A Brief Report Card of Trump’s Term – So Far (#246)

To the Donald Trump hardcore support base; he can do no wrong. And, in the defence of his pathological lying, disruption, divisiveness, and sheer ineptness as a World leader, the rational given for their continuing support, are his supposedly amazing accomplishments since he became President. So, days before the ‘Mid-Term elections’, we thought a quick assessment of his major promises made during his  2016 campaign, and the accomplishment of them so far were certainly warranted. It has to be kept in mind, President Trump during these almost two years in power, has been fully backed by the United States Congress and Senate, as the Republicans have had full control of all branches of government, so no excuses. Trump and the Republicans have had their way, with the opposition having been mostly helpless and impotent, without any control or power, so Trump has gotten some important things done (for the Conservative Agenda).

So here goes:

During Trump’s campaign he reiterated over and over again that he would, with the enthusiastic backing of the Republicans in the House, and the Senate, make it his (their) ‘Job One’ to get rid of one of President Obama’s signature achievements, ‘ObamaCare’. And, he and the Republicans would introduce a new ‘HealthCare Plan’ that would be ‘better, cheaper and would cover every one’. ‘Repeal and Replace’ was their chant.

To say that Trump and the Republicans failed on delivering on either of their promises is to state the obvious, for anyone who followed their multiple attempts at delivering and failing on that promise. In spite of Trump’s and the Republican’s best and repeated efforts, they could not deliver at all. In fact, all they managed to do was totally botch the existing ‘HealthCare Plan’, and make it much worse for the American public. F - Failed.

Similarly, Trump kept hammering home how he would build the ‘biggest and the most beautiful Wall, on day one’, across the entire southern border with Mexico – “and Mexico will pay for it!” The fact that Trump would force Mexico to pay for it, was perhaps the most appealing part, to his base.

Not only was he not able to get started in building ‘the Wall’, but in spite of putting intense pressure on Mexico, he was categorically and repeatedly rebuffed by them publicly, announcing that they will never pay for it, ever, in any manner whatsoever. On both goals F - Failed Totally.

Trump’s next big promise was comprehensive ‘Immigration Reform’.

In spite of all-out effort, from day one, Immigration Reform is a distant dream, with a dog’s breakfast of initiatives taken that created more backlash than accomplished anything, let alone a sensible immigration policy. There were numerous legal challenges to his initiatives, some of which were unconstitutional, and therefore resulted in legal defeats for him; and, serious public back lash for his ban on Muslims, and the separation of children from their parents, from those seeking entrance into the country. In all, the initiatives taken by Trump so far, things on immigration have gotten messier than better, and overall, it is nowhere near being resolved in any way. On the whole, F - Failed.

Interestingly, apparently Obama’s administration was more effective in deporting illegal aliens than Trump has been so far.

Trump and the Republicans promised the biggest ‘Tax Reform’ ever. They did pass a major Tax Bill - but majority of the benefits went to the wealthiest in America, with hardly any real benefits going to the middle class, as he had promised. So now, facing a tough Mid-Term election, Trump is promising another major ‘Tax Cut’, this time specifically for the middle class, the ones forgotten in the ‘first’ Tax Bill.

So, in all, a promise partially kept - but it was full self-enrichment for Trump and the wealthiest Americans, with the first Tax Bill. Promise Kept Passed – only the wealthy benefited.

Trump actively wooed his gullible Republican base with loud promises to ‘Drain the Swamp’. So much so, it became a chant at his rallies.

In reality, and with a figurative ‘middle finger’ to those that believed him the most, he actively re-stocked the Swamp, with some of the most horrific swamp-dwellers known, and created another level of insider dealings, conflicts-of-interest, blatant nepotism, and legislative self-enrichment. It was the boldest ‘in-your-face’ flaunting of a major promise in recent political memory. In draining the Swamp, Trump did not even try. F - Fail.

By the way, his administration has had the most people under criminal indictment that were associated with Trump, than all other administrations.

