The election of Donald Trump will usher in a renaissance unlike anything this country has seen since the framers of the Constitution signed it in 1789.
Trump is a very different president-elect than he was eight years ago. I became more knowledgeable, more confident, and smarter. He has a more clearly defined plan and has a much stronger and more loyal team in place to carry it out.
Supporters of Donald Trump react to the news of Trump's victory on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida on election night. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
This version of Donald Trump has spent eight years learning the ins and outs of Washington. He understands how the game is played and how fiercely opponents will resist his efforts to make America great again. That organizational knowledge will be extremely valuable.
Last time, Mr. Trump relied on the Republican establishment to staff his administration, forcing him to rely on people who did not share his vision and, in many cases, actively sought to undermine him. He will never make the same mistake again. This time, he's looking outside of government for people with the skills and mentality to succeed.
Consider the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Vivek is a personal friend and one of the smartest people I know, and Elon is one of the most prolific entrepreneurs in human history. They are the best people for this job.
President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend the launch viewing of the SpaceX Starship rocket's sixth test flight in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Politicians always talk about cutting waste in the federal budget, but this is the first time anyone has seriously addressed this. Rather than assigning the task to politicians and bureaucrats, President Trump is turning to the very people who created the mess in the first place: two of the most talented business leaders of this generation.
Similarly, his cabinet will be filled with people who have proven themselves outside of politics, including Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon and Chris Wright. These people were successful not because they simply talked and bartered their way to the top of politics, but because they knew how to get things done.
Mr. Trump is gifted with the ability to avoid political games and focus on making America great again and delivering on his promises.
His staffing decisions also represent a return to its American roots.
Of the 38 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 34 were businessmen, farmers, shippers, and merchants who understood free trade. They saw politics not as a career but as a form of public service. They made great personal sacrifices and reluctantly took time away from business to protect the God-given rights of Americans and build a government that gave them opportunities for advancement.
Trump's team is driven by the same honorable motives as Trump himself.
Bureaucrats who have never run a business do not know how the economy actually works. If you operate a business in over 50 different national economies, like I do, you need to understand how both the business and the economy work.
We were very fortunate to found Papa John's in 1984 during the Reagan Revolution. Under the Obama and Biden administrations, I would never have been able to build a business like that from a broom cupboard to a multinational company, and the entrepreneurs who came under those administrations never would have been able to do what I did. I have often felt sorry for him because he did not have the opportunity to do so. That's not fair.
John Schnatter arrives at the 2011 American Music Awards on November 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (JB Lacroix/WireImage via Getty Images)
But that's about to change. Donald Trump is like Ronald Reagan on steroids, building a team to accomplish great things for the two pillars of the American economy: entrepreneurs and the American middle class. Together, they clean up the mess that has been going on for 110 years.
Sylvester Stallone recently suggested that Donald Trump will become as important a figure in American history as George Washington. Liberals laughed, but I think Sly will have the last laugh.
Thanks to Donald Trump, America is on the brink of its greatest revival since the Constitutional Convention.
John Schnatter is the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Papa John's International.
