For the purposes of this post, please refrain from making any arguments about Trump's rhetoric, personality, behavior, or how he makes you feel.
Help me make a list of Trump's achievements — stated in a neutral, factual way. These should be real-world achievements of the sort that a more normal-seeming President could have made. No bullshit (or "malarky").
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 298 of 298”A Harris administration together with Joe Biden as the President of the United States, the Biden-Harris administration, will have access, provide access to one hundred billion dollars in low interest loans and investments for minority business owners...."
---Kamala Harris
Yeah, there's really no hiding it anymore, is there?
Some of Trump's accomplishments are seemingly minor but are anything but:
* After threatening to leave the Universal Postal Union, the U.S. was permitted to set new reimbursement rates on mail from China.
Starting in the 1960s, China was permitted to ship packages to the U.S. much cheaper than U.S. companies to send to the same customers in the U.S. Who paid the difference? American taxpayers.
I personally held packages from China sent to my son (who loved ordering gadgets and toys from there) that had rates as low as a buck.
In October 2019, the UPU agreed to let the member countries set new reimbursement rates that were to go into effect in July 2020.
This is a small win to report, but it's a big difference to Chinese companies.
https://reason.com/2019/11/11/american-taxpayers-are-subsidizing-ultra-cheap-shipping-from-china/
Truly helping disadvantaged minorities instead of the usual bullshit:
- long term funding of HBCUs
- bi-partisan First Step Act criminal justice reform
- Opportunity Zones done with Senator Scott to really change the dynamics of the inner cities to bring jobs instead of dependency.
- pushing towards more school choice instead of the corrupt, ineffective and failing inner city schools
- immigration control - which helps preserve jobs against competition from illegals
In other words, he's teaching people to fish instead of giving them handouts and keeping them dependent. This is why I switched from being a liberal Democrat to more of a libertarian/small r republican.
In addition to all the other great items listed above, one of the big things for me was exposing all the supposed experts on foreign policy and the economy to be incompetent boobs. I don't see how they show their face on TV. Tariffs don't work, the economy will never recover, cant move the embassy, on and on and on they have been proven to not know what they are doing.
Setting aside anything that reasonable partisans could disagree about as to whether it was progress or regress, we still get:
1) Defeated ISIS.
2) Brokered Israel-UAE agreement.
3) Brokered Israel-Bahrain agreement.
4) Brokered Serbia-Kosovo agreement.
5) Eliminated notorious terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani.
6) First president to start no new wars since Jimmy Carter.
Seriously, the man would deserve a Peace Prize, if the Peace Prize in practice was actually a prize for promoting peace.
How many of you touted reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula. Are you fucking insane? Remember, the goal was ending North Korea's nuclear program. How did that work out? We cancelled a bunch of joint military exercises to placate Kim, yet he still has nukes.
Another popular "achievement" is lowering prescription prices. I am surprised you didn't also mention that he also raised the choco ration.
As for building the wall (which Mexico was supposed to pay for and he has revived that promise recently), can any of you tell me how many miles of new wall has actually been built (Google it, I bet the answer will surprise you).
As for the USMCA. Can any of you point to the sections that are significantly different than NAFTA (which after all, was the worst trade agreement in history)? There are some new rules about the wages for auto workers which may shift some jobs back to the States and Canada, but probably will have minimal impact, and a few other tweaks and updates, but it is certainly not that much different than the old NAFTA.
Just spouting out "Space Force" without explaining why it is so wonderful, is meaningless.
The "Middle East Peace" you also tout is illusory. Apparently, the UAE (and maybe Bharain) got a side deal that they could buy F35s, which of course will kill the deal in the end. We are still supplying Saudi Arabia with weapons to continue the brutal war in Yemen.
And we have not wiped out ISIS. Even the administration has backed down from that claim, and just says we destroyed the Caliphate. Of course to do that, we had to cede the gains we had made assisting the rebels in Syria to the Syrians and Russians, hardly a recipe for increasing peace and stability in the Middle East.
As for the economy. Well, pre pandemic the economy was pretty good, but contrary to what Trump claimed, it was not the best ever. GDP growth, even with a couple quarters near 4%, settled into bumping along at around 2%, good but hardly the "4, 5 or 6%" promised (or hell even 7% he touted in some of his less lucid moments). Income growth was decent, but barely outpaced inflation (which btw does not include housing costs, which continue to outpace the ability of low wage workers to pay for it).
The tax cuts were an unmitigated disaster as they didn't pay for themselves and exploded the deficit just as we were beginning to turn the corner. And of course the when the corona virus hit, the tax cuts exacerbated the problems.
Where are all these manufacturing jobs Trump has created? The numbers just don't back him up. And he outright lied about the increase in automotive jobs in Michigan last week.
Finally, the corona virus. Any of you who think he has done a good job managing it, you are just plain delusional. Name one country that has done a worse job controlling it and reducing deaths. (And I hope some of you do have the guts to say India or Brazil, that will just demonstrate how ridiculous you are).
I am not going to add to the list, since I think the Trump supporters here have already listed all the very good reasons why Trump should be elected.
Will Althouse put up a post asking Biden supporters to list Joe's accomplishments? After all, he was elected to the Senate the year "American Pie" was a hit single. There should be scads of them.
My guess is that his biggest accomplishment is not being Donald Trump.
Shut down the flow of graft in DC. Michael K said...
"Howard is going all lizzie on us. How about "A man's reach should exceed his grasp.""
Probably because he missed out on a free handbag.
He has a long list of accomplishments but I'll list the ones that really stand out to me.
