By Izzy Casdin, Sophia Gutierrez, Catelin Bromfield and Krishna Gupta
President Donald Trump has been the most controversial and divisive president in modern US history. However, this sentiment stands in stark contrast to his remarkably steady approval rating and the 72 million votes — and counting — he received in the recent election to remain as president. Wherever you fall on this spectrum is irrelevant; Trump has been a highly consequential president, reorienting the Republican Party and the nation. As the end of his term becomes imminent, let’s take a look back at what Trump has done during his four years as president and what it means for the future of the American political experiment.
The Economy and Trade:
It is a considerable achievement that The Trump Administration, before the COVID Pandemic, had reduced poverty and generated sharp gains in the income of the lowest 20 percent of income earners while simultaneously reinforcing the capitalist credentials of Republicanism. Operating in the typical “Reaganomic” fashion, Trump made good on his campaign promises to cut taxation and regulation. In 2016, he said he could cut as many as 70% of US federal regulations if elected. This drew him support from large and small businesses that led him to victory that year. Since then, the president has slashed through regulations on everything from labor to the environment. In the early days after taking office, he signed the Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs. This mandated that when government departments asked for a federal regulation, they had to specify two others they would drop. Among promises regarding regulation Trump also pledged to lower the corporate tax rate and bring in huge tax cuts for working Americans.
The Republican tax plan passed in December 2017 which the president often boasts, although its merits are fiercely disputed. However, after eight years of high unemployment and meager growth under The Obama Administration, the Trump tax cuts of 2017 and canceling of excessive government regulations on businesses gave a welcome boost to the American economy. Another result of tax cuts consistently touted by the president combined with deregulation had been the addition of thousands of new jobs so that pre coronavirus unemployment fell to the lowest point in 50 years. Additionally, unemployment among the African-American and Hispanic communities was the lowest recorded in history. On election day 2016, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,332.74. As I write this (11/12/20 at 2:48 pm) it stands at 28,973.34 which is an increase of over 56% in under 4 years.
Trump in 2016 called Nafta “ a disaster” and warned that the TPP “is going to be worse, so we will stop it”. The president followed through in his first few days on his pledge to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Then on November 30, after extensive negotiations, the US, Canada and Mexico signed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement which was designed to replace Nafta and recently came into force. In other trade victories for the president, the US and South Korea also signed a revised trade pact in September 2018.
Foreign Policy:
Within the chaos, The Trump Administration has delivered notable victories abroad and completely reshaped how the superpower that is the US is viewed around the world. Even some of Trump’s most vicious critics acknowledge that the administration has notched significant foreign-policy successes – most notably in the Middle East and China. For starters, The Trump Administration has systematically turned the US national security apparatus away from decades of focus on the Middle East toward an era of renewed power struggle. This has roused Washington to the view that Beijing represents the greatest existential threat to the United States in coming decades. The administration has dynamically challenged Chinese influence operations and raised global awareness of the threat posed by China’s fast-developing technology, especially next-generation mobile communications. It has taken steps to reduce US reliance on China for critical resources needed for economic and national security. The administration has redoubled support for Taiwan – including several pending arms sales; held China accountable for their actions in Hong Kong; as well as withdrawing from the WHO for being beholden to China.
Then there’s Israel. Trump made good on his campaign trail promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In the United States, the embassy move has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and is now largely seen as irreversible. Democratic presidential elect Joe Biden said he would keep the embassy in Jerusalem if elected, even as historic bipartisan support for Israel seems to be eroding in Democratic circles. The Trump Administration also claimed credit for a historic normalization of relations between Israel and two of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The move was praised by Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike. Then there’s the Islamic State. The Trump Administration has rolled back the terrorist group’s physical caliphate and killed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019. The president has also dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal on an IS-stronghold in Afghanistan. He also takes credit for driving IS out of parts of Iraq and Syria, saying the group has been “largely defeated”. The defeat of the group was a significant military achievement for the Trump Administration. However, the IS ideology lives on and groups operating under its banner continue to stage attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and West Africa.
Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Obama’s hallmark diplomatic achievement. Paired with his so-called “maximum pressure campaign”, it’s likely that no other Trump foreign-policy priority has drawn higher praise from Republicans – and sharper criticism from Democrats – than Iran. Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal was celebrated by conservatives who saw it as a grave foreign-policy misstep that would strengthen the hand of Washington’s principal foe in the region. Conservatives also praised the president for ordering the killing of top Iranian general, Qassem Suleimani. Suleimani was seen as an architect of Iran’s network of dangerous militias across the Middle East and targeted US and allied troops. Meanwhile, another Trump foreign-policy victory includes the administration’s withdrawal from Cold War-era arms treaties that were said to cripple America’s ability to counter competitive powers like China and Russia. Trump’s abandonment of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty after years of Russian violations, won the universal backing of all NATO members. Finally, under Trump, the United States has rolled back its funding for international organizations and withdrawn from institutions like the World Health Organization, the U.N. Human Rights Council and UNESCO. Moves like these boast much-needed attention paid to the United Nations anti-Israel bias, and in the case of the Human Rights Council, its hypocrisy for allowing considerable human rights abusers – like China and Venezuela – to join.
