[Editor’s note: Charlie Hermon’s submitted his opinion to Kandit’s question, “What are you most hopeful and most fearful about in a second Trump administration?”]
Opinion by Charlie Hermosa for Kandit News & Views
As I reflect on President Elect Trump’s second term, I am most hopeful that his aggressive and polarizing approach will bring back a sense of accountability to the political landscape. For example, when we look at our military, we need to get back to being the most feared fighting force in the world. There is a notion that strength brings peace. With this, we need to hold our senior military leaders accountable. What happened when we exited Afghanistan in 2021 should never ever happen again. Overall, we need to hold all our leaders accountable and ensure we have a resilient system, not just one that holds the pari-parisystem as a sustainable way of running a government. The size of the government or shall I say the fat and overspending must be cut.
The most fearful aspect of President Elect Trump’s second term is that with disruption comes uncertainty. His willingness to challenge long-standing norms could be or have been met with opposition by both sides of the aisle. The fact that Republicans will control the executive and legislative branches may have some consequences that will hinder the ability to pass forward thinking policies. If you look at the people around Trump, they want to put America back on top, but some may not want this. Similar to the side deals that happen here by both parties, the establishment may pass legislation that makes no sense or have meaningful impact to the American people. With efficiencies that a second Trump administration will bring you will see how the system is broken, but some in power want the system to stay broken.
_____
Charlie Hermosa is a local businessman and Republican candidate for governor of Guam in the 2026 election. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a combat veteran.
