Better off now? Trump’s unreported list of accomplishments

By WND Staff

President Donald J. Trump signs the G7 Scroll, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, in Charlevoix, Canada. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
President Donald J. Trump signs the G7 Scroll, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, in Charlevoix, Canada. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

While the midterms are comprised of thousands of local elections, every voter will have the opportunity to weigh in on whether or not President Trump’s remarkable accumulation of conservative accomplishments will continue.

With some Democratic leaders vowing to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the president if their party regains the House, unfinished objectives such as building the southern border wall and repealing Obamacare could become the least of the president’s problems.

If Americans want more of deregulation, lower taxes, economic growth, record-low unemployment, job creation, immigration enforcement, border security, a stronger military, conservative judges, improved trade deals and unprecedented foreign policy victories with nations such as North Korea, the party of the person they vote for in congressional elections matters.

President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, walk together to their one-on-one bilateral meeting, Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at the Capella Hotel in Singapore. (Official White House Photo by Stephanie Chasez)
President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, walk together to their one-on-one bilateral meeting, Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at the Capella Hotel in Singapore. (Official White House Photo by Stephanie Chasez)

Since WND published a list of 183 accomplishments in Trump’s first 14 months, the president has continued to fulfill campaign promises.

Most recently, Brett Kavanaugh became the second judge confirmed to the Supreme Court who interprets the Constitution according to the text, following Neil Gorsuch. The negotiation of a trade deal with Mexico and Canada to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, fulfilled a major campaign vow. Another eight trade deals have been negotiated with Japan, South Korea, Europe and China.

In a typical diplomatic victory, the Trump administration, employing tough sanctions and behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvers, secured in October the release of pastor Andrew Brunson from an otherwise defiant Turkish regime, without any apparent concessions.

Marc Thiessen, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, took note of Trump’s record in his Washington Post column in October.

“The fact is, in his first two years, Trump has compiled a remarkable record of presidential promise-keeping.”

Thiessen said that when Trump “says he will do something, you can take it to the bank.”

Outpacing Reagan

In March, the Heritage Foundation found Trump’s administration already had outpaced President Reagan in its implementation of agenda items proposed by the prominent conservative Washington, D.C., think tank.

Donald Trump and President Ronald Reagan
Donald Trump and President Ronald Reagan

Nearly two-thirds of the 334 items called for by the Heritage Foundation‘s legendary “Mandate for Leadership” blueprint were accomplished in Trump’s first year in office, reported the Washington Examiner.

The Heritage Foundation’s Thomas Binion said at the time that Trump had implemented 64 percent of the “unique policy recommendations” from the group while Reagan had completed 49 percent at this stage in his presidency.

“We’re blown away,” Binion, director of congressional and executive branch relations at Heritage, told the Examiner.

He said Trump “is very active, very conservative, and very effective.”

The accomplishments cover a “huge spectrum” of issues, he said, including foreign policy, deregulation, immigration, tax reform and health care.

Among them, the Heritage Foundation said, are leaving the Paris Climate Accord, repealing network neutrality rules, reshaping national monuments, reinstating the Mexico City Policy preventing taxpayer money from funding international groups involved in abortion and ending funding to the United Nations Population fund.

Others include reforming the Johnson-era Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program welfare program, allowing development of natural resources, reforming government agencies and withdrawing from UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

President Donald Trump (White House photo)
President Donald Trump (White House photo)

Sizzling economy

Under President Obama, economic growth never exceeded 3 percent, but under Trump, the economy grew 4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.

Since Trump took office, more than 3.5 million jobs have been created, more Americans are employed than ever before, and the unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969.

What’s more, the unemployment rates for African-Americans (5.9 percent), Hispanics (4.5 percent) and Asian-American (2 percent) are at the lowest in history.

President Donald Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018 (CNN screenshot)
President Donald Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018 (CNN screenshot)

This year, female unemployment fell to 3.6 percent, the lowest since 1953, and youth unemployment was at a 50-year low.

Blue-collar jobs, meanwhile, grew at the fastest rate in more than 30 years.

In August, 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers said they were optimistic about the future – the highest figure ever – and retail sales were up another 6 percent over last year.

Net exports are on track to increase by $59 billion this year.

U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American history, and the United States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.

In another sign of economic strength, an estimated 3.9 million Americans are no longer using food stamps since Trump was elected.

And amid an increase in consumer confidence in the economy – nearly a two-decade high – investment dollars are returning to the United States. More than $450 billion has come back since Trump was elected, including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Shrinking government is also part of the administration’s effort to free up the private sector and release the power of free enterprise. Trump has decreased the federal bureaucracy by 16,000 positions while surpassing his promise to remove two regulations for every new one proposed.

President Donald J. Trump signs the G7 Scroll, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, in Charlevoix, Canada. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
President Donald J. Trump signs the G7 Scroll, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, in Charlevoix, Canada. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Deals, deals, deals

Along with negotiating the historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA, the administration is working with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero subsides.

The U.S. has finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea that includes provisions to increase American automobile exports, and Japan agreed in September to negotiate a trade deal.

Already, the U.S. has secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China while confronting unfair trade practices. The president also announced measures to stop China from stealing American intellectual property.

