President-elect Trump is enjoying a honeymoon period in the wake of his election victory, largely staying out of the spotlight as positive developments have piled up.
Trump has quickly put together a Cabinet for his incoming administration, has seen his legal problems dissolve and has benefited from a bump in polling since winning a second term earlier this month.
An Emerson College poll published Tuesday found Trump’s favorability rating had increased by 6 percentage points since the election, putting him at 54 percent.
The postelection period has not been entirely free of drama for Trump, however, as one of his Cabinet nominees, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), has already withdrawn, and another, Pete Hegseth, is facing allegations of sexual assault that cloud his chances of confirmation.
Here are five reasons Trump is riding high three weeks after Election Day.
Quick Cabinet assembly
Trump has rolled out new picks for his incoming administration almost daily in the past two weeks, wasting little time installing allies at top posts in the White House and nominating staunch loyalists to lead major government agencies.
Following his 2016 victory, Trump did not name his first Cabinet picks until 10 days after the election. This time around, he has named choices for nearly his entire Cabinet, plus several top White House positions, within three weeks of his victory.
Trump allies said the quick pace showed a more cohesive transition than eight years ago, reflected his team’s preparedness for victory this time around and underscored how Trump was ready to rely on those he knew rather than more establishment figures.
“The people that he is surrounding himself with now are all committed to advancing the agenda,” former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
The rapid pace of nominations has kept headlines moving from one pick to the next, but some of Trump’s choices are likely to face intense scrutiny as the confirmation process moves along.
In particular, Hegseth, his choice for Defense secretary, is facing allegations of sexual assault, which he denies. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, has faced criticism for parroting pro-Russian talking points. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the man tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has spread antivaccine rhetoric, among other controversial views.
End of legal cases
Trump and his legal team spent more than a year fighting to delay various legal cases against him in the hopes that a victory in the presidential election would effectively end his court battles.
This week proved that effort was a success when special counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss both his election interference case and classified documents case against Trump, citing Department of Justice policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
The motion for the election interference case was approved by Judge Tanya Chutkan, bringing to a close the prosecutorial effort to hold Trump accountable for seeking to thwart the peaceful transfer of power that culminated with his supporters storming the Capitol.
In Trump’s Florida documents case, where he is facing charges for violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice, Smith also moved to dismiss an appeal to a motion tossing the case.
Trump was convicted earlier this year on 34 felony counts over a hush money scheme to keep an alleged affair quiet during the 2016 campaign. But his sentencing has been indefinitely adjourned, and Judge Juan Merchan now faces a choice of freezing the case in place until he leaves the White House or tossing it entirely.
Fewer signs of Democratic resistance
After Trump’s first victory in 2016, Democrats quickly rallied from the top down with vows to oppose and resist his agenda.
The Women’s March took place one day after Trump was inaugurated, lawmakers planned for how to delay confirmation of Trump’s nominees and critics seized on questions about Russian influence in the 2016 election.
This time around, Democrats appear more focused on sorting out where their own party went wrong during the 2024 campaign than on forming an organized resistance to Trump’s plans. With President Biden on his way out of the White House and Vice President Harris defeated, there is no clear leader of the party.
Instead of vowing to oppose Trump’s Cabinet picks, senators like Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) have openly talked about supporting nominees such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State and even Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Fetterman defeated Oz in 2022 to win his Pennsylvania Senate seat.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) drew backlash when he expressed excitement over Trump’s choice of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Some state-level leaders, particularly those with aspirations for 2028, have appeared more keen to position themselves as a bulwark against Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vowed to push back against certain Trump policies, while Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) has signaled he would fiercely protect his state’s rights.
Middle East peace deal
One major victory for Trump since the election came thanks to the work of the Biden administration, which announced Tuesday a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
President Biden made the announcement that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to pause their fighting in and around the border with Lebanon as of early Wednesday morning following months of fighting and airstrikes in the region.
The terms of the deal include a 60-day truce during which Israel will gradually withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah will withdraw its troops north of the Litani River in Lebanon.
Trump has not publicly commented on the announcement, but the Biden team briefed Trump transition officials twice in recent weeks about the ongoing push for a ceasefire.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed to reach a ceasefire with Hezbollah as a gift to the incoming Trump administration.
While Trump must still contend with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and Israel’s war with Hamas, which has decimated Gaza, the truce between Israeli forces and Hezbollah takes one foreign policy concern off the table.
Out of the public eye
Trump has largely been absent from the public eye in the roughly three weeks since he secured a second term.
He appeared in Washington, D.C., to meet with House Republicans and President Biden at the White House, and he made a trip to Texas to witness a SpaceX rocket launch alongside Elon Musk, the founder of the company.
But he has not held a press conference or delivered remarks on camera, making announcements largely through press releases from his transition team or on Truth Social.
Trump has in the past enjoyed some of his stronger political stretches when he has stayed out of the spotlight and avoided the kind of self-created controversies that come from his own on-camera remarks to the press or at rallies.
The question is how long he can keep it up. Some of his Cabinet picks are sure to come under growing scrutiny in the weeks ahead, his threat of tariffs against allies Mexico and Canada have rankled officials and could upend the economy, and there will be an even greater focus on Trump’s every move once he takes office in January.
