A Very Long List of Pres. Trump's Accomplishments
There’s an old saying – you can’t argue with results. There’s another old saying – give credit where credit is due. The Democrat convention portrayed President Trump as lazy and disengaged, but nothing could be further from the truth. We are all keenly aware of his imperfections (and reminded of them constantly by his detractors), but few people know of President Trump’s accomplishments, which are legion. This a list of those accomplishments.
I was wrong about the kind of president Trump would be in 2016, when he was my least favorite candidate in the Republican primary. He is far from perfect, but I’ve come to realize he’s been unfairly maligned on all sides, while his accomplishments have been deliberately obscured. I’ve also come to realize that even imperfect people can do great things.
This is a comprehensive list of all of all of President Trump’s accomplishments during his first term in office. (I’ve probably left many out – it’s hard to keep up!) To be clear, I do not favor ALL of the items on this list. Most of them are pre-pandemic, but the bounce-back is underway, and it’s pretty dramatic, too. We will get there again under his leadership.
If you are skeptical of any of these claims, please research them.
I wish I could do a comparison of Trump’s accomplishments in not quite four years side-by-side with Biden’s accomplishments in 47 – but just putting this list together has taken a long time, so I will let the Democrats speak for Biden.
This list will probably draw comments from Trump haters, but I do not intend to answer them here. I will let Trump’s accomplishments speak for themselves.
Finally, I pulled these items from a variety of sources and tried to group them in a logical way. Please feel free to copy this list and share it, if you’d like.
ECONOMIC OPTIMISM
- 95% OF U.S. manufacturers optimistic about the future – highest rate ever recorded
- consumer confidence at an all-time high
- small business confidence at an all-time high
- stock market at an all-time high
JOB CREATION / RECORD HIGH EMPLOYMENT / RECORD LOW UNEMPLOYMENT
- almost 4 million jobs created!
- > 400,000 manufacturing jobs created (Manufacturing jobs growing at fastest rate in more than 30 years)
- more Americans employed than ever before in U.S. History
- unemployment claims hit a 49-year low
- African American unemployment – lowest rate ever recorded
- Hispanic-American unemployment – lowest rate ever recorded
- Asian-American unemployment – lowest rate ever recorded
- Women’s unemployment – lowest rate in 65 years
- Youth unemployment – lowest rate in almost 50 years
- unemployment for people w/o a high school diploma – lowest rate ever
- Veterans’ unemployment – lowest rate in almost 20 years
ECONOMIC GROWTH
- hit 4.2% in one quarter
- retail sales surged over previous years, including highest ever holiday sales in 2019
- sales of new single-family homes up 31.9% over previous year in October 2019 (More families able to build and buy their own homes.)
HIGHEST EVER MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
- 3.9 million Americans lifted off food stamps
- The 25% lowest-paid Americans enjoyed a 4.5% income boost in Nov. 2019, outpacing the 2.9% gain in earnings by the nation’s highest paid workers.
- The poverty rate fell to a 17-year low of 11.8% due to a jobs-rich environment
TAX CUTS
- Signed biggest package of tax cuts in U.S. history
- $300 billion poured back into economy in the first quarter after cuts
- Small businesses have lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years
MINORITY ADVANCEMENTS
- Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels since the U.S. began collecting data
- President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in low-income communities across the country
- 8,764 communities across the country have been designated as Opportunity Zones
- Opportunity Zones are expected to spur $100 billion in long-term private capital investment in economically distressed communities across the country
- As mentioned above, unemployment at an all-time low for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians
LGBT ADVANCEMENTS
- Appointed five openly gay U.S. ambassadors
- Trump ordered Ric Grenell, his openly gay ambassador to Germany, to lead a global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe
- Appointed the first openly-gay person to a cabinet-level position
EDUCATION
- Directed the Education Secretary to end Common Core
- Called on Congress to pass school choice legislation so that no child is trapped in a failing school because of his or her zip code
- Signed legislation in September 2018 that increased funding for school choice by $42 million
- The tax cuts signed into law by President Trump promote school choice by allowing families to use 529 college savings plans for elementary and secondary education
- As part of the Pledge to America’s Workers, increased vocational training to 4 million people
- Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion annually for states to fund vocational and career education programs
- Issued executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers
- Created a White House position for a director of HCBUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
- Increased funding for HBCUs by 14%.
