Politics

All of Donald Trump’s accomplishments and shortcomings as President of the United States

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Donald Trump’s presidency: His best and worst moments from his four years as the 45th President of the United States.

Throughout the course of his presidency, Trump has constantly been in headlines. He fired FBI Director James Comey after describing the investigation into alleged ties with Russia as a “made up story.” On foreign policy, Trump dismantled the US nuclear deal with Iran, while brokering a historic peace deal between Israel and Bahrain which followed a similar accord with the United Arab Emirates. Trump cut deals and imposed tariffs that incentivised employers to create jobs in America, rather than outsourcing abroad in the face of growing hostility from China. Trump became the first president in 40 years to not start any new wars. That hasn’t happened under any new president since Jimmy Carter.

Trump had achieved a proud presidential record, including an unemployment rate at a 50-year low of 3.5 per cent. A brutal April-June quarter saw the world’s biggest economy shrink by a record 9.4 per cent. President Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria in 2018 in a rebuke to the leadership of Bashar al-Assad and his attacks on his own people. The President has also paid an official state visit to the UK, and reached out to Kim Jong-un, becoming the first U.S. President to step inside North Korea [ABC].

Within a week of his inauguration, the president signed an executive order which banned citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries entering the US, which would become known as a ‘Muslim ban’, leading to criticism from several world leaders. Later in 2017, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement in an attempt to “put American workers first”, making America just one of three countries in the world that were not part of the agreement [Telegraph].

Then in early 2020, the Senate ultimately rejected articles of impeachment that were levelled at Trump. Impeachments, whether the public believes it to be justified, the social consequences of impeachment are never good. He contracted coronavirus in October, which resulted in a stay at Walter Reed hospital “out of an abundance of caution”. Having recovered, he returned to a scintillating blitz of election rallies on the campaign tail, and said of Covid-19: “Don’t let it dominate you.”

The First Step Act was undoubtedly one of the Trumps administrations highlights. The FSA was signed into law on December 21, 2018. According to the BOP website, this act was a bi-partisan piece of legislation that would further improve the criminal justice system, lower prison populations, and help ensure the public’s safety. “The First Step Act requires the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment system to be used by BOP to assess the recidivism risk and criminogenic needs of all federal prisoners and to place prisoners in recidivism reducing programs and productive activities to address their needs and reduce this risk.” This act was an important step towards reforming the criminal justice system.

Just before Christmas, Mr. Trump signed a $738 billion dollar defense spending bill establishing the 6th branch of the armed forces – the Space Force. The Space Force is tasked with protecting US military assets in space. “We are elevating space commensurate with its importance to our national security and the security of our allies and partners.” The Space Force will ensure the safety of our satellites which allow us to browse the internet, call our friends, and use the GPS on our way to work. General Jay Raymond is the Chief of Space Operations, appointed by former president Trump [Business Insider].

Trump has also faced accusations of sexual misconduct during his time as President, dismissing a rape allegation from journalist, E Jean Carroll, by saying that she is “not my type.” Then in the final days of his time in office, his supporters attacked the Capitol Building in an attempt to prevent certification of the presidential election results. However, following these events, Donald Trump committed to a peaceful transition of power for the first time. In his final speech before departing office, Mr Trump said that “together with millions of hardworking patriots” he had built the “greatest political movement in the history of our country”. He added: “There’s never been anything like it.” Mr Trump said he was “truly proud” of his presidency, adding: “We did what we came here to do – and so much more. I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars.”

ARTICLE: YULIANIE HERNANDEZ

POLITICS EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: MATT ROURKE/AP PHOTO

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