A Trade and Investment Working Group has been established with key U.S. ally Britain, laying the groundwork for a post-Brexit trade deal.

Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in June 2016 (Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons)
Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in June 2016 (Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons)

Illegal immigration

While Congress largely has impeded the funding of Trump’s promised wall, the March 2018 omnibus bill secured $1.6 billion for it. Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall near San Diego has begun, along with 20 miles of new and improved fencing in New Mexico.

In the first nine months of 2018, the number of illegal aliens arrested who had not broken any other U.S. law increased 66 percent compared to the previous year.

By May, the Department of Homeland Security had doubled the number of businesses it had searched for breaking immigration hiring laws. It also had quadrupled the number of arrests made.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division says it arrested 796 members and associates of the murderous gang MS-13 in fiscal 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.

In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges.

The aliens were responsible for more than 76,000 dangerous drug offenses, 48,000 assault offenses, 11,000 weapons offenses, 5,000 sexual assaults, 2,000 kidnappings and 1,800 murders.

Foreign policy

The president has delivered on his campaign promise of historic increases in defense spending to strengthen national security.

While his predecessor, Barack Obama reneged on his promise to punish Syria for using chemical weapons, President Trump followed through on two occasions.

President Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal on may 8, 2018 (Photo: Screenshot)
President Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal on may 8, 2018 (Photo: Screenshot)

After moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem at the end of 2017, Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 while re-imposing sanctions in response to noncompliance. The next month, he held a historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un.

While the process is incomplete, already North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests, and returned the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.

Trump kept his promise to change rules of engagement and empower commanders to defeat ISIS, and now the jihadist movement has lost virtually all of its territory.

President Trump has been credited for helping win the U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup after helping the U.S. secure the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

And North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have responded to Trump’s demand that they fulfill their obligation to increase defense spending to agree-upon levels.

First-year highlights

WND’s list of the president’s accomplishments in his first 14 months contains 183 items. Here are some of the highlights:

In December, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Trump for his leadership in the passage of the biggest tax overhaul in 30 years, with some $3.2 trillion in tax cuts along with significant simplification of the tax code.

President Trump at a White House news conference Feb. 23, 2018 (Video screenshot)
President Trump at a White House news conference Feb. 23, 2018 (Video screenshot)

While the previous three U.S. presidents promised during their election campaigns to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Trump on Dec. 6, 2017, became the first to follow through. In his official order, Trump also ordered the U.S. Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded: “President Donald Trump, thank you for today’s historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Jewish people and the Jewish state will be forever grateful.”

In October 2017, Trump announced he would not certify the Iran nuclear deal and vowed that the U.S. would pull out unless changes are made. He also unveiled a new strategy, the culmination of nine months of deliberation with Congress and allies, on how to best protect America’s security from the rogue mullah-led regime. The plan included denying the regime funding and any paths to a nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles. The Department of the Treasury sanctioned more than 25 entities and individuals involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program. The U.S. also sanctioned 16 entities and individuals that have supported Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard Corps in the development of drones, fast attack boats and other military equipment.

In July 2017, Trump kept his campaign promise to coal miners to roll back the previous administration’s “Stream Protection Rule,” which targeted the industry with estimated costs of at least $81 million a year.

In June, the president approved the Dakota Access Pipeline project and the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, which are expected to create more than 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in earnings. The Dakota Access Pipeline, which is transporting 500,000 barrels of oil a day, has reinvigorated the North Dakota economy. In June, Trump approved production of the New Burgos Pipeline to Mexico.

The same month, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, which, according to a study by NERA Consulting, could have cost the United States economy nearly $3 trillion. According to the same study, by 2040, 6.5 million industrial sector jobs could have been lost, including 3.1 million manufacturing sector jobs.

During his first foreign trip as president, he announced the signing of a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, with another $350 billion of arms for the following 10 years. American and Saudi businesses signed similar agreements on the same day, with billions of dollars to be invested in the U.S. Trump also gave a major speech to leaders of 50 Islamic nations, challenging them to fight Islamic terror.

President Trump in April signed the “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, prioritizing the interests of American businesses and workers. “Buy American” protects American industry from unfair competition by targeting the abusive use of waivers and exceptions to laws on the books. Trump’s “Hire American” effort calls for the reform of visa programs, ensuring that they no longer displace American workers, while fully enforcing laws governing the entry of foreign workers.

President Trump signed a bill into law in February repealing an Obama-era Social Security Administration rule adding mental disability determinations to the background check registry. The Obama regulation potentially allowed the denial of Second Amendment rights to many competent, mentally healthy citizens.

In his first days in office in January 2017, Trump set up task forces in every agency to remove “job killing regulations” and increase “economic opportunity.” The Trump administration is on track to finish the first phase of its regulatory reform program with $645 million in net annual regulatory savings, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum. By comparison, during President Obama’s years in office, more than 22,700 regulations were imposed on Americans at a cost to American consumers, businesses and workers of more than $120 billion each year. AAF called Trump’s order reducing regulation and controlling regulatory costs “one of the most significant developments in regulatory policy in decades,” noting it was the first time in U.S. history that the executive branch has established a regulatory budget.

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