ENERGY POLICY
- Approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines
- Opened ANWR
- U.S. oil production reached an all-time high, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest oil producer
- Increased coal exports by 60%
- U.S. became a net neutral natural gas exporter for first time since 1957
- Cancelled the anti-coal Clean Power Plan
HEALTHCARE
- Eliminated the individual mandate penalty of Obamacare.
- Provided more affordable healthcare options through association health plans and short-term duration plans.
- Enacted “right-to-try” legislation to allow terminally ill patients to try therapeutic treatments as advised by their physicians.
- Signed an executive order forcing healthcare providers to disclose the cost of services to enable consumers to comparison shop, saying no American should be blindsided by bills they did not agree to in advance
- Signed an order allowing small businesses to group together to negotiate better insurance rates for their employees
- Signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act to help states develop maternal fatality reviews with an emphasis on reducing the higher maternal mortality rate for African- Americans
PHARMACEUTICALS
- Trump’s FDA approved a record number of affordable generic drugs
- Signed a bill legalizing hemp and CBD oil
- Signed a law ending the gag order on pharmacists that prevented them from sharing cost-saving information
- Persuaded many drug companies to freeze or reverse planned price increases
- Reformed Medicare to prevent hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors for drugs, saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars annually
- Signed a law allowing some drug imports from Canada to reduce prescription costs
- Agreed to provide HIV prevention drugs for free to 200,000 uninsured patients per year for 11 years
OPIOIDS
- Secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the epidemic
- Helped to reduce opioid prescriptions by 16% during first year in office
DEFENSE
- Secured $700 billion in military funding.
- Encouraged NATO allies to contribute more to their own defense ($69+ billion since 2016)
- Established the Space Force as the 6th branch of our military
- Issued an executive order to keep Guantanamo Bay open
JUDICIAL IMPACT
- Confirmed more circuit court judges than any other first term administration
- Confirmed two conservative justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh
VETERANS
- Signed the VA Choice Act
- Signed the VA Accountability Act
- Expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in clinics, same-day, urgent, primary, and mental healthcare
- Created the White House VA Hotline and staffed it with veterans
- Held VA civil servants accountable for past misconduct by removing, demoting, or suspending 4,000 employees
- Trump signed measure funding prevention programs for Veteran suicide
REGULATORY REFORM
- Eliminated a record number of regulations
- Enacted regulatory relief for credit unions and community banks
INTERNATIONAL
- Secured bid for 2028 Summer Olympics 2028 in Los Angeles
- Secured bid for World Cup 2026 (U.S.-Mexico-Canada united)
- Withdrew the U.S. from the job-killing Paris Climate Accord
- Withdrew from Obama’s horrible Iran Deal
- Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem
- Replaced NAFTA for better trade deal with Canada and Mexico
- Reached agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports
- Imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports for U.S. security purposes
- Protected Americans from terrorism by restricting individuals traveling from known terror centers (ban upheld by the Supreme Court)
- Improved vetting and screening of refugees
- Companies have brought back over a TRILLION dollars from overseas because of the TCJA bill that Trump signed.
- Reigned in China on technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and abusive trade practices
- Increased net U.S. exports by $59+ billion annually
- Imposed sanctions on the socialists in Venezuela who have killed their citizens
- Finalized new trade agreement with South Korea
- Made a deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe
- Withdrew the U.S. from the job killing TPP deal
- Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam
- Had over a dozen US hostages freed, including those Obama could not get freed
- Secured a historic deal between Israel and the UAE to advance peace and prosperity in the region
ENVIRONMENT
- Signed the biggest wilderness protection and conservation bill in a decade. It creates five national monuments, expands several national parks, adds 1.3 million acres of wilderness, and permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund
- Signed the Save Our Seas Act to fund plastic and garbage clean-up in the oceans
- U.S. still leads the world in having the largest reduction in Carbon emissions, despite refusing to sign the climate accord
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
- Reinforced the U.S.-Mexican border
- Issued an executive order in June 2018 to end separation of families at the U.S.-Mexican border (the “caging” and separation began under the previous administration)
- Secured billions to fund the building of a wall at our southern border; construction underway.
NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS
- Enacted legislation to compensate the Spokane tribe for loss of lands in the early 1900s
- Enacted legislation to fund Native American language programs
- Enacted legislation to give federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
- Enacted the First Step Act, which:
- Overhauls sentencing, mandatory-minimums, and early-release programs to reduce mass incarceration
- Lowers recidivism by offering more rehab and job-training opportunities in prisons
- Includes provisions for more humane treatment of inmates
- Mandates that inmates be housed within 500 miles of their homes
- Over 90% of those benefitting from the retroactive sentencing guidelines are African Americans
- President Trump received the Bipartisan Justice Award at a traditionally black college for his work in judicial reform.
- The Trump Administration is promoting second chance hiring to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment.
- Trump’s DOJ and the Board of Prisons launched a new “Ready to Work Initiative” to help connect employers directly with former inmates
ANTI-TERRORISM
- Defeated the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria in March 2019
- Took out ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most-wanted terrorist
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- Gave law enforcement and victims new tools to fight sex trafficking by signing FOSTA and SESTA into law
- Through Trump’s Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) initiative, Federal law enforcement more than doubled convictions of human traffickers and increased the number of defendants charged by 75% in ACTeam districts.
- Trump’s OMB published new anti-trafficking guidance for government procurement officials to more effectively combat human trafficking
- Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested 1,588 criminals associated with Human Trafficking
- Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services provided funding to support the National Human Trafficking Hotline to identify perpetrators and give victims the help they need. The hotline identified 16,862 potential human trafficking cases.
- Trump’s DOJ provided grants to organizations that support victims of human trafficking – serving nearly 9,000 cases from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018
- The Department of Homeland Security has hired more victim assistance specialists, helping victims get resources and support
ANIMAL CRUELTY
- Enacted legislation to make animal cruelty a federal felony so that abusers face tougher consequences.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
- Issued an Executive Order prohibiting the U.S. government from discriminating against Christians or punishing expressions of faith
- Signed an executive order that allows the government to withhold money from college campuses deemed to be anti-Semitic and who fail to combat anti-Semitism
INFRASTRUCTURE
- The Trump administration allocated $100 million through the EPA to fix the water infrastructure problem in Flint, MI.
- Trump’s USDA committed $124 Million to rebuild rural water infrastructure.
PRO-LIFE
- President Trump ordered a halt to U.S. tax money going to international organizations that fund or perform abortions.
- President Trump is the first president so committed to the pro-life cause that he spoke at the March for Life.
FARMING & AGRICULTURE
- Approved up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.
WELFARE REFORM
- Signed welfare reform requiring able-bodied adults who don’t have children to work or look for work if they’re on welfare.
CHILDREN
- Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by Trump doubled the maximum amount of the child tax credit available to parents and lifted the income limits so more people could claim it. It also created a new tax credit for other dependents.
- In 2018, President Trump signed into law a $2.4 billion funding increase for the Child Care and Development Fund, providing a total of $8.1 billion to States to fund childcare for low-income families. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) signed into law by Trump provides a tax credit equal to 20-35% of childcare expenses, $3,000 per child & $6,000 per family + Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) allow you to set aside up to $5,000 in pre-tax $ to use for childcare.
- Signed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act (CARES) into law in 2019. It allocates $1.8 billion in funding over the next five years to help people with autism spectrum disorder and their families.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Signed a bill requiring airports to provide a place for mothers to breastfeed children
- Signed the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund into law
- Signed the Music Modernization Act, the biggest change to copyright law in decades
- Signed legislation for a National Suicide Hotline with a 3-digit number (a Utah idea!)
- Signed into law two funding packages providing nearly $19 million in new funding for Lupus-specific research and education programs, and an additional $41.7 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the most Lupus funding EVER
- Signed the first major anti-robocall law in decades called the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence) to extend the period of time the FCC has to catch those who intentionally break telemarketing restrictions. The bill also requires voice service providers to develop a framework to verify calls are legitimate before they reach your phone.
