that we’ve done with families, the pro-life work that we have done. These are things that will truly be historic. I think history will remember us very well for these things when the books are written,” he said in a remark.
Pompeo also discussed the administration’s foreign policy successes, and contrasted it with eight years under the Obama administration.
“We watched eight years of the foreign policy of the previous administration that was fantasy. Fantasy. They would enter into agreements and arrangements that weren’t based on anything with the potential to be lasting, and if America First in foreign policy means anything, it means being realistic.” He added:
"It means this deep recognition that our sole responsibility is to protect the American people. When we do that, I am very confident we will increase security for people all around the world, we will raise others up as well. But our mission set, everyday, is to say, ‘How do we make sure that everything we do secures freedom for America?’ and it’s gotten us to walk away from a whole bunch of things.
"We’ve walked away from the World Health Organization. We walked away from the UN Human Rights Commission. We walked away from some of the central understandings of the World Trade Organization.
Each of these things was detrimental to the American people, their prosperity, their security. We were right to do that. It’s a sensibility that I think 75 million people still understand and understood in November of this year. They haven’t stopped understanding, I promise you that."
Trump is already out of the white house Wednesday morning, prior to Biden's inauguration as the 46th President of the United States.
As he bed farewell to staff and supporters before leaving Washington, DC aboard Air Force One, he said, "Goodbye. I love you. We’ll be back in some form. I will be watching. I will be listening."