He ended the Mexico City Policy which funded abortion overseas.
He has created an atmosphere in CBP that has been lacking since I started in the federal government in 1996. Everyone feels support in doing their job now. If we have someone we don't think should be allowed entry, or if we have someone who we think deserves removal, we now get support from management. I don't remember a time like this, even under President Bush. It's always been we give the benefit of the doubt to the alien and push as many through our borders as we can and process them as fast as we can. After 9/11 this slowed for a time, but it wasn't long we went right back to it. Under Trump, we have a management in place that allows us to sincerely secure our border rather than just lip service.
Judges. All over the country I'm seeing judges put into place that don't come up with these wild justifications to make new laws.
Taxes. For years I listened to High Hewitt talk about the fact a flat tax could never happen. Why? Because of the mortgage deduction. But Trump managed to sneak that in to his tax cuts. I don't deduct my mortgage anymore because I no longer itimize my deductions. This paves the way for a flat tax.
He can take the heat.
Drago at @3:11;
You have to wonder how they'll break the news on those race based government preferential treatment to their voters, if ever given the chance. Will Biden tell us he would do it if he could, but since it would codify racial discrimination, he can't until we grant him emperor status? Will Harris tell us we were fools to believe her; nobody should have taken her seriously.
Huge number of federal judges approved (I know, Mitch did it but under Trump).
Rolled back regs, especially the Waters of the US rule.
Got Justice dept to stop pushing for trans use of kids locker rooms.
Ended Obama Dear Colleague letter that motivated kangaroo courts on campus.
Actually built a big section of border wall.
Lowered business taxes which stimulated the economy.
@Drago: "Sessions was unable to complete his work in allowing the deep state to frame and remove Trump so its important he be given a second chance."
Sessions was the strongest immigration hawk in the Senate and was one of the most pivotal in stopping the passage of comprehensive immigration reform (i.e. amnesty). Whatever one thinks of his job as Attorney General, it was foolish to oppose his return to the Senate.
@bagoh2: Farmer, Your "Trumpism Failures" amount to nothing more that the status quo he has yet to fix.
The phase one China deal, our posture towards the Korean peninsula, Venezuela, and the Middle East were not the "status quo." They are decisions he made and policies he pursued.
@Birkel: Anybody who thinks USMCA is only marginally better than NAFTA knows fuck-all about either.
What do you consider the most significant change from NAFTA to the USMCA?
Well, Cook has provided the communist POV on Trump's accomplishments.
If Cook hates it, it's probably OK with me.
A true mistress of Cruel Neutrality is capable of making her own list. Then why won't she? I call Cruel Neutrality™ bullshit, again.
The worst: the boat sank, and we died.
If you aren't careful, I'm going to take the Marvin moniker from Cookie and give it to you.
"Ralph Nader provides the truth about Trump's fabled "accomplishments" here."
And if we can't believe a State-fellator like Nader, who can we believe?
"Rebuilding a worn out military."
What does this mean?
You are an obvious troll...I, for one, do not want to learn how to speak Chinese at this point in my life.
If you think a military is unnecessary then you are not a serious person.
I suspect a sequel thread.
Good post.
There aren’t many. I think that is the first achievement. Trump has really done little. He has certainly not done anything big and ambitious. Better than nothing is a high standard.
The recent peace accords in the Middle East and Kosovo are possibly important. They certainly exceed what recent presidents have achieved.
His judicial picks have been good.
He made real progress against ISIS.
Not a lot, and none “transformative”. Boring incremental improvements.
Robert Cook said...
"Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as huge 'fuck you' to the entire world."
Yes, because it is always a good thing when the President of the USA does something in order to deliver a "huge 'fuck you" to the entire world." That's real statesmanship...to idiots.
Poor Cookie, so unhappy that President Trump treats the Jewish State of Israel like a normal State, rather than a pariah.
Poor Howard, so unhappy that President Trump treats the terrorist hellhole State of Iran like teh pariah that it is, rather than as a regional partner like Obama did.
Poor, bigoted, always screwed up and backward lefties
Freder Frederson said...
How many of you touted reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula. Are you fucking insane? Remember, the goal was ending North Korea's nuclear program. How did that work out? We cancelled a bunch of joint military exercises to placate Kim, yet he still has nukes.
Why yes, Freder, Clinton and Bush between them let North Korea get nukes.
Obama did nothing at all to get rid of them.
So, how were you planning on trump getting rid of them?
What Trump has done is stop rewarding NK for bluster and threats. As a consequence, we're seeing a lot less in the way of bluster and threats out of there
I guess that's what makes you really sad: The US is no longer funding Rocket-man
"Low unemployment (3.5%)"
A bullshit statistic. Even it was accurate--which I don't believe--the unemployment rate doesn't really indicate how many people are actually working at a given time, and it doesn't reveal how many of those who are working are making good salaries, with job security, benefits, "pensions" (defined compensation plans) and paths to career growth, as opposed to those languishing in jobs paying paltry hourly wages, with few or no benefits, how many are working temp jobs, part time jobs, "independent contractor" jobs, all of which lack any benefits or job security at all.
Sure Cookie. It happens to be the stat most commonly used for decades. People are well aware of the limitations. Butif it were favorable to the left it would be the GOLD STANDARD, baby!
"Yes, because it is always a good thing when the President of the USA does something in order to deliver a "huge 'fuck you" to the entire world." That's real statesmanship...to idiots."
Once again, for low IQ folks, sometimes the world needs to get a middle finger in their collective faces. It's a good thing in this case because it confirms that Israel is an ally.
