IT'S been a year since the American presidential election that saw Donald Trump voted into office. Two months after that, he was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States and since then, his first term has been full of the same bold declarations and actions that defined his election campaign. During his campaign, Trump’s top three issues were immigration, the economy and healthcare and he promised to ‘make America great again’. Let’s take a look and see what he’s actually achieved during his time in the Oval Office.
Immigration
Trump made his plans for a border wall between the US and Mexico a major campaign promise, but three hundred and sixty-five days in, construction has yet to begin. The President needs congressional approval for funding before construction can start and this has yet to be seen. Nevertheless, Trump has continued to crack down on immigration with several travel bans for citizens from a select number of countries. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has also increased raids across the country by 40% since Trump was elected, but that hasn’t resulted in any deportations yet – there are more than 60,000 cases waiting to be reviewed by immigration judges. There is some evidence to suggest that illegal entry into the US has decreased under Trump’s presidency, but whether this is a result of enforcement activity or a drop in the number of people trying to cross illegally is unclear.
Economy
President Trump’s goals for the American economy included raising growth to 3 percent and eliminating the country’s trade deficit. While the unemployment rate has fallen 0.4% under Trump, the economy was close to what economists consider full employment when he took office. He managed to create 1,189,000 jobs between February and August 2017, better than Obama’s first seven months in office, but not better than his last seven. When Obama took office, the economy was in the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Under Trump, however, the opposite problem exists - Labor Department numbers show 6.2 million unfilled job openings, the most since 2000. As for the trade deficit, this has increased under Trump and is on track to exceed 2016 levels. The deficit for the first 9 months of the year totalled $405.2 billion, compared to $370.7 billion during the same period in 2016.
Healthcare Reform
Trump has made no secret that he isn’t a fan of the Affordable Healthcare Act, the health care legislation enacted by his predecessor. He promised to repeal and replace Obamacare and his first action to do so happened in March 2017, when he supported the American Health Care Act. It was designed to repeal major provisions of Obamacare and implement parts of a replacement but was criticized from both sides of Congress and eventually collapsed. The following May, a second repeal-and-replace plan was put forward, and passed, by the House; however, this version failed to pass in the Senate. Fast forward to October 12th, when President Trump signed an executive order that allows health insurance plans to cover fewer benefits and offer fewer consumer protections. Trump followed up this executive order with a promise to eliminate subsidies to health insurance companies that help pay out-of-pocket costs of low-income people. Trump claims that this will give millions of Americans access to more affordable health care, but there are many who question whether this will indeed be the outcome of the President’s actions.
World Relations
“America First” was Trump’s campaign slogan and seems to be his general playbook for decision-making. In his first year in office, Trump has:
Executive Orders & Laws
So, with all the bold promises and decisive words, what has Trump actually achieved? During his time in office, President Trump has signed 52 executive orders, on everything from sanctions against North Korea and protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry to reviving the National Space Council and expanding apprenticeships in America. An executive order is an official document that declares government policy, essentially giving instructions to government agencies about how to operate. Executive orders cannot reverse laws passed by Congress but they can overturn any executive orders signed by previous presidents. During his first year, Trump has also signed 58 pieces of legislation, including various acts, joint resolutions and bills. For comparison sake, this number of presidential actions is neither significantly more nor significantly less than any other president has made in the past.
Whether you love him or hate him, no one can argue that Trump is indeed a compelling character to watch and a President who will certainly go down in history for his words and his actions.
