Bill Dalton: Happy Trump year!

Funny, it seems only about a year ago, Donald J. Trump became president again.

My, how time flies when the country is having fun!

Yet this provides the perfect opportunity to take stock of where things stand in America. A time to look back at where we’ve been in 2025 and where we’re going in 2026.

Of course, the biggest political question everyone always asks is: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Or even just a year ago?

So, let’s do a little year-to-year comparison. Just the big stuff, not the small stuff, such as rampant corruption, eroding civil rights, abuses of power, threatening to hang Congressmen, blah blah blah.

Ah, it seems like just yesterday that …

Jan. 1, 2025: An aging, doddering old man speaking gibberish was president.

Jan. 1, 2026: An aging, doddering old man speaking gibberish is president.

Jan. 1, 2025: Inflation was a nagging problem. Prices of goods and services were rising and affordability — from housing to health care — almost out of reach for the average American.

Jan. 1, 2026: Inflation is a nagging problem. Prices of goods and services are still high and affordability — from housing to health care — almost out of reach for the average American. And tariffs are only making it worse.

Jan. 1, 2025: The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

Jan. 1, 2026: The rich keep getting richer (especially Trump’s family and friends!) and the poor keep getting poorer.

Jan. 1, 2025: There is a war in Ukraine and Russia appeared to be winning.

Jan. 1, 2026: There is a war in Ukraine and Russia appears to be winning.

Jan. 1, 2025: The number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. at the border was at an all-time low.

Jan. 1, 2026: The number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. at the border is at an all-time low. And employers who aren’t laying off are having trouble finding people who want to work.

Jan. 1, 2025: Global warming was an existential threat for mankind.

Jan. 1, 2026: Global warming is an existential threat for mankind.

Jan. 1, 2025: China, North Korea and Russia posed threats to global peace.

Jan. 1, 2026: China, North Korea and Russia pose threats to global peace. Now, also “superpowers” such as…Venezuela.

Jan. 1, 2025: The White House is a beautiful, historic landmark admired as “the people’s house.”

Jan. 1, 2026: The White House was a beautiful, historic landmark. Now the Oval Office resembles an extreme makeover bordello, and the East Wing is rubble.

Jan. 1, 2025: The president-elect is a felon.

Jan. 1, 2026: The president is a felon.

Jan. 1, 2025: What’s up with Melania’s couture?

Jan. 1, 2026: What’s up with Melania’s couture, other than a constant reminder that her clothes cost more than your house?

Oh, we could keep going, but what’s the point? At least this list isn’t as long as CNN’s ‘‘Donald Trump’s top 25 lies of 2025.” That’s a real doozy.

They range from Ukraine started the war in Ukraine (uh huh), to “every price is down” (sure), to people in Canada like the idea of becoming the 51st state (right, hoser), to babies getting 80-plus vaccines (huh?), to calling critical media coverage of him “illegal.”Guilty!!!

So sit back, relax and imagine what 2026 will bring when he’s an even bigger lame duck.

If it’s anything like the last year for America, it just might be.

— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star and worked for several Michigan newspapers. He spends summers on the family farm near Fennville. His book “Dalton’s Bend” is available from Amazon.