Don't tell me, you don't believe in political alliances either.
I know you hate the fact that this country is very powerful. I myself would rather not use a powerful military but understand the need for one nonetheless.
As an Australian acquaintance once acknowledged to me, 'You guys have got the big swingin' dick.'
He was right about that. Sometimes you need to remind enemies, if for no other reason than deterrence, who the 800-pound gorilla really is.
So yes, sometimes it's a good thing to tell friends and enemies alike to fuck right off.
Freddy got fingered.
Robert Cook said: Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as huge 'fuck you' to the entire world."
Yes, because it is always a good thing when the President of the USA does something in order to deliver a "huge 'fuck you" to the entire world." That's real statesmanship...to idiots.
You know that previous Presidents going back some ways made that same promise and didn't deliver it, right? So: President delivers on a promise where others didn't: BAD.
Got it. By the way, have you heard about a recent Middle East peace deal? Seems to be quite a few countries getting on the bus, there, one after the other - but the Palestinians, they're just standing there. I guess they're waiting for the next bus. How long has it been since the last bus?
Just think of how many idiots there must be out there, RC. There's even a couple on the Nobel Committee, apparently. But we already knew that, didn't we?
Trump's best accomplishment? Pissing off people like Freder.
Smug:
China is prohibited from sending all-but-completely-assembled products to Mexico and Canada, thereby leveraging those two countries against the United States.
Now the products have to be a certain percentage of value (varies by product type) added in those countries (siphoning profits to our two largest trading partners and away from China) that rewards our friends and hurts our enemies.
This protects American manufacturing because of the costs of manufacturing in Mexico (corruption, etc) and Canada (labor costs).
What else have you?
Does causing vast numbers of leftists to go berserk and froth at the mouth count as an accomplishment?
Hey, Robert Cook, compare Trump's first 3 years to all of Bush (pick one) or Obama terms. Not even close.
Low unemployment is a bullshit stat? Really. This shows you are not serious. No offense. Your description of the labor market fits Obama, not Trump, who presided over real wage growth at the bottom. Recall how many people left the labor force, versus pre-covid Trump era of record labor force size.
Rebuilding the military is not an accomplishment, I guess, because you don't like it.
Funny, though, it turns out that moving the embassy was real statesmanship.
Farmer: "Sessions was the strongest immigration hawk in the Senate and was one of the most pivotal in stopping the passage of comprehensive immigration reform (i.e. amnesty). Whatever one thinks of his job as Attorney General, it was foolish to oppose his return to the Senate."
Sessions is a weak sister moron who got rolled over and over and over again and would never have any credibility for any side on any issue.
He was already done, and now he's completely done.
If he wants to get off the bench and help the cause he can work with the republicans election integrity efforts to help ensure the democraticals don't steal the election.
However, given Sessions past performance, he could probably be convinced by democraticals to claim Trump is stealing the election. He is just that oblivious.
1. Encouraging steps toward peace in the Middle East.
2. Related to that, pulling out of the charade Obama entered into with Iran and then putting economic pressure on Iran.
3. Reducing regulations, which helped produce economic strength and low unemployment.
4. Better judicial picks.
5. At least bringing the issue of the Deep State into popular awareness.
6. Getting troops out of harm's way.
7. Renegotiating NAFTA to the advantage of the US.
8. Beginning the process of disentangling our economy from that of the Chicoms.
Just off the top of my head.
More detail on the BS of government unemployment stats.
Field Marshall and Bundy/McCloskey Case Liar Freder: "As for the USMCA. Can any of you point to the sections that are significantly different than NAFTA (which after all, was the worst trade agreement in history)?"
It's already been explained. The USMCA obliterates the back door loophole that allowed the ChiComs and EU punk "allies" from slapping down a few satellite facilities in Canada and Mexico and then simply shipping their almost finished or even finished goods thru those waypoints to avoid tariffs and other controls into the US.
So get lost dummy. Your ChiCom pals lost. Suck it up buttercup.
Ken B, as a Canadian, is still feeling butthurt about all those lost jobs in Canada from the closing of the NAFTA loophole.
Plus Ken B became quite irritated that some people do not agree with him that "Free Trade" requires the US to accept a disadvantageous tariff structure with its trading competitors.
For instance, we no longer have the "US pays 10% tariffs on autos shipped to the EU while the EU pays only a 2.5% tariff on autos shipped into the US" arrangement.
Cue Sad EU/Ken B Trombone.
Brought billions in multinational profits back to the US.
Exposed uniparty GOP pseudo-conservatives.
Restored due process rights for accused campus rapists, disproportionately students of color.
@Gahrie:
If you aren't careful, I'm going to take the Marvin moniker from Cookie and give it to you.
By all means. Though I'm not paranoid, I'm realistic. As I've said dozens of times, I consider "optimistic conservative" an oxymoron. The cultural core of the country is being dismantled, whites Americans are heading for minority status, and the neoliberal agenda marches on. Compared to these massive trends, Trump's list of accomplishments is mostly laughable.
The house is burning down, and we're praising Trump on the good job he did remodeling the kitchen.
Not just no new wars, but taking the stinger out of pre-existing hot spots, e.g. Iran, NoKo, Russia, while supporting our allies.
Our enemies know if they mess with us we will respond in a very specific way. Ask the Iranian general.
Struck down the individual mandate for healthcare.
Allowed veterans to go outside the VA for healthcare.
