Leading up to the 2016 election, one thing was clear: The next president would have to deal with the world amid complicated foreign entanglements and a hostile global landscape.

Upon Obama’s leaving office, the Middle East was more unstable than ever, global terrorism had grown, and America’s position on the world stage was weakened. While Obama and his administration may consider that last fact a victory – after all, they see a dominant United States as the cause of global destabilization – it was, in fact, a dangerous position.

And so, we knew that whoever was going to win the presidency in 2016 was going to have to deal with a foreign policy mess akin to the economic mess Obama himself had inherited. When it became clear that Donald Trump would be the nominee, and later the president-elect, this was a worrisome prospect.

What has become shocking, however, is the fact that Donald Trump’s heavy-handed approach to the world was apparently exactly what was needed.

I won’t pretend that I’m suddenly a Trump fanatic. I am still deeply skeptical, and that won’t go away anytime soon. However, it is very apparent that whoever is guiding Trump on the foreign policy front is doing a good job. The most anti-Trump voter would have to admit that even a morally bankrupt clock is still correct twice a day.

The Iran Deal, an executive agreement between the United States, European countries, and Iran, was unenforceable and about as worthless as it gets. There was no mechanism truly built in to keep Iran honest, as Benjamin Netanyahu showed us last week, and all it did was provide Iran the cash necessary to continue funding Hezbollah and further destabilize the region.

Because of the deal, and because of Iran’s insane warmongering, other Arab states that are ostensibly our allies are pondering getting their own nuclear weapons to keep Iran in check. That isn’t fixing the problem.

Sure, the European countries who signed on are upset Trump pulled us out, but if you look at the actual countries in the region surrounding Iran, there was never any agreement about… the agreement.

Coupling this with the situation in North Korea, we see the dramatic difference between the Trump Administration and what we can charitably call the foreign policy establishment of Washington D.C.

These are the voices that urge America to “come to the table,” and sit down with despots and maniacs. Somehow, the mantra of “peace through love” became a foreign policy objective, and it simply doesn’t work.

Standing in front of North Korea and telling them to “Bring it” brought them to the peace table. Telling Iran they won’t be getting any more free cash and putting pressure back on them will force them to slow their nuclear program again.

America was far too soft for eight years. In order to re-stabilize, it is necessary to go too hard, to remind the world that America still is a superpower and will be re-assuming its role as a global leader. The Obama remnant, the foreign policy establishment, Democrats in general, and many others may not like it, but based on the results so far, that’s what’s got to be done.