ADEYEMI OSHUNRINADE
April 29, 2017
President Trump sent out a tweet last week: “No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill.”
With the tweet, the President wants it known that he does not care about judging his first 100 days in office. Besides calling it a “ridiculous standard,” Trump also said the 100 days evaluation is “not very meaningful,” and calls it “an artificial barrier.”
This is the same Trump who then as a private citizen, criticized former President Obama for not getting much accomplished during his first 100 days in office, while forgetting that Obama, signed a $787 billion stimulus package into law in his first month as President. Obama also expanded healthcare for children and achieved equal pay for women during the same time.
While Trump may now be downplaying the 100 days standard as unimportant, he does not mind boasting about what he has done since assuming the Presidency, though, record shows his administration has achieved far less in the first 100 days than any American President in modern history. “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days,” he recently said not mindful of how false the statement is.
Remember that during the campaign, Trump promised a 100-day action plan to “make America great again.” He said that on day one of his presidency he’d label China a currency manipulator, cancel funding for sanctuary cities, repeal and replace ObamaCare, build a beautiful wall and make Mexico pay for it and ban Muslims from entering the United States.
It is ironic that President Trump wants to be judged a success in his first 100 days but does not want to assume responsibility for his failures during the same period. So far, the President has no legislative achievement since coming to office unlike past American Presidents. His first and second attempts to institute a Muslim ban was opposed by Federal Courts and declared unconstitutional.
Trump’s move to label China a currency manipulator died after dinning with the Chinese President at Mar-a-Lago, when he realized China is key to finding a solution to the Korean impasse. His promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare is a failure and just this week, a Federal judge blocked his attempt to cutoff funding for sanctuary cities a major promise he made during the campaign. Trump promised he would pull out of NAFTA but now, he wants to negotiate with Canada and Mexico.
On Wednesday, the President and his team outline a tax proposal that leans heavily on tax cuts, but leaves many questions unanswered. Tax experts are already saying his ambitious goal of reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% without concern over deficits is dangerous. First, it is a recipe for revenue loss and secondly, it would add about $6 billion to the deficit. Also, it is unclear how the President expects to have a successful tax cut without fixing the lingering healthcare issue and strong opposition from Democrats who believe his tax cut favors the rich.
While President Trump may claim he secured a seat for his nominee at the U.S. Supreme Court as promised, the fact is the appointment of Neil Gorsuch was without bipartisan support. Many consider it a stolen seat and for the first time in history, a candidate was appointed to the highest court through a nuclear option. And so far, the President’s 28 executive orders signed to date are as good as the next President who may choose to repeal all.
Despite the lack of success in his 100 days in office, Trump’s base remains intact. According to a CNN poll, 96% of Trump voters say they’d vote for Trump again and believe he’s doing the right thing. They are Trump followers who choose to remain in Trump’s camp of political servitude. Perhaps, they’d rather remain willfully blind to the facts but for how long they will stay in the entanglement is still unknown. For this President, I give a D- for helping to secure the release of an American in Egyptian custody and for being able to unify the Democratic Party because to be honest, democrats have never been this close.
Adeyemi Oshunrinade [E. JD] is an expert in general law, foreign relations and the United Nations. He is the author of ‘Wills Law and Contests,’ ‘Constitutional Law-First Amendment,’ ‘Criminal Law-Homicide’ and ‘SAVING LOVE’ available on Amazon. Follow on Twitter @san0670.
Categories: Current Affair, Politics
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