1. Started no new wars
2. Strong economic growth and low unemployment
3. Never apologized for America
4. Made excellent judicial appointments
5. Reduced federal regulation
6. Advanced peace in the Middle East
Before the pandemic, the job and wage gains were helping the poorer end of the spectrum.
The stock market seems to like him too, so that helps middle America on up.
The regulations they've eliminated seem very important.
But whatever is happening in the Middle East with Israel, UAE and the Saudis? That's a no brainer re-election for me. And I didn't vote for him in 2016.
It's kind of a rabbit hole arguing about theses accomplishments with people who think Ralph Nader is a good source for a fair accounting. You can take any accomplishment, especially by Trump, and find thousands of articles by leftists twisting themselves into knots to diminish them. Things like the quality of the unemployment number. Of course it's a butchered figure, always has been, but it was the same methodology as before, so the improvement was real, despite the fact that all these geniuses said it was impossible before it happened. Stuff like that is just ingenuous arguments with the objective first and the proof manufactured to fit.
Is there any doubt that some people would disparage any accomplishment by Trump, and I mean anything?
The two things that seem to be ignored is how uphill all of it was with no support and endless resistance, and how fast it was done. There is more to do, and many of the complaints will continue even as the improvement advances, and even as the specific complaints are addressed. The critiques will just move on to some other aspect, desperately searching for failure. Now that is sad.
As for Covid, what should Trump have done differently? And are you telling me you wouldn't have been against it if he did?
"The cultural core of the country is being dismantled, whites Americans are heading for minority status,"
Maybe white people aren't the only ones with values. I see lots of minorities who see things just like I do, and the current melee is just bringing more of them around to it. It's not about race just because some loud people see everything that way. The violence is bringing Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians to join the kind of people who vote for Trump. Not because of what Trump is, but more because of what he is not.
The house is burning down, and we're praising Trump on the good job he did remodeling the kitchen.
To be fair, I used to be almost as pessimistic as you are. The only answer I could come up with was a new wilderness, a new chance to start over with the lessons of this failure. The problem of course being that there were no more wildernesses to be settled.
Now I'm pretty certain that Musk and Bezos are about to provide access to one. I'm even betting on another gold rush in twenty to thirty years.
Not sure I really qualify as a Trump supporter, but I'm probably more positive on Trump in 2020 than I was in 2016.
On the economy generally:
- Until coronavirus lockdowns reversed all economic gains earlier in 2020, his combination of economic and trade policies were generating larger percentage gains for low-income workers than for high-income workers, for the first time in a generation. If you're a high-earning professional, then this is obviously a negative, not a positive (you pay more for services from and goods manufactured by low-income workers, but your income is stagnant), but if you actually care about inequality, this result should be a big deal.
- This economic success was also reflected in record low unemployment among Blacks and Hispanics. Until that got wiped out by coronavirus lockdowns.
In trade:
- Renegotiated NAFTA => USMCA
- Pushed back against China on trade issues on multiple fronts, in a way the past three administrations simply did not (again, if you're a high-income service-sector professional, this is probably a net negative because it means you pay more for import goods with no benefit to counterbalance. Also, if your work depends, as many peoples' work does, on overseas supply chains, then the added instability due to Trump's aggressive trade negotiation tactics probably results in a net negative)
On immigration:
- Began building the southern border wall
- Worked to rationalize the administrative procedures around processing of asylum cases and other immigration categories that are abused by illegal immigrants to contest removal
On foreign policy generally:
- Trade policy vis-a-vis China discussed above
- Normalization between Israel and Bahrain
- Peace between Israel and United Arab Emirates
- Reversed policy vis-a-vis Iran, exiting the JCPOA and increasing pressure on Iranian proxies, Iran-sponsored terrorists, etc.
- Cooperated with regional powers (including Russia!) to constrain ISIS
- Didn't start any new wars
Miscellaneous
- Revoked that "Dear Colleagues" letter that gave cover to colleges and universities adopting lopsidedly anti-male procedures in campus hearings on sexual harassment/assault allegations.
- Eliminated the SALT deduction that benefits mostly high-income professionals (a recurring theme . . .)
Up until about March 2020, actually, I think Trump had an uncommonly solid set of achievements to run on, if he were so inclined. But his key achievements were all economic, and those have mostly fallen apart thanks to the coronavirus lockdowns.
Don’t overlook the rescue of tens of thousands of children and arrest of their child sex abusers in the 150,000 sealed Federal indictments that have begun to the executed. That is winning a war against the CIA corruption by blackmail system that controls many high echelon men in business and government. Only DJT has had the guts to break up that evil system.
Robert Cook: "More detail on the BS of government unemployment stats."
Filed under: Things commies never posted from Jan 2008 thru Jan 2016.
Here's a "nice" article and pic of Sessions, the guy Farmer is going to bat for and wants back in.
Note: this story and picture was produced on the very day Trump was coming under even greater fire from the backdoor coup that was launched at him by Rosenstein, the guy rocket scientist Sessions recommended for the job.
Yeah, lets get that guy another job in government to advance our agenda....STAT! (wink wink)
"Sure Cookie. It happens to be the stat most commonly used for decades. People are well aware of the limitations. Butif it were favorable to the left it would be the GOLD STANDARD, baby!"
Nope. It's always suspect and insufficiently informative (or misrepresentative) of reality no matter which party is in the White House.
J. Farmer said...
The house is burning down, and we're praising Trump on the good job he did remodeling the kitchen.
9/14/20, 5:46 PM
Other way around. The kitchen's on fire, and it's possible for the fire to spread to the rest of the house. I hope we can get used to eating around a campfire for a while when takeout becomes a great luxury. But in general, there are responsible people in the house, including and especially the President, ready to put out the fire. Even if the kitchen has to be a total loss.
