It Wasn’t Close

Or: Stop calling it close

It Wasn’t Close

(or: Stop Calling It Close)

By Jim Reynolds | www.reynolds.com

December 31, 2025 — Kingman, AZ

The last day of the year is a natural moment to compare Biden’s four years with Trump’s less than one year back in office.

Some mainstream pundits claim Trump merely “edged” Biden on accomplishments — as if this were a close contest.

Calling this an “edge” is a way of avoiding how badly one administration failed.

Their carefully chosen terminology suggests a photo finish. A respectable contest. A polite disagreement among equals.

That’s not what happened.

The record isn’t ambiguous — it’s just inconvenient.

When you strip away credential worship and narrative padding and look only at outcomes that hit Americans where they actually live — prices, borders, energy, and war — the comparison collapses instantly.

Trump didn’t edge Biden.

He lapped him.

Bob puts it more simply: If you need four years and a binder to explain success, it probably isn’t.

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Paper Wins vs. Pump Reality

Under Biden, inflation detonated to 9.1%. Real wages slid backward. Families were told the economy was “strong” while quietly dropping items from grocery carts.

Under Trump — especially in 2025 — prices fell fast. Gas dropped below $3 in many states. Relief wasn’t theoretical. It was visible.

Bob would just say: Wallets don’t care about speeches.

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The Border: When Enforcement Returns, Chaos Leaves

Biden presided over more than ten million illegal encounters. The southern border was wide open — and stayed that way. Cities buckled. “Catch and release” became policy by inertia.

When the public complained Biden told us that only Congress could shut the border down.

Trump reversed it in weeks — by executive order. No congressional involvement. Encounters plunged. Deportations resumed. The message changed — and behavior followed.

No symposium. No task force. Just enforcement of existing laws.

Bob: Amazing how laws start working again once someone acts like they matter.

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Energy: Drilled Reality vs. Symbolic Climate Therapy

Yes, Biden oversaw high production — while draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to hide policy failure and still leaving Americans with $4–$5 gas.

Trump expanded drilling, stabilized supply, pushed prices down, and started refilling the SPR.

Energy independence isn’t a slogan.

It’s leverage.

Bob: Funny how the planet survived lower gas prices just fine.

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Foreign Policy: Deterrence Is the War You Don’t See

Biden opened with Afghanistan — dead service members, abandoned equipment, global humiliation. Russia invaded Ukraine on his watch. Iran and its proxies grew bold.

Trump’s record looks quieter for a reason: deterrence worked.

No new wars. Ceasefires. Hostages released. Negotiations. Adversaries recalibrated.

Bob: Peace isn’t passive. It’s enforced.

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The Pattern You’re Not Supposed to Say Out Loud

Biden’s defenders point to legislation — big bills, long titles, celebratory press conferences. And bills that are always named something other than what they are.

Trump’s results are harder to spin because they’re harder to deny. They show up at the pump, at the border, and in whether the world feels like it’s about to light itself on fire.

This isn’t process governance versus chaos.

It’s process governance versus consequence governance.

One explains.

The other changes behavior.

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Stop Pretending This Was Close

In terms of comparisons, calling this an “edge” is narrative laundering. It smooths failure into respectability.

Measured by the things people actually feel — cost of living, national control, global stability — this wasn’t competitive.

One president made life feel manageable again.

The other explained why it couldn’t be.

Bob’s final word, delivered without irony:

If outcomes bother you, you already know the answer.

And that’s a fine way to end the year.