COVID-19 RESPONSE
- Created a White House Coronavirus Task Force to coordinate a national response, then named Vice President Mike Pence to chair the effort
- Declared a national emergency, thereby opening up nearly $50 billion in funding
- Signed legislation securing $8.3 billion for coronavirus response
- Signed legislation to support families and businesses impacted by the virus
- Required reporting from state and private labs to give public health officials the data they need
- Maintained frequent communication with state governors through teleconferences and other means to provide support and coordinate response
- Approved major disaster declarations for states as needed
- Recommended mitigation strategies for heavily impacted communities in New York, Washington, and California
- Waived federal testing requirements to states that have had to close schools
- Restricted travel from China in January, then from Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Iran in March
- Raised travel warnings to the highest level for hot spot locations like Japan and South Korea
- Urged Americans to avoid international travel through a global level 4 travel advisory
- Routed Americans returning from “hotspots” to specific airports for screening and possible quarantine
- Expanded airport screenings and instituted mandatory quarantines as necessary
- Restricted non-essential travel across our northern and southern borders
- Announced that we can no longer detain illegal immigrants in our holding facilities and will immediately return them either to the country they entered from or to their country of origin
- Issued emergency FDA approval for new coronavirus tests
- Secured legislation so that Americans can be tested for free
- Worked with partners to open up drive-through testing sites
- Worked with the private sector to develop a website that Americans can use to determine whether they need a test and, if so, where to get it
- Provided funding to speed the development of rapid diagnostic tests
- Cut red tape at the FDA to expand available testing
- Empowered states to use tests developed and used by laboratories in their states
- Set up 15 Department of Defense coronavirus testing sites worldwide
- Airlifted hundreds of thousands of swabs and sample test kits from Italy
- Consulted with business leaders on the front lines, including the pharmaceutical industry, airlines, health insurers, grocery and retail stores, banks, and others
- Announced disaster loans for impacted businesses and relaxed loan criteria to make them
- available to more businesses
- Approved the establishment of the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility to provide liquidity to the financial system
- Negotiated for tax credits to some businesses that offer their employees paid leave
- Increased flexibility in unemployment insurance programs
- Moved Tax Day from April 15 to July 15
- Purchased crude oil for the strategic reserve
- Announced up to $100 million in dislocated worker grants
- Signed legislation to get emergency nutritional aid to senior citizens, women, children, and low-income families
- Cut red tape at the USDA to allow meal service during school closures
- Worked with the private sector to deliver nearly a million meals a week to students in rural schools closed due to the coronavirus
- Halted foreclosures and evictions for families with FHA-insured mortgages
- Signed legislation to provide continuity in educational benefits for veterans
- Allowed colleges and universities to more easily move their classes online
- Set a 0% interest rate on all federally held student loans and allowed borrowers to suspend payments on those loans for at least two months
- The coronavirus task force holds press conferences nearly every day to provide Americans with the latest information
- Issued guidelines for Americans to follow and do their part to stem the spread of the virus
- Launched coronavirus.gov to keep the public informed about the outbreak
- Launched a partnership to provide public services announcements
- The President donated his fourth-quarter 2019 salary to coronavirus response efforts
- Deployed two Naval medical ships to support impacted areas
- Issued guidance to protect vulnerable elderly Americans and limit visits to nursing homes
- Worked to limit nonessential, elective medical procedures to free up healthcare resources
- Authorized HHS to waive regulations in order to give healthcare providers maximum flexibility to respond to the outbreak
- Allowed Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to waive cost-sharing for tests and treatment
- Created new billing codes for coronavirus tests to improve tracking
- Coordinated the effort to release a machine-readable collection of 29,000 coronavirus-related research articles, to help scientists discover insights to virus’ genetics, incubation, treatment, symptoms, and prevention
- Announced that health plans with health savings accounts will be able to cover coronavirus testing and treatment without co-payments
- Expanded telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries, ensuring more patients can access their doctors remotely
- Lifted HIPAA penalties to enable healthcare providers to expand telehealth access for patients
- Established 19 VA emergency operations centers and placed restrictions on visitation to limit patients’ exposure
- Announced that Carnival Cruise Lines will make ships available for hospitals to use for non-coronavirus patients
- Invoked the Defense Production Act
- Signed a memorandum to make general-use face masks available to healthcare workers
- Announced the purchase of 500 million respirators
- Announced that the Department of Defense will provide 5 million respirator masks and 2,000 specialized ventilators
- Signed legislation allowing manufacturers to sell industrial masks directly to hospitals
- Announced the beginning of a clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine
- Worked across sectors to accelerate the development of treatments and a coronavirus vaccine
- Directed the FDA to evaluate existing drugs that could serve as potential treatment for coronavirus patients
- Expanded research and consulting with experts to better understand the transmission of coronavirus
- Worked with drug manufacturers to monitor potential drug supply chain issues