Meanwhile, what's your deal in all this? Do you think hardcore immigration restrictionists are going to be very popular in liberal areas? Conversely, do you think Iranian puppets will be terribly welcomed among normal Americans? Many others will deal with privations major and awful, but they'll make it. If a grim future is guaranteed, it would be for people trying to play footsie with both major factions claiming the United States. I've noticed you don't think it's significant that the President is on track to make more than half of the Arab nations normalize relations with Israel: possibly because your Iranian patrons can see their death knell approaching.
On March 28, 2020 we received a postcard in the mail: "Slow the Spread, President Trump's Coronavirus Guidelines for America." I think everyone in the country received this postcard. I thought it was very well done, and I wrote a blog post about why I felt that way:
https://bremlang.blogspot.com/2020/03/slow-spread.html
I serve in local government, and I was particularly impressed by the fact that the federal government recognized the importance of state and local governments. This postcard was not the postcard that a dictator would have sent.
Drago said...
It's already been explained. The USMCA obliterates the back door loophole that allowed the ChiComs and EU punk "allies" from slapping down a few satellite facilities in Canada and Mexico and then simply shipping their almost finished or even finished goods thru those waypoints to avoid tariffs and other controls into the US.
9/14/20, 5:41 PM
This is a great way to separate actual students of trade from the fakes and posers who insist that NAFTA has only had minor changes, and anyways Biden will do a much better job, we swearsies.
@Birkel:
China is prohibited from sending all-but-completely-assembled products to Mexico and Canada, thereby leveraging those two countries against the United States.
Very interesting. And which provision in USMCA does that?
@Drago:
Sessions is a weak sister moron who got rolled over and over and over again and would never have any credibility for any side on any issue.
Attorney General is a completely different position than Senator. On the immigration issue, Sessions has more credibility than any other Senator. Not having him in the Senate is a huge blow to the immigration restriction movement.
Got this “near never Trumper” to vote for him in 2020.
@Robt Cook: I honestly did not know that Ralph Nader was still alive! (Goes to look: ah. 86 years old)
I hope you do appreciate that Trump has not gotten the USA into another overseas conflict. What is the over/under on when a President Biden will try to escalate something? 6 months? A year?
I also agree with the change to the tax code that eliminated the mortgage deduction. (And I am paying one). What a nice simplification!
He has destroyed the Democrat Party. Their lifeless corpse will be extremely entertaining to watch as it fades into irrelevancy!
mockturtle said...
Does causing vast numbers of leftists to go berserk and froth at the mouth count as an accomplishment?
Judging from Cook and Freder, I would have to say yes.
Farmer is in his Pat Buchanan hole and has pulled it inside itself.
Without looking at the comment thread, these are accomplishments I look to as reasons to re-elect the man:
- NAFTA was renegotiated on better terms
- The border wall is being built
- Some tax cuts were passed
- He has criminal justice reform to point to
- He rolled back some federal regulations early on with Congress and has in general kept up his promise to cut regulations
- His Supreme Court picks and his list of potential nominees are good
- Trump's trade policies are more protectionist of American production
- He has not started any new foreign military engagements while still managing to be America-First in his foreign policy
- There have been a lot more arrests for child-trafficking in his first term
- He may not have anything as grand as Oslo to point to, but he has been willing to broker smaller deals that make incremental progress toward peace, as in the recent Middle East deals with Israel and in Eastern Europe with Serbia and Kosovo.
- Trump's preference for a state and local approach to COVID with federal support as opposed to a one-size-fits-all federal response has allowed the laboratory of Democracy to create a diversity of responses more tailored to local conditions, and should provide better information about what worked and what didn't
- There is now a Space Force
- He has no big plan on the table for how we can use the federal government to "improve" our lives
Ryan. Kristol. Rubin. Romney. Boot. Goldberg.
All now naked with the tides out.
Freder Frederson said...
How many of you touted reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula. Are you fucking insane?
Maybe from listening to you. Do you never get tired of the sound of your own voice?
Tax cuts that benefit the rich, deregulation that increase the release of methane, dirty water,sterilization of migrant women,love letters to Kim that resulted in continuation of his arms build up,allowing Russia to confront our forces without comment,down playing the threat of Covid so more people could die, and degradation of moral and ethical standards exhibited in 20,000 lies, protecting those with preexisting conditions And the list goes on.
He has unmasked many people that we naively considered allies and laid bare the depth of corruption and budding tyranny, by showing what those trying to destroy him were/are willing to do to accomplish it.
Brought home our soldiers remains from Korea. Also brought home American captives. Is not afraid to say he loves the USA. Along with all the things listed above.
Brought home our soldiers remains from Korea. Brought home American political prisoners. Isn't afraid to say he loves the USA. My addition to the many things listed above.
First president to address pro-life marchers in person
Negotiated the Bosnia-Kosovo economic agreement
Moved our embassy to Jerusalem
Israel recognized by UAE and Bahrain
Isis, what Isis?
judges
The value of our retirement nest egg $$$
- He has no big plan on the table for how we can use the federal government to "improve" our lives
If this was the only item on the list, it would be enough.
Just stumbled on this one... Uyghur Human Rights Act of 2020.
Primary: He has stopped the relentless post modern pro marxist slide to continue.
He has created a great deal of peace in the middle east.
He has outlined the craziness of the Leftist movement quite succinctly. They have needed this trip to the woodshed for decades.
