51 percent successful: Nobody can say that Trump failed

After four years in office, US President Trump is highly controversial. The evaluation depends on the perspective. Trump was definitely successful in terms of his party.

When the US Senate rejected with a Republican majority earlier this year to open impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump over the Ukraine affair, even Republican senators could not deny that there were good reasons for this. "Just because an act is worthy of impeachment does not mean that it would be in the best interests of the country," the influential Senator Marco Rubio justified his vote at the time. He wasn't the only Republican who justified himself with such constructions.

Under Trump, what matters even more than before is what has priority for the electorate and thus also for politics. Instead of the controversy Trump has created with his style over his four years, these are particular results. How much money do I have at the end of the month? Do I feel safe where I live? Can I pay my health care costs? Especially people who voted for him in 2016 are likely to look for answers to such questions when thinking about their voting decision.

Some were already repulsed by Trump's behavior in 2016, while others looked interested and hopeful at his promises: He wanted to replace the health insurance system aka Obamacare, build a wall against Mexico, limit immigration, lower taxes for companies and employees, practically all international collaborations were new negotiate and above all: bring back industrial jobs. At the Republican nomination convention a few weeks ago, Trump claimed: "I've kept every single promise." Is that correct?

Pretty sure

The boom started under President Barack Obama – it continued under Trump.

(Photo: AP)

One hundred of his promises have been checked by the independent US fact checkers of "Politifact". Their result: 49 percent was unable to hold Trump, but fulfilled a quarter unconditionally. Something has happened in at least a fifth and the rest could still move. You could also say: He was 51 percent successful. Overall, it's a bit like economic growth and the labor market situation; in parts, trends continued under Trump that existed before. Then came the pandemic.

Trump has undoubtedly implemented his announcement to aggressively fight the so-called Islamic State (IS), to move the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement TPP. He has replaced the North American trade agreement NAFTA with a new one and, as announced, has messed with China.

Nationally, he cut environmental protection regulations and other obstacles for the oil and coal industry, for example, and lowered taxes for companies. He has installed a large number of conservative judges – after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg it could soon be three out of nine seats in the Supreme Court alone. From the point of view of conservatives in the US, this is a great, lasting success. In addition, as promised, Trump has left certain social security systems untouched.

Something moved

Even if this is sometimes not so clear because of the two-party system: In the USA too, politics does not only result in success or failure. Trump has achieved partial results that voters might like. Trump wanted to tax the upper class (including himself) more heavily and relieve the middle class. During the major reform