Trump was not shy in accusing all previous Presidents and their administration of all being ‘stupid & naïve; worst negotiators ever’ and promised to pull America out of most of the major international agreements it had signed in the past. He did that. Promise Kept - Passed. – but is sure to be to the detriment of America.

Although –

The ‘Paris Accord’ was the multi-country (195) agreement to fight climate change and protect the environment. Trump pulled the U.S. out of it, but the other countries have kept to it (as are most American businesses).

NAFTA, the ‘North American Free-Trade Agreement’ is basically still NAFTA, just under another name.

TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) a multi-country ‘Trade Agreement’ which was never ratified, and Trump pulled the U.S. out of it on becoming the President. But, the remaining 11 countries have moved forward with ratifying it, and TPP will come into effect in December, minus the U.S.

The other major international agreement that Trump pulled the U.S. out of was the Nuclear Deal with Iran (another signature Obama achievement). But, the other countries that were signatories to it, namely, Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany, and of course Iran, with the endorsement of the U.N., are preserving it. The nuclear deal with Iran was considered a global achievement by all, except Trump. Now the U.S. is isolated.

All in all, the U.S. has not come out ahead, but instead has been left behind.

To move things along:

On increasing the Defense Budget – Promise Kept - Passed.

On making pharmaceutical drugs much cheaper – F - Failed.

On making collage education cheaper, more accessible – F - Failed.

On creating 25 million jobs in his first term – highly unlikely – F - Failed.

On growing the economy at 4% per year – close but unlikely – F - Failed.

Invest Trillions in infrastructure – F - Failed.

Massive de-regulation, business and environmental issues – Promise Kept - Passed.

Denuclearization of North Korea – not happening – F - Failed.

Greatly simplify the Tax Forms – F - Failed.

Revive the coal industry & create additional coal jobs – not happening – F - Failed.

Assist Middle Class with their finances in a number of categories – F - Failed.

Give the Middle Class family a 35% tax cut – F - Failed.

Cut foreign aid – Promise Kept - Passed.

Move American Embassy to Jerusalem – Promise Kept - Passed.

Bring about peace between Israel and Palestinians – No chance – F - Failed.

Name China a currency manipulator – F - Failed.

Slap tariffs on other countries – Promise Kept - Passed.

Disrupt established trade with other countries – Promise Kept - Passed.

Make America Great Again – Not much of a chance. Externally, the ‘Trump America’ is greatly diminished, and internally, its torn apart – F - Failed.

In one area where Trump has succeeded significantly is in stacking the vast American Justice system with conservative judges, even to the Supreme Court. But this is a highly partisan issue and therefore not a promise to the American people in general, but more in the interest of the Republicans.

Trump’s contribution to a booming economy is his greatest claim to fame. But, as has been pointed out repeatedly, he inherited a 9-year strong and growing economic trend from Barack Obama that has continued. Similarly, he inherited one of the longest bull-markets in stocks. He has contributed to both, but the trends were well established since 2009, by Obama, and they are persisting.

Under his economic policies of disrupted trade and ad-hoc tariffs, he has impacted the global economy very negatively, the effects of which will impact the U.S. economy soon enough, if they are not doing so already. The stock markets have been tumbling recently, and even if they recover, the Emerging-Markets are in a downward spiral that is bound to impact the Western economies, including the United States. Trump’s trade war with China is causing them problems, but China keeps devaluing its currency to mitigate the impact of Trump’s tariffs, the result being China is still posting record exports to the U.S., and the balance of trade is still significantly in China’s favour. [Trump signalled a compromise with China to ‘talk-up’ the stock markets prior to the election. Experts not buying it.]

On the whole, Trump fans may applaud his tough immigration stand (his favourite mid-term election rally cry) but ground realities haven’t changed much, except Trump causing chaos and irrational fear in the gullible and the ill-informed. It is hilarious to watch the self-described ‘most powerful nation on Earth’ quaking with anger, animosity and fear, bringing out its Army (!) no less, to confront a few thousand unarmed desperate men, women and children fleeing horrific conditions in their Latin American countries, on foot, walking for months to reach the U.S. border (calculatingly called ‘The Invasion’ by the fear-mongering Right).