Trump allowed Fracking to continue while some liberals ban or advocate banning it. NY bans it. PA does not. It allowed the US to be energy independent and free of Middle East oil dependence.
Ann, what a great Blog entry. You've crowd sourced your list. Hope it can be summarized somehow. Excellent!
In a moment of cruel neutrality, Ann Althouse pleaded...
"Help me make a list of Trump's achievements — stated in a neutral, factual way. These should be real-world achievements of the sort that a more normal-seeming President could have made. No bullshit (or 'malarkey')."
Huh? Let's see. He spiked the economy. Unemployment for women, Blacks, and Latinos was the lowest in history. He took out terrorists. He helped reform criminal justice. He understood the true meaning of federalism and let the states decide for themselves on COVID response and lockdowns. He ramped-up the arsenal of tools available to help fight the pandemic. Am I getting warm? Sending in Federal troops and officers to help quell out-of-control riots. How about the last couple of weeks...peace deals in the Middle East.
If you wanted a list of why he should be re-elected, I think I've laid the groundwork. If you want a reason as to why YOU should vote him, Madame La Professeur, I can't help you there. It's my no-malarkey opinion that you will either vote for Biden, vote third-party or write-in, or simply not vote for President.
Perhaps his most important achievement is stimulating the Democrat Party, the Mainstream Media, federal law enforcement and the other elements of the Deep State to expose their moral bankruptcy and political corruption. At least 40% of the population sees that clearly, another 40% is either in denial or stricken with cognitive dissonance about it. The remaining 20% are too stupid to know the difference.
That makes the election both interesting and terrifying.
What do you consider the most significant change from NAFTA to the USMCA?
I would argue the most significant change is it was accomplished after being told for decades it could not be done.
J Farmer,
You say interesting but want me to do your homework?
My rate is $300/hour and I expect a retainer for a minimum 10 hours, billing to commence immediately.
Retainer to be kept for future services.
Fuck off.
RE: tensions on the Korean Peninsula
South Korea and North Korea now have direct diplomatic talks.
Is that not better than it was?
Or do you only measure reduced tensions based on the metric that the two nations reunite?
Freder Frederson is one of the less useful trolls available.
roesch/voltaire
The dead Russians would like a word with you.
Please pick up the Courtesy Phone.
(The rest of your lost is just as stupid, btw. But I only have time to mock this one stupid thing right now.)
The reduction in the U.S. corporate income tax rate has been mentioned, but I don't think anyone has expanded on how this makes it very attractive to do business in the United States. A corollary deduction for personal or LLC-type pass-thru income was also established in the Trump tax act. This has also eliminated the corporate inversions to foreign-domiciled entities that the Obama administration was trying to eliminate by regulation but the DC corporate tax lawyers always had a way to outmaneuver before the ink was dry on the regs. Who-da thunk of this solution in the Obama administration?
Meep meep!
Others have mentioned some actual achievements - the most important IMHO being to reverse decades of wrong headed policy on China*, which has already led a dash for the exits - US businesses getting their supply chains out of China. US companies are not going to unlearn this lesson. Which required him first to move the Overton window on the nature of the People's Republic of China.
But this example shows that Althouse's requirements are too restrictive :
These should be real-world achievements of the sort that a more normal-seeming President could have made.
Simply pointing out that the Emperor is naked is an achievement in itself. It helps members of the public, who had suspected that this was so, to speak out themselves. And for some of those who were previously convinced that the Emperor was splendidly dressed it throws the question into doubt.
We might compare this aspect of Trump's Presidency with the solitary good thing to come out of Obama's Presidency. Simply by being elected twice, Obama demonstrated that America is not the racist hellhole that some foolish folk, not excluding Michelle Obama, imagined it to be.
* Trump's China policy has also demonstrated a vast hole in the received wisdom on US foreign policy options generally. There is an option between nothing and bombing. Economic pressure. This too cannot be unlearnt.
@Michael K:
Farmer is in his Pat Buchanan hole and has pulled it inside itself.
Trump won in 2016 on a Buchananite platform. Pity it took the GOP 25 years to realize he was right.
@Birkel:
You say interesting but want me to do your homework?
My rate is $300/hour and I expect a retainer for a minimum 10 hours, billing to commence immediately.
Retainer to be kept for future services.
Fuck off.
I was being wry when I said "interesting." Your claim is wrong. But I tell you what, reference the provision you're talking about, and I'll send you a cashier's check for $300.
@Lee Moore:
* Trump's China policy has also demonstrated a vast hole in the received wisdom on US foreign policy options generally. There is an option between nothing and bombing. Economic pressure. This too cannot be unlearnt.
Economic pressure to coerce other nations has been a frequent US strategy for over half a century. including North Korea since 1950 and Cuba since 1958.
Sure, you prove your point, Smug.
There must be sections of the law that you can cite.
I know I am correct.
China certainly didn't like the provisions - for exactly the reasons I suggest.
And the decoupling with China and announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in Mexico are proof that I am correct.
I don't expect you to offer anything beyond Smug.
You never disappoint to fail.
@Birkel:
I don't expect you to offer anything beyond Smug.
You never disappoint to fail.
Says the person who declared, "Anybody who thinks USMCA is only marginally better than NAFTA knows fuck-all about either." And when pressed for an example, you merely demonstrated that you've misunderstood the change to the rule of origin requirement. Don't get me wrong, I think that was a good change, but it was still only a marginal improvement over NAFTA, which largely remains unchanged in the USMCA. Clause 32.10 is probably the most unsuspected given that it seeks to prevent Mexico or Canada from signing FTA's with China. That doesn't really have any impact on Mexico, which has zero interest in an FTA with China, but it could prevent the Canadians, which I'm fine with.
