President
Trump has soaked up more criticism lately from the media and many citizens than
any president I can remember. I do not appreciate his brash, unkind, harsh, and
sometimes vulgar ways; I do not like his policy of firing any and everyone who
does not agree exactly with him. However, I think it is prudent to look at some
of the things he has accomplished, all of which strongly reflect his policy of
“America First:”
- Despite his friendly rhetoric toward
Russia and Putin, Trump’s presidency has been marked by increased bombing
of Russia-backed Syria and bombing of Russia-aligned Taliban in
Afghanistan.
- Stricter enforcement of economic
sanctions against Iran.
- Expansion of NATO.
- Liquid natural gas exports to Europe,
that undercut the Russian economy.
- Sold U.S. missile defense to Poland
and Romania.
- Opposition to the Russian-negotiated
Iran nuclear deal.
- Rewritten administrative rules for
businesses, resulting in soaring stock market values.
- Appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the
Supreme Court, which has maintained the balance of power between liberals
and conservatives that was previously tilted toward the left.
- Trump has been filling lower courts
with a multitude of young conservative judges, who have lifetime tenure.
- Secretary Jeff Sessions has
strengthened the government’s power of civil asset forfeiture, allowing
the government to seize cash and goods from people suspected of crimes.
- Justice Department has quit its
previous opposition to a Texas voter ID law.
- Justice Department has also encouraged
prosecutors to seek the harshest sentences for low-level drug offences.
- Trump’s statements of opposition to
illegal immigration has caused a marked drop in illegal border crossings
on the southern border. Customs and Immigration officers report the number
of unauthorized people crossing the border has decreased 20% compared to
the same time period in 2016. Contracts are out now for builders of the
border wall.
- Trump has withdrawn from the Paris
Climate Accord, believing it to be contrary to United States best
interests, as well as ineffective in modifying world climate.
- The Trump administration is working to
dismantle the Obama “Clean Power Plan” and the 2015 “Waters of the United
States” rule, which would have regulated every small body of water in the
nation by designating all of them to regulation by the EPA.
- Scott Pruitt’s EPA has moved to undo,
delay, or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules in order to
advance apparently harmless business enterprises.
- The State Department has reversed the
Obama Administration block on construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
- The Interior Department is considering
reversing a rule on fracking on public lands, and it has already reversed
a ban on coal mining on public lands.
- Administration has made a wide range of
changes on homosexual issues. This has included his stated opposition to
transgendered people serving in the armed forces. Trump administration has
rejected Obama-era protections for transgender students.
- The Trump Administration has attempted
to peel back parts of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law and
undermine function of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, which has
been deemed unfair to citizens.
- Trump’s travel bans from Iran, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, and Yemen went into effect on 29 June 2017, and lasted for
90 days. That travel ban is still being litigated. The administration is
proposing an even more strict limitation of immigration from
Muslim-dominant countries in order to prevent terrorists from entering the
United States.
- President Trump has personally visited
zones of widespread disaster in order to encourage citizens that the
United States stands ready and able to help them.
Regardless
of how one might view some of these actions of the Trump Administration, one cannot
say that this administration has not accomplished anything significant during
its 6 month tenure.
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