The economy and the wall marked the administration of President Donald Trump, who sought re-election under the slogan “Promises made, promises kept”. But is this true? Here are a few successes and failures, comparing his achievements with his promises, from his tumultuous term in office.
An Insight Into A Few Of Trump’s Achievements…
Economy
The economy was Trump’s best-selling point. GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, and you have to go back a decade to see the last recession. Unemployment fell to 3.6 per cent, the lowest rate in half a century. Trump’s claim that the US economy is “the best” in its history. However, this statement is exaggerated; Economists see dangers in this growth, such as skyrocketing government debt and the backlash from Trump’s aggressive trade policies, especially with China.
Employment Rates
Many Americans, who were no longer in the employment statistics because they were discouraged from finding work after the financial crisis, have returned to the market in recent months. The Hispanic unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 1973, when records began, the Labour Department said, and the Black unemployment rate remains at a historically low level (5.5 % ).
Justice
Trump made good on his promise to appoint a large number of conservative federal judges. Most notably, the president used the Republican majority in the Senate to place conservative judges Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, which is likely to tilt the body charged with upholding the Constitution to the right for decades to come.
Foreign policy
Trump kept his word to do a 180-degree turn on foreign policy. These policies might be debatable, but the tension around them is not. Trump pulled his country out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Likewise, he abandoned the international agreement with Iran to allow controls on its nuclear programme. To the dismay of scientists around the world, he ended the commitments made by the US in the historic Paris agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change. “This will be a lost opportunity for a collective global fight against climate change,” said Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, chair of the African Group of Negotiators at the global climate talks. The US withdrawal will cause a ‘’significant shortfall’’ in global climate finances, Gahouma-Bekale added.
He also made good on his threats to get tough on China on trade; to demand more funding from his NATO allies; and to renegotiate NAFTA, the trade agreement with neighbours Mexico and Canada. He has tried, albeit unsuccessfully so far, to convince North Korea to give up nuclear weapons. In another diplomatic decision that reverberated around the world, Trump ended decades of “status quo” by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
An Insight Into A Few Of Trump’s Failures…
Health
Trump failed on one of his main promises: to repeal his predecessor Barack Obama’s healthcare law, known as Obamacare. The law, reviled by the right and popular with citizens, seeks to give public health coverage to millions of Americans who lack it. But more importantly, Republicans have failed to come up with a credible alternative plan.
The Wall
Another of Trump’s main promises was to erect a wall on the US-Mexico border to stop “the invasion of migrants”, and to force the neighbouring country to pay for the work. None of this has happened. The president justified the declarations as necessary to protect the country from an “invasion of drugs and criminals” from Mexico that poses “a grave risk to national security”. The president resorted to the longest shutdown in US history to try to get public funding to build the promised sections of wall, but after 35 days he ended the stalemate by agreeing to just 1.7 billion of the 5.7 billion he demanded to fulfil his promise.
The Capitol Takeover
Crowds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington D.C. on 6 January after they took part in the “Stop the Steal” rally. The assault followed a 70-minute speech by the president in which he urged them to march to Congress, where politicians were gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. The mob ransacked the Capitol building and tried to enter the chambers where the lawmakers were hiding.
Five people were killed, including a police officer. Days later, the lower house of Congress passed an impeachment vote against Trump. He must now face impeachment in the Senate, but he continues to reject the accusations that he incited his supporters to attack the Capitol. The impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump for “inciting insurrection” by storming the Capitol will formally begin the week of the 8th of February, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said last Friday.
To keep up to date with the latest commercial news, click on commercial awareness to get your daily dose.
Donate & Support