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United States News Title: Leftard honestly admits Trump isn't doing that badly Mention the President of the United States in day-to-day conversation and youll get the inevitable; a sigh, a shake of the head, a brief eulogy on how Donald Trump is unfit to be president. Im no different. Im the first to criticise Trump. I wouldnt have voted for him if youd paid me, and think hes got some pretty damaging, regressive points of view. But during a recent, daily grumble about The Donald, I got thinking; if you look past the ridiculous Twitter pronouncements, and the Presidents general veneer what has he actually done? How bad has the 45th President of the United States actually been for the country? The answer, it might surprise you, is not that bad at all. Stock market up, unemployment down. After plateauing for much of 2015 and 2016, numbers of manufacturing jobs have been on the rise since Trumps inauguration. While Trump has perhaps taken more credit than hes due in these areas, it would be ignorant to deny him at least some business confidence has steadily grown under Trumps presidency, a direct effect of tax cuts; the most comprehensive simplification of the US tax code in 30 years; and a staunch refusal to regulate the economy to the same extent as during Obamas tenure. Through 2016-2018, regulations have grown by only 0.6 per cent, in comparison to the 1.6 per cent per annum under Obama. Despite Trumps administration succeeding in getting major corporations to pay their tax bills (amounting to £339bn for the economy over the next nine years), Apple are still going through with plans to invest billions into the United States. I barely knew about Trumps win-win on multinational corporations most people seem more focussed on waspish gossip from around the White House than they do on promising figures coming out of it. On foreign policy, hes been brash and unpredictable, but successful. He cant take full credit for the defeat of Isis in their traditional strongholds, but they have been defeated. He cant take full credit for defusing tensions with North Korea but under President Trump, Kim Jong-un is becoming more receptive to talks with South Korea, and even sent a team to the Winter Olympics. His quirky style of diplomacy has led to, in the past few days, talk on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the closest thing to a peaceful North Korea weve seen in years. On Friday it was even announced that Trump will be meeting with Kim Jong-un. On gun control where previously Trump was a fierce proponent of the Second Amendment, hes proven more willing to listen than anybody thought possible recently signing a memo directing the proposition of regulations to ban all gun accessories. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless against the United States incomprehensible gun policy. Could it be that, provided checks against the Presidents more skewed policies hold firm, that Trump hasnt actually been half-bad? Attempts to repeal Obamacare fell through due to opposition, and the Supreme Court held out against the worst of the Republicans travel ban plans. Its why the Founding Fathers made so certain of checks between the different branches of government so that the least thought-out policy proposals didnt have a chance of passing. Its what a lot of people forgot about, in the months after Trump was elected presidents are unable to act rashly, impulsively. The political system is wired towards something which at least slightly resembles sensibility. So why are Trumps approval ratings so low? The answer is unprecedented levels of political polarisation in America, and the general unwillingness of either side to acknowledge anything of worth on the opposite side. Im wary of making any major proclamations too early. Recent threats of trade war could seriously hurt global markets, and Trumps administration has still been the most divisive in recent memory. More action on gun control is needed, and the Presidents protectionism will always be a worry but whisper it; maybe, just maybe, Donald Trump isnt the devil we all thought hed be. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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