An shortened summary of Trump's presidency (from 2021). Certainly not completely objective (evaluating here and there) but I think an accurate
conclusion. Perhaps this will help some Members in future discussions.(;
The Trump Presidency: A Review
America is more divided today than at any other time in its history. Republicans and Democrats are no longer just competing parties arguing over
programs and strategies. They are like two tribes, which stand against each other without speech and understanding, isolate themselves from each other
and regard each other as enemies. The strongholds of the Democrats are prosperous urban areas, while the Republicans are rooted in the countryside,
earning their highest voter turnout in regions with the lowest job, population, and economic growth. Trump benefited from this in his 2016 victory
because he was able to bring radical forces into the Republican Party without causing traditional supporters to leave. With amazing political skill,
he forged three major groups together: Economic liberals, evangelicals and angry citizens.
Economy While Obama had reduced the budget deficit from 9.8 percent in 2009 to 3.1 percent in 2016 after the inherited Great Recession, it
increased again to 4.6 percent under Trump (2019) despite good growth rates. The reason: his biggest legislative success, the 2017 tax cut, costs the
state between $1.5 and $2 trillion,
with top earners and large corporations benefiting the most. At the end of Trump's term, unemployment
stood at 6.7
Trade conflicts Overall, the trade deficit under Trump increased from 513 billion dollars to 679 billion dollars. Statistically, the punitive
tariff policy thus cost each household $1,000 a year. Moreover, US companies hardly moved jobs back home, but instead built factories in low-wage
countries that were not affected by tariffs. Trump destroyed confidence in the predictability and reliability of American commitments and damaged the
trade system of the World Trade Organization, which the US helped to create.
Immigration The main theme of Trump's 2015/16 campaign was immigration. Even as he announced his candidacy, he rudely insulted Mexican and
soon he was agitating against other ethnic and religious minorities as well. His implicit message was that America was a country of Christian whites,
and he would do everything he could to keep it that way in the future. At the end of his term, only 76 kilometres of border fortifications had been
built, while 649 kilometres of existing ones had been extended. Mexico, as promised by Trump, did not participate in the costs incurred by the US. The
construction of the border fortification was merely symbolic politics.
Foreign policy While during the Cold War the promise of a strong foreign policy was a plus for any presidential candidate, afterwards the
candidate who promised to withdraw from global commitments always won. With the tailwind of intervention fiasco, the global financial crisis, and
terror by the "Islamic State" (IS), he revived three old foreign policy ideas: isolationism, nationalism, and unilateralism. He merged this mix of
concepts under the slogan "America First". From a purely business point of view, he understood foreign policy as the settlement of ad hoc, primarily
economic transactions, in which reliability, transparency and trust did not play a role. Trump admired authoritarian leaders because they can
negotiate "man-to-man" deals without domestic considerations. He was almost manically driven by the goal of wiping out Obama’s foreign policy,
which he saw as a symbol of American weakness. Ultimately, however, he was primarily concerned with self-glorification.
Death penalty With 13 death sentences carried out, more than three times as many people were executed under federal law in the last six months
of Trump's presidency than in the previous six decades.
CHINA Instead of forging alliances and opposing Beijing on all fronts, however, he chose to go it alone and focus on the trade balance. Success
was not forthcoming: By the end of his term, China was in a stronger position – not least because it had skillfully filled the leadership vacuum
created by Trump in free trade and the fight against the pandemic, as well as in the Middle East and Europe.
RUSSIA Trump also weakened the American position vis-à-vis Moscow: through his submissive behavior towards Russian President Vladimir Putin,
the relativization of Russian cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, the blackmail of Ukraine, but most of all through the sabotage of NATO and
the European Union, and trade wars with allies.
MIDDLE EAST In Syria and Afghanistan, as well as in Iran, Turkey and the Kurds, his zigzag course undermined Washington's influence. The
cancellation of the nuclear deal negotiated by Obama and the policy of "maximum pressure" did not make Tehran yield as promised. Instead, the
country enriched uranium beyond its agreed borders and expanded its position in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
WARS Trump had Syrian positions bombed by the Taliban, Russian mercenaries and ISIS. He authorized more drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen than
his two predecessors combined, and increased them dramatically in Afghanistan. The number of civilians killed tripled compared to 2016. Trump also
unreservedly backed Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and supplied Riyadh with the weapons to do so.
The big picture Trump's worst mistake, however, was to turn away from the liberal, rules-based world order that the US had created after 1941
and that all US presidents had nurtured since. At its core are the multi- and bilateral alliance agreements with almost 70 nations. Failure to
recognize the political and military weight this alliance system confers on Washington vis-à-vis rivals such as China and Russia revealed Trump's
complete lack of understanding of strategic relationships. Playing with the idea of leaving NATO, supporting Brexit, declaring the EU an enemy,
endangering relations with long-standing partners in East Asia and Europe because of trade disputes – this allowed the enemies of the West to
triumph.
So? In the eyes of his supporters, Trump was a successful president. They appreciated his constant break with established norms, his attacks on
"the elites" and the feeling that someone gave them a voice and in uncertain times called the culprits for their hardships and worries. However, if
one measures his term in office against the stated goal of "making America great again", the result is sobering. With the exception of penal reform,
which reduced long prison sentences for petty criminals, programs to combat the economic crisis, and the "warp-speed initiative" for rapid vaccine
production, his presidency saw little success for the nation as a whole.
Most dangerous is Trump's legacy to democracy. Although the institutions stood up to his omnipotence fantasies and proved to be counterweights to
federalism and justice, he massively damaged the written and unwritten norms of the constitutional system.
SOURCE