Opinion: Can Trump govern like an adult? For our sake, I hope so.

I’ve given birth to four babies. It might sound strange, but electing a president is a lot like having a baby for the first time.
For nine months before I had my first son, I planned, plotted and made promises. Then I held my baby, took him home and, while he cried at 3 a.m., wondered, what now?
The incoming Trump administration finds themselves in a similar precarious position. They have planned, plotted and made promises. A new challenge now begins: Can they seize the opportunity to implement a conservative agenda that transforms the economy and the government and helps return stability to the world?
If Republicans are strategic, we could be at the beginning of a Trump-Vance era similar to the Reagan-Bush era from 1981 to 1992.  But they must start strong, and they must stay on course.
To start, reelected President Donald Trump should resist the urge to issue a bevy of executive orders that pander to his conservative base. Executive orders are the DoorDash of presidential policies: lazy, expensive and temporary. They tend to cause chaos, and the next president, if from the opposing party, will undo them anyway.
Instead, Trump should focus on a handful of domestic and international policies and work with the Republican-controlled Congress to enact them into law. Following the legislative process would signal that Trump intends for meaningful, long-term change. Working through Congress is the Gramercy Tavern of dining: reputable, excellent and requires a plan.
Trump has already made key choices for his Cabinet that signal he is more seasoned as he prepares to move into the White House a second time. On Thursday, Trump hired Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, the first time a woman has ever held the position. She’s tough, smart and seems exactly the right choice for the job.
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On Monday, Stephen Miller was named deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller spearheaded Trump’s immigration policies in 2016.
The president-elect also appointed Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his “border czar.” Homan will oversee deportation policy. 
Homan is an absolute force. Once while testifying before Congress, he told Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. ‒ as she hammered a gavel and tried to tell him to be quiet ‒ “I’m a taxpayer. You work for me.”
Both hires are good signs that Trump intends to treat border issues as the national security crisis that they are.
Trump also has nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., as the next ambassador to the United Nations. I can’t think of a better pick: Stefanik is passionate, articulate and a strong defender of Israel.
One legislative step Trump needs to take soon after taking the oath of office is to send legislation to Congress that will extend his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is set to expire at the end of 2025.
The United States has an opportunity to build an economy that enables cities and suburbs, small towns and farm communities to thrive, in many cases for the first time in decades. That will require far more than low taxes. A tax environment that invites growth and investment is vital.
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Trump also can help control inflation by reducing the deficit, which hit an astounding $1.83 trillion in fiscal year 2024 under President Joe Biden.
Tax cuts need to be balanced with spending cuts because the United States can’t keep speeding up debt without eventually driving off a cliff.
Trump returns to the presidency at a crucial moment in history for America and the world. Either we find resolution to the wars in Israel and Ukraine or risk descending deeper into regional or even global conflict.
Trump must take a strong stand against terrorism by supporting Israel. He should impose additional sanctions on Iran for its support of Hamas and Hezbollah. He also must press hard for the release of Americans being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. It is a travesty that terrorists have denied freedom to U.S. citizens and other hostages for more than a year.
With Ukraine, Trump needs to be both a dealmaker and a peacemaker. The war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started has cost thousands of lives and wasted enormous resources. It also shows no sign, after nearly three years of bloodshed, of ending. The U.S. president needs to help bring stability to Europe and the world by negotiating a just resolution of the war.
Trump also should rekindle his supposedly amicable relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and reconsider his plans to ignite a trade war. While we should encourage companies to manufacture more products in the United States, tariffs on China would increase the cost of goods and risk setting off a new round of inflation.
Trump’s words and action will be closely scrutinized as he reenters the Oval Office. His outsized personality endears him to millions of Americans, but he’s also notoriously difficult to work with, prone to making outrageous and untrue claims ‒ and frightening to many of the citizens he will serve.
Trump needs to rise above the chaos that marked much of his first term, brought on by his narcissistic traits. He must have close advisers who aren’t afraid to tell him the truth and confront him when necessary. His choice of Wiles, a well-regarded strategist, as chief of staff is a good early sign.
It’s antithetical to his very being, but Trump must find a semblance of humility, including in how he communicates to Americans and the world. The new president’s many critics are waiting for him to say and do the wrong things at precisely the wrong time.
Trump must prove them wrong. Not for his sake, but for ours.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.