I’m one of those who give’s credit where credit is due. If my daughter does well, I praise her for her effort. If our locally elected decision makers are worthy of praise, then I make it a point to let them and our community aware of it.

The same holds true for our President of the United States.

President Donald Trump has his detractors who are numerous and vocal in their distaste of him since he was elected 500 days ago. Their hatred ranges from his policies on immigration to his alleged affairs with women. Some just outright hate him, even going so far as to compare him to Hitler.

Tony Kushner, a playwright who apparently won an award during Sunday night’s Tony Awards, called Trump’s presidency “the Hitler mistake” that put a “borderline psychotic narcissist in the White House.”

That was after actor Robert De Niro, admittedly one of my favorite actors, decided to drop F-bombs on live TV during the CBS broadcast directed at President Trump. De Niro, like many Hollywood actors, is a staunch Trump opponent, got a standing ovation from his peers for his comments in Radio City Music Hall.

Such antics from the entertainment industry truly make me wonder about the course of our nation. I’m all about freedom of speech and if that is De Niro’s political view, then so be it. But while most Americans tune in to watch the Tony Awards or any awards show for that matter, they want to be entertained – not politicized.

That brings me to this week where President Trump informed our allies at the G-7 summit that the free ride is over and it’s time they start helping foot the bill for the decades of freebies they’ve enjoyed before jetting to Singapore for an incredible summit with the leader of North Korea.

By most accounts the summit with Kim Jong Un was a success. Although details are very thin, Trump has pledged “security guarantees” to North Korea and Kim Jong Un has reiterated his commitment to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

To have a U.S. President actually commit to sitting down with the leader of North Korea for a summit is a remarkable achievement, but to actually have signs of progress in those talks is an extraordinary understatement.

While many will continue to hate him, like it or not, Trump is getting the job done – something none of his predecessors have been able to do.

I for one will give him the thumbs up for at least making the effort to bring about peace with a nation we are technically still at war with.

Rob Sigler is editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at rob.sigler@vicksburgpost.com. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.