Tuesday 31 December 2019

Trump's biggest accomplishments and failures as president as he heads into a reelection year after impeachment

FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2019 photo, President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media following a Christmas Eve video teleconference with members of the military at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. As a candidate for the White House, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would “immediately” replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with a plan of his own that would provide “insurance for everybody.” Back then, Trump made it sound that his plan — “much less expensive and much better” than the Affordable Care Act — was imminent. And he put drug companies on notice that their pricing power no longer would be “politically protected.” Nearly three years after taking office, Americans still are waiting for Trump’s big reveal. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Associated Press

  • President Donald Trump has been among the most controversial presidents in US history, and just the third commander-in-chief to be impeached. 
  • Trump is unlikely to be removed from office in a Senate trial after being impeached on December 18, and still has a decent shot at reelection as things currently stand. 
  • With that said, Trump will primarily have to lean on his record as president while seeking to convince Americans he deserves a second term.
  • Though his accomplishments might not be popular with his critics, Trump for better or worse has been a consequential president thus far.
  • At the same time, Trump's tenure has seen major failures that have exacerbated problems at home and abroad.
  • Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

President Donald Trump is heading into an election year as just the third commander-in-chief in US history to be impeached. 

Trump is highly unlikely to be removed from office via a trial in the GOP-controlled Senate in the new year, however, and he still has a decent shot of being reelected next November.

Though he's been perhaps the most controversial and divisive president in modern US history, Trump has had a remarkably steady approval rating due to his staunchly loyal supporters. 

Trump's impeachment seems unlikely to sway voters one way or another, though the president has already shown that he'll use it to rile up his supporters along the campaign trail. 

With that said, Trump will primarily have to lean on his record as president while seeking to convince Americans he deserves a second term.

Trump has a troubled relationship with the truth and facts, and a documented record of embellishing his accomplishments. Since entering the White House, Trump has made at least 15,413 false or misleading claims, according to an analysis from The Washington Post. Virtually all politicians bend the truth, but Trump has excelled in this regard. 

The president, for example, has taken full credit for steady economic growth that began under the Obama administration. Trump has also repeatedly and wrongly claimed that he's fostered the "greatest economy" in US history.

Here are Trump's biggest accomplishments and failures as president so far, measured by their overall impact and taking into account the general response from Congress, the public, and wider world.

Accomplishment: Reshaping the federal judiciary

Eric Thayer/Reuters

Trump's most lasting impact on the country will be the reshaping of the federal judiciary.

Thus far, Trump has installed two Supreme Court justices and 187 judges to the federal bench — all for lifetime appointments. 

Trump nominees now make up roughly 25% of all US circuit court judges, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

He's appointed 50 judges on the 13 US circuit courts — and still has roughly a year left in his first term. To put this into perspective, former President Barack Obama appointed 55 circuit judges in his two terms in the White House.

The courts get the final say in US politics, setting precedents that can shape the country for years to come. 

Even if Trump is not reelected in 2020, his presidency will continue to have an impact on the direction of the US due to the sheer number of conservative federal judges he's installed. 



Accomplishment: Space Force

Andrew Harnik/AP

In signing a $738 billion defense spending bill just a few days before Christmas, Trump officially established the sixth branch of the US Armed Forces — the Space Force

The Space Force is the first new military service since the US Air Force was created in 1947.

Despite its name, the new branch has not been established to protect the planet from potential extraterrestrial threats, but is tasked with protecting the US military's assets in space. 

"This is not a farce. This is nationally critical," Gen. John Raymond, who Trump tapped to lead the Space Force, told reporters earlier this month. "We are elevating space commensurate with its importance to our national security and the security of our allies and partners."

Many of the details surrounding the Space Force must still be ironed out. In many ways, the new branch is simply a more centralized version of military missions in space that already existed from the Air Force, Army and Navy.

Todd Harrison, who directs the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, recently told NPR: "It will create a centralized, unified chain of command that is responsible for space, because ultimately when responsibility is fragmented, no one's responsible."



Accomplishment: Tax reform

Reuters/Carlos Barria

Three years into his presidency, Trump's signature legislative achievement remains a Republican tax bill that made sweeping changes to the tax code — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

As Business Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig recently reported:

  • The law was the biggest overhaul to the nation's tax code in three decades, and the president pitched it as "rocket fuel" for the American economy.
  • It permanently slashed the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% while also providing temporary benefits for individuals and their families.
  • Critics argued it was a windfall for massive corporations at the expense of the middle class. Meanwhile, supporters of the tax cuts contended it would unleash an economic bonanza. Businesses would invest in their operations, they said, resulting in improved worker productivity and higher wages.
  • Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, among others, said the law would juice the nation's gross domestic product to 3% (or more, as Trump said 6%) and soon pay for itself and spread prosperity.
  • But the law has achieved none of the ambitious goals that Republicans put forward — and there are scant signs they ever will.

 




See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Angry protesters swarming the US embassy in Baghdad caps off Trump's disastrous year in the Middle East



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