As is his habit, throwing facts and decorum to the winds, the lying-est President in U.S. history, is blaming the Democrats for wanting ‘open borders’. There is no such thing; it is a complete fabrication, as anyone who has tried to enter the United States from an outside country can attest personally. America is one of the hardest countries to enter, even legally. The level of border paranoia is palpable.

By the way –

Bangladesh recently took in over 700,000 Rohingya refugees, fleeing genocide, from Myanmar, without all this noise, angst and fuss. 700,000 Refugees!!

Jordan has taken in over 1.3 Million Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian war, without all this angst and hand-wringing.

Turkey has taken in almost 2.7 Million refugees from Syria; most in the U.S. would never know about it as there are no loud lamentations about it in Western media.

From 1959, after China’s invasion of Tibet, India has welcomed and hosted the Dalai Lama, and about 130,000 Tibetans, who live in India permanently.

During the 1971 war, 10 Million Bangladeshi refugees fled to India, of whom Millions settled in parts of India permanently. No fuss - no muss.

From Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans fled to India, from the Taliban. It is estimated about 10,000 Afghans live in India permanently. [Many more fled to Pakistan and live there.]

There are scores of such stories of sanctuary to refugees fleeing persecution, genocide, war, famine, throughout history, with other countries accepting and helping them, in the Millions, at times. That is why, Trump’s and the Conservative Right’s alarm calls sound so pathetic regarding a few thousand people fleeing their countries (which the U.S. had a significant hand in messing up in the past) to find a safer haven, in the richest country, which needs cheap labour desperately.

This constant public hand-wringing, and the contrived hysteria, about ‘the invasion’ by Trump and the Republicans is a joke, when seen from the light of what other countries, much smaller and poorer than America have done for refugees. By the way, the above named countries are far poorer than America, and, they do not classify themselves as ‘Christian’ as so many Republicans do. Yet they have shown more courage, Christ’s compassion, and far bigger hearts.

Most of what Trump has accomplished so far, with the Republicans under him, benefits the rich and penalizes the middle class and the poor. Their signature Tax Bill, gave 80% of benefits to the wealthy, and the rest to everyone else. So much so, now to save themselves in the Mid-Term elections they are proposing another tax cut, this time for the middle class (supposedly and conveniently after the election).

The massive deregulation undertaken by Trump and his administration stripped-off the protections put in place for the public, after the last financial crisis. These actions will once again benefit the corporations, the wealthy, and the financial community, and will penalize the majority of the public from lack of consumer protections, from outright exploitation of their vulnerabilities, from conflict of interest, from contaminated air, water and land, and lack of protection from future financial and economic crisis.

The aggressive stand against allies and competitors will backfire in the long run as trust is eroded in America, and what it stands for. And, the breaking of international agreements means that future ‘Agreements with America’ will be viewed with the same suspicion and lack of trust as the historical broken treaties with the Native Americans that stripped them of all their lands, rights and dignity.

Trump’s actions to-date kept some promises, but broke most, especially those that were supposed to benefit the majority of Americans. So far, Trump has re-stocked ‘the Swamp’ to over flowing, legislatively favoured the rich, screwed the poor and the needy at every turn (classic Republican way), tried to totally destroy the HealthCare system (now he and the Republicans are bald-faced lying about preserving pre-existing conditions), put a clueless person (Betty DeVos) in charge of American education, appointed some of the most unethical and harmful people to important posts, people like Scott Pruitt, Tom Price, Ben Carson, some of who had to resign due to improper conduct. Others like Rex Tillerson, General H. R. McMasters resigned because they couldn’t take Trump’s ineptness anymore. Some like Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Flynn had to resign because of criminal indictment. Trump has had a chaotic, indictment filled, investigations prone, scandal infested, most unethical, lying-est term as a U.S. President.

That’s a definite Fail.

A Brief Report Card of Trump’s Term – So Far