Health Care and Response to COVID-19
Over the last 8 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged through the US and around the world taking nearly 240,000 American lives. President Trump has long since disputed COVID-19 and had refused to listen to health experts and call for a national federal mask mandate as well and continued to downplay the severity of the virus. President Trump himself has admitted to Bob Woodward to his knowledge of the fatality of the COVID-19 pandemic and intentionally misleading the American Public by de-emphasizing the dangers. Although the White House has a coronavirus task force, the administration primarily has allowed states and localities to determine their own restrictions and timetables for closing and opening. The administration has also difficulty distributing medical supplies from a stockpile established for exactly this purpose. But many public health observers say the administration’s biggest failure during the pandemic has been the lack of a single national message about the coronavirus and the best ways to prevent its spread.
More than 200,000 people in this country have died. Although the United States has only 4% of the world’s population, it has recorded 21% of the fatalities around the globe.
When it comes to healthcare in general, President Trump has promised far more than he has delivered. In 2015, Trump launched his campaign on the repeal of Obama Care and the affordable care act. Although the President promised to repeal Obama Care, the Republicans in Congress have made changes to weaken the law, however, while still nowhere near a formal repeal. Congress failed to rewrite the law in the Summer of 2017, however, Republicans who controlled both the House and Senate at the time included in their year-end tax cut bill a provision that reduced the penalty for failing to have health insurance to zero. That change eliminated what was by far the most unpopular provision of the law. In terms of Medicaid and Medicare, The Trump administration has tried but largely failed, to make many major changes to the state-federal health insurance program that covers more than 70 million low-income Americans. Medicaid enrollment fell from 75 million in January 2017 to about 71 million in March 2018. Then the pandemic took hold and caused millions of people to lose jobs and their health coverage. As of July of 2020, Medicaid and Medicare enrollment nationally was 73.5 million.
Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement:
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, and begin negotiations to re-enter the agreement “on terms that are fair to the United States. It is yet one of the many environmental agreements the Trump administration has withdrawn leadership from several climate change initiatives over his time in office. Trump has repeatedly referred to the Paris Agreement as “Job killing” and said it would “punish the American people while enriching foreign polluters.” However, the accord is a big step in protecting the climate, while tying virtually every nation on earth, with added voluntary emissions pledge in a single forum, with the understanding that countries will set even tougher targets over time over time. The United States under President Barack Obama promised to reduce its emissions about 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, but progress on that goal stopped under the Trump administration.
Trump on women’s rights:
In 2005, video footage was released of Trump saying “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” This video became the first of many more videos that branded Trump as sexist and misogynistic. After analyzing Donald Trump’s behavior towards women as well as policies regarding women, whether or not these claims stand true or not will be determined.
Throughout his lifetime, Trump has gained 26 sexual assault allegations as well as 43 instances of “inappropriate behavior.” Detailed in a book called All the President’s Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator, over 100 interviews and an added two dozen more sexual assault or misconduct allegations to his already 26 &43 are reviewed in great depth. In the midst of his multiple allegations, he says “I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do,” Although he claims to have “great respect” for women, the policies enacted by his administration tell a very different story. Within Trump’s first 100 days in office, his administration pulled funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which in over 150 countries provide supplies for “planning and reproductive services.” He also refused to finance the “Kemp-Kasten Amendment,” which essentially “blocks US aid to any organization the US president determines is involved in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” However, there is no evidence that indicates the UNFPA supports “coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” It is also stated that their family planning facilities do not promote or provide abortion services. The only thing this fund does is “[work] to expand access to contraception to women around the world[, as well as work] to combat maternal mortality, obstetric fistula, female genital mutilation, and HIV/AIDS.” The Trump administration’s clear reason for defunding these services was because of their mantra against abortion; however, because neither of these funds states that what they support, did the administration just not do their research? Or was abortion a cover-up for their real intentions? A liberal view argues no, however a more conservative view would argue the motive of these funds are unclear, and we cannot sufficiently prove they don’t support abortion. Most prominently the Trump administration has stopped funding for Planned Parenthood and a Title X family planning program; both organizations that provide safe abortions.
