The start of 2025 wasn’t just a date on the calendar—it became a tragic reminder of terror and the choices we make as a nation. On New Year’s Day, in the vibrant French Quarter of New Orleans, what should’ve been a day of celebration turned into a nightmare. A man, filled with twisted beliefs, drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.
It was an act designed to spread fear, and sadly, it echoed another grim incident from 2017. Back then, in Lower Manhattan, a Halloween bike path attack killed eight people. Both times, the perpetrators claimed to act in the name of the Islamic State.
But what followed each attack tells us a lot about leadership.
A Tale of Two Leaders
President Biden responded to this New Orleans tragedy with patience and care. He waited for thorough intelligence briefings before making statements. That’s what you’d expect from a leader.
On the flip side, President-elect Donald Trump took a very different approach. Even before facts were in, Trump jumped onto his Truth Social platform. He blamed the attack on illegal immigrants, Democrats, and the media.
Here’s the kicker: the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, wasn’t an illegal immigrant. He was an American, born and raised in Texas, with over a decade of service in the U.S. Army. But that didn’t stop Trump from running with an incorrect Fox News report claiming the truck entered from Mexico just two days earlier.
Fox News later corrected their mistake. Did Trump? Of course not. He doubled down, using the tragedy to stoke fear and division.
A Pattern of Fear Over Facts
This isn’t new for Trump. Remember the 2017 New York attack? The attacker, Sayfullo Saipov, was in the U.S. on a legal visa. Yet during his 2023 and 2024 campaign rallies, Trump repeatedly claimed there were no terrorist attacks during his first term.
Fact-checkers? They had a field day proving otherwise. But for Trump, facts were never the point. The narrative was.
Looking Ahead to Four More Years
With Trump returning to the White House, it’s clear we’re in for more of the same:
- Blame games. Everything bad will be someone else’s fault.
- Fact-free claims. Trump’s narrative will always take precedence over reality.
- Division. Fearmongering will remain a central strategy.
For some, this works. There’s a portion of America that resonates with the idea that the country is in decline and that Trump is the one to save it.
But it’s worth asking: at what cost?
Leadership Matters
The tragedy in New Orleans wasn’t just about the lives lost—it was a reminder of how leadership shapes how we heal and move forward. Biden’s approach was measured, focused on facts. Trump’s was divisive, playing to his base.
As we step into these next four years, the question isn’t just about Trump’s leadership—it’s about how we, as a country, respond.
We’ve been here before. Now we get to decide if we’ll let history repeat itself.