Robert Cook said...
Yes, because it is always a good thing when the President of the USA does something in order to deliver a "huge 'fuck you" to the entire world." That's real statesmanship...to idiots.
9/14/20, 2:33 PM
Well then, Congress should have changed their minds. Instead they left it "on the books". Trump just followed their "orders" on this. Don't like it, take it up with them.
As a man who has served this Nation both in and out of uniform for over 32 years I will vote for Trump 1) for pulling our military out of these truly endless wars, for improving our equipment, removing political promotions within the US military and forcing NATO to either Bone up or pay, 2) I will vote for Trump because he is not a part of the intrenched government who rule from their DC hideout, 3) I will vote for Trump because the democrats weaponized much of our government to include the FBI, IRS and CIA to suppress the voices of our people, 4) I will vote for Trump for having the guts to take on the unrest in the Middle-east and actually bringing about peace agreements, 5) I will vote for Trump for taking on China for being the enemy they have proven themselves they are, 6) I will vote for Trump because he is not a coward.
My contribution here was that Trump slowed down the growth of statism. Of course, to a State-fellator like Robert Cook, that would be a BAD thing.
Well, you are the expert with exquisite training in economics and law.
So I bow to your Smugness and yield that you are always correct about everything.
You're wrong.
I am correct.
Bless your heart.
Farmer: "Trump won in 2016 on a Buchananite platform. Pity it took the GOP 25 years to realize he was right."
Is that why you spend all your time attacking Trump?
1. Troop drawdown in the Middle East
2. Exited Iran Nuclear Deal
3. Renegotiated NAFTA
4. China Trade Deal/South Korea Deal replaced TPP
5. New giant Apple mfg plant in Houston
6. 300+ miles border wall built
7. Immigrants seeking asylum wait in Mexico now
8. 38 hostages are home
9. Defeat of the ISUS caliphate
10. Lowest unemployment ever recorded for: Blacks, Hispanics, women, across the board
11. Right to Try Act for experimental drugs
12. VA Choice Act
13. Appointed 300 Federal Judges
14. Funded Opportunity Zones in minority neighborhoods
15. UAE/Bahrain peace negotiation with Israel
16. Bagdadi/Soleimani dead
17. 25% Troop drawdown in Germany
18. NATO members contributing an additional $100B
19. Created Space Force
20. Most favored nation pricing from pharmaceutical companies
21. Hundreds of stock market records
22. Return to 3%+ GDP growth
23. Made increased funding for HBCU's permanent for the first time ever
@Drago:
Is that why you spend all your time attacking Trump?
No, it’s because he keeps fucking up. If he did what I wanted, I’d praise him.
@Birkel:
Well, you are the expert with exquisite training in economics and law.
So I bow to your Smugness and yield that you are always correct about everything.
So you can make claims about the USMCA, but if I make counterclaims, I'm a smug know-it-all that thinks he's an expert on everything. Gotcha.
You're wrong.
I am correct.
Bless your heart.
This coming from the person who said, "Anybody who thinks USMCA is only marginally better than NAFTA knows fuck-all about either."
You're an interesting guy, and exploring differences of opinion could be fruitful, but you seem intent on approaching every issue with ill-tempered petulance.
I haven't read every reply, but from those I've read, this one has not been mentioned and needs to be said:
Trump opened our eyes about what the FBI really is.
That right there is a major accomplishment that we would never have seen from inside-the-beltway politicians. It took an outsider to stir up the miscreants at the Bureau and make them out themselves.
Freder 3:44,
As for building the wall (which Mexico was supposed to pay for and he has revived that promise recently), can any of you tell me how many miles of new wall has actually been built (Google it, I bet the answer will surprise you).
325 miles is the last I've heard; but then I didn't Google it myself. I am curious, though: Does anyone who thinks building more wall is racist and xenophobic and cruel and gratuitous and all-around nasty ever -- ever -- suggest removing the wall that was already there when Trump took office? If a wall is pointless, then all of it is pointless; if people can just climb up their side and down ours, why bother? Tear the whole thing down, and use it for scrap metal. (Tearing it down is a hell of a lot cheaper than putting it up, anyway.) Let the sky be clear across the US/Mexico border from sea to shining sea.
No, you'd rather not do that? Why ever not? You mean the absence of a wall might have some sort of deleterious effect on US immigration policy? Why ever would that be? Who wants to get into this diseased, polluted, hurricane-ridden, burning, bankrupt, ignorant, violent, ultra-racist shithole of a country anyway? No one could conceivably be that stupid; that's why all of the famed intelligentsia of Hollywood, for example, has now emigrated to Canada or New Zealand. Common sense has it that life in Mexico is obviously much, much better than life here. We have no redeeming qualities at all, nothing to guard at all.
Or are you actually admitting to the presence of a few redeeming qualities, buried a few miles down below all the muck?
"He has destroyed the Democrat Party."
No,the Democrats have destroyed themselves, by moving irrevocably to the right, becoming not-so-stealth Republicans. Of course, they were never really "left" to begin with, and they have become ever less so, even as Republican propagandists, who know better, have accused the Dems of being "radical leftists" or even Marxists. They must have a hard time not bursting into guffaws when they announce idiocy like that in public.