The Trump administration wanted to repeal an executive order initially made by Barack Obama which forces companies with 100 or more employees to “report [their] wages they pay their employees.” Under this order, companies are subjected to a yearly submission of data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in order to show “workers income based on race and gender.” This data must be disclosed “under the rule so the gender income gap can be accurately recorded.”In the year 2017 Trump “reversed the ruling” blocking this data from companies. His administration stated it was “unnecessarily burdensome” on the companies. There was a nationwide outcry, and huge organizations including the National Women’s Law Centre decided to sue Trump and his administration. 2 years later in March of 2019, a federal judge concluded he had in fact broken the law. His administration appealed the ruling which is to this day still being waited on for a decision from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Trump stated at the beginning of his presidency that he would “nominate a Supreme Court justice who would help overturn Roe v Wade.” A ruling important to many women as it protects their right to have an abortion. His nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and now Amy Coney Barett gives the conservatives on the court a 6-3 majority which makes it clear that the possibility for Roe v Wade to be overturned is highly likely.
The official website of the Supreme Court states the words “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW.” This very important phrase is strewn across the entrance to the infamous Supreme court building, “ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law also [functioning] as [a] guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.” Trump has made three nominations to the high court in under four years; the most justices on the court in one term since President Richard Nixon. His picks ensure a conservative tilt for years to come which is threatening to liberal and democratic citizens residing in the United States. Does every person really have “equal justice under the law,” if the opinion of people nominated to the highest position of law in the country has a majority over a different opinion? Can President Trump really argue “all opinions matter and should be represented” if that is the exact thing he is not doing? This question is not supposed to be biased but shared to provoke an honest response. You cannot be a conservative arguing no liberals opinions or rights matter, and you cannot be a liberal arguing no conservatives opinions or rights matter. Without including what party the President belongs to, when it comes to the highest position of law in the country there should never be one opinion that has a majority over the other. This is unfair to the American people and does not represent the words that the Supreme Court was founded upon; Equal Justice Under Law.
Whether socialist or conservative, democrat or republican, the factual information regarding Trump’s behavior and policies regarding women is questionable. It can be argued that he doesn’t mean what he says, or that it’s just “locker room talk”. However, what cannot be disputed is definitions of the specific words he uses. Whether with intent or not, at some point in Donald Trump’s life, he internalized words that have sexist and misogynistic connotations and decided to use them.
Trump on Immigration:
Immigration is the process of going to a foreign country for permanent residence. The United States gets more immigrants than any other nation. The US has about 40 million legal immigrants and about 10.5 million undocumented immigrants. He wants to establish a merit-based system. A system that will permit those who would be good for the country, and prevent those who would be a burden. He claims to be for legal immigration and has publicly stated that he wants immigrants that come legally. President Trump has made it very clear that he wants to tighten up the security at the southern border. When he ran in 2016, he said that he was going to build a wall along the border; the wall as of the most recent update from the white house has reached 400 miles. President Trump says that a physical wall will deter people from attempting to enter this country illegally. President Trump has also put in place a zero-tolerance policy. This policy prosecutes anyone who has entered this country illegally. This has led to families being separated. While the parents go to court, the children are held in facilities. These illegal immigrants are often called asylum seekers and generate sympathy from many people. However, being an asylum seeker is very different from being an illegal immigrant. An asylum seeker must come through a port of entry and request asylum. If someone comes here illegally, they are not an asylum seeker, they are an undocumented immigrant. They have no legal right to be here and President Trump’s administration will be harsh on them. If they were truly an asylum seeker, they would go through the legal channels to enter this country legally. A likely reason that these people do not come here legally as an asylum seeker is because they are not one. The definition of an asylum seeker is someone who is fleeing their home country as a political refugee seeking asylum in a different country. This means that they must have a well-founded fear of persecution for their political beliefs, political associations, race, or religion.
President Trump has also enforced a travel ban on the countries of Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria and Yemen as well as Venezuela and North Korea. The travel ban has been called the Muslim ban because the majority of the population of the first 5 countries listed are members of the Islamic faith, however, this has not been recognized by the courts as the inclusion of North Korea and Venezuela diversifies the banned countries. The ban prevents visas from being issued, which means that it is not a complete ban on travel from those countries. President Trump has done some controversial things on the topic of immigration. He has started constructing a wall along the southern border and has implemented a travel ban on seven countries. He has also, during this COVID-19 time, implemented a global travel ban that has been lifted. With his Presidency almost over, he will be remembered for his tightening of immigration laws and his commitment to what he believed in.