Trump's efforts and success at reducing federal regulations overall have been noted up-thread, but I don't think there has been sufficient emphasis and recognition of the impact of his administration's changes to environmental regulations — which have extreme implications for the freedoms for property owners and many others in this country — that President Trump has promulgated.
Law professor Jonathan Adler writes at the Volokh Conspiracy in Reason about how effective September 14, 2020, a complete replacement set of environmental regulations — promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), implementing the (1970) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and controlling on all federal agencies — has now gone into effect, which the CEQ drafted in accordance with Trump's earlier executive order to that effect.
As Adler notes about these revised regulations from CEQ: [quoting…]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, has argued that some of its regulatory reforms are compelled by the plain text of the relevant statutes. CEQ, on the other hand, explicitly argues that these new regulations “embody CEQ's interpretation of NEPA for Chevron purposes.” CEQ further argues that its interpretation of NEPA's requirements preempts any alternative interpretations previously offered by any other federal agencies, and that its new rules override any preexisting agency regulations or guidelines purporting to require more extensive procedures.
[/unQuote]
James M. McElfish, Jr., Director of the Sustainable Use of Land Program (who is hardly an advocate for these changes), also writes of their impact and what they entail. As McElfish says, for instance: [quoting…]
In contradistinction to the long-standing NEPA rules, the rule will prevent agencies from considering alternatives not within their own jurisdiction. […] CEQ also says, “Where a project is developed by a private sponsor, alternatives that result in changes to project design, technology, or locations must not render the project economically non-viable.”
[/unQuote]
I think this is an extremely important achievement by Trump.
Robert Cook, I don't know whether you're just messin' with us, but your 7:10 post is the silliest single thing I have read in the last year. Name one issue on which the Democrats have moved right in the last 30 years. It can't be done.
Leftward on climate change; leftward on abortion (there used to be "pro-life Democrats"; not now); leftward on feminism; leftward on gay rights (remember when Obama said that "marriage is between a man and a woman"? That was in the 2008 campaign, and if he said that now he'd be canceled); leftward on sexual harassment and how you prove it; certainly leftward on what statues ought to remain standing -- the thumbs-down crowd now includes the Portland elk, Frederick Douglass, Ulysses Grant, Miguel de Cervantes, and anyone else a drunken "activist" feels like toppling tonight. Leftward on protests (OK if BLM; verboten else). Leftward on immigration; leftward on travel; leftward on what any of us can do and where and why. Leftward on legalization of MJ and, potentially, other controlled substances. Leftward on the military, where once we were expected to be the "world's peacemaker" and now it's Trump who's the namby-pamby pacifist.
Really, I'm fresh out of ideas. Define, define, well-educated infant.
I extracted all the accomplishments listed among 296 comments as of 9/16 (excluding duplicated comments, spats, and trolls). 162 distinct accomplishments identified (though some are subsets of others). 1,036 total accomplishments mentioned.
Obviously not a random sample. Still, pretty interesting reflection of what this groups sees as the primary accomplishments. A lot more balanced and humanitarian than spicy commentary might suggest.
IDENTIFIED ACCOMPLISHMENT NUMBER OF VOTES
Massive deregulation 39
Middle East peace process 36
Economic growth 29
NAFTA replaced by USMCA 28
Circuit Court confirmations/Judges 28
ISIS defeated/GWOT 27
No New Wars 23
He brokered a step toward peace in the Balkans. 22
Increase in Nato participation (Members and Financial Support) 22
Slowed illegal immigration 22
Lowest unemployment 20
Sentencing reform - First Step Act 19
Lowered taxes/Tax Reform 19
Killing General Soleimani 18
Defeated Intelligence Community effort to unseat him/Deep State Resistance 18
China diplomatic engagement/Standing up to them 18
MSM credibility destroyed 18
CRT training abolition 18
Low minority unemployment records 17
North Korea diplomatic engagment 17
Energy independence through fracking 17
Gorsuch and Kavanaugh 16
Taking on China With Tariffs 15
Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. 15
Wall building 15
Cancelling Iran Nuclear Deal 14
Exiting Paris Climate Accord 14
Winding down Afghanistan 14
Winding down Irag 14
Respect for Federalism/Constitution 14
Generic drugs initiative/Pharma 12
Manufacturing 11
Human trafficking policies 11
Decoupling from China 11
Tax Cuts 10
Increase in median household income 10
Secured record $700 billion in military funding; $716 billion next year. 10
Reduced international obligations, particularly military 10
Stopping travel from China early in Covid-19 9
Space Force/Space policy 9
Slowing Statism 9
Confronting Iran 8
Stock Market 8
Due Process Protection - Title IX Repeal 7
Fair trade deals 7
Cancelled TPP 7
He beat Hillary Clinton 6
Medical Facilities Covid Response 6
Improved treatment of Veterans (VA Choice Act) 6
Cut corporate taxes from 35% to 21% 6
Sancitons on Iran 6
Shoring Up Asian Alliances 6
Opposes Antifa and BLM 6
Balancing between Covid public health and economic damage 6
Taking a step toward sanity in Title IX. 5
Taking on the Deep State 5
Obamacare individual mandate penalty GONE. 5
Travel Ban 5
Commitment to Middle Class Americans 5
He fights 5
Lowest female unemployment 4
China tariffs re technology transfer 4
Alliance building 4
Stopped the caravans from Central America 4
Sanctions on Russia 4
Opportunity Zones 4
Decouplng from Deep State "Experts" 4
Protecting Religious Freedom 4
Clarification of those who oppose American ideals 4
Medical Cost Transparency 4
Banning products from China made by slave labor 4
List was truncated owing to character limitations.
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