The Trump Legacy:
This past election year, Trump supporters often cite “promises made, promises kept” as a reason why they’re backing them again. Many of these promises made headlines during his 2016 campaign from banning all Muslims entering the US to building a border wall paid for by Mexico. Others went a little under the radar and into oblivion like his pledge to eliminate the national debt and prosecuting Hillary Clinton. The president hasn’t kept every campaign promise, but those he has kept have had a significant impact for better or for worse. The recent close election makes it clear that defeat is but a prelude to Trump’s next act as a permanent fixture on the American political scene. Trump has left an indelible mark on the nation he leads, revealing several truths about it within the process. When reflecting on presidents’ past, it’s a struggle to detect the kind of virtues that will offset Trump’s predecessors’ vices. From the oppressive optimism of Reagan; the inspirational rhetoric of JFK; the legislative competence of LBJ; or the governing pragmatism of Nixon. What will his defining virtue be? Though the president has likened himself to Abraham Lincoln, Trump is a historical standalone in many ways. Starting with the chaos of staff turnover – two secretaries of state, two attorney generals, two secretaries of defense, three White House chiefs of staff and a revolving door of senior West Wing aides. The foreign policy by tweet. The unsettling chumminess with adversarial authoritarian leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. We have never witnessed a US leader who has so flagrantly flouted the traditional rules of presidential behavior. The schoolyard name-calling. The Twitter tirades and ugly slurs. All of which points to his history defying the presidency.
The impact Trump has had on partisanship, turning senators into quislings and voters toward violence has been sad to observe. The United States is caught in a partisan hyper conflict that divides politicians, communities and families alike. The current political climate has cultivated a dangerous tribalism that threatens US democracy. Though he claims to extend exemplary moral leadership, even conservatives have criticized his presidency for being a profile of amorality. Trump has been president during times of national crisis and reflection, from shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, the murder of George Floyd that has sparked daily unrest in all 50 states to the coronavirus pandemic. Through it all, the president has failed to respond with national addresses aimed at healing or unity. All of this fits into the non-politician, norm-defying authentic persona he has going for him. With each bizarre press encounter and each ALL CAPS tweet, it feels as if America has been living through some historical counterfactual. This alternative history feel to the Trump presidency explains why some of the dystopian “Could it happen here?” novels such as Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s 1984 received an ample boost in sales during the formative years of The Trump Administration. However, these dystopian analogies are often not analogous. Donald Trump’s America is not Margaret Atwood’s Gilead nor is it George Orwell’s Oceania. Just as his more grating critics over-reach when they liken him to history’s worst villains; he is not a modern-day Adolf Hitler or an American Mussolini.
What he has done, is normalize the abnormal. The news cycle under President Trump has had the lifespan of a mayfly. It has been consistently striking to see how many Trump scandals and stories that ordinarily would have launched months, possibly years of critical coverage for previous presidents barely lasted a single news cycle. With the abrogating of decades-long behavioral customs, Donald Trump has made the presidency more uncouth and less trustworthy. By departing from managerial and executive norms, he has made domestic and foreign-policy making more impulsive and disorderly. By championing an ‘America First’ point of view and fraying traditional alliances, he has made the US presidency more isolated. This cumulative effect has made the Oval Office a centerpiece of perpetual uncertainty, holding the White House hostage to the ever-changing whims and temper of its occupant. Governing has sometimes felt secondary to winning political and cultural battles and slaying opponents. His presidency has become a roiling permanent campaign. Were these changes to the American political norm much needed? According to over 72 million people they were. While a victory would have solidified the evolution of our nation’s character, coming this close in the election is far from a repudiation of his leadership style.
President-elect Joe Biden is inheriting a nation like none other. The path ahead of him is daunting with a divided electorate, a likely uncompromising Republican Senate, the most conservative Supreme Court since the New Deal, and eternal remnants of Trumpism. During his run, he has continually pledged to restore the soul of America. Yet, Americans disagree about the nature of that soul. Like many before him, Biden’s victory speech consisted of hopes “not to divide, but unify”. For those of our readers expecting this admirable goal to quickly come to fruition, consider your bubble burst. From Biden and beyond, there is a long and trying road ahead to drag America back to a place that resembles decency – if that’s even a reality anymore. The Trump legacy is one that boasts many victories in a silo. Considering that they exist in a silo doesn’t take away from the legitimacy or substance of these victories; it’s merely a verifiable truth that should be recognized. Similar victories may be possible again with a prospective Trump run in 2024. But even if the president’s Grover Cleveland inspired hopes cannot be fulfilled; the fight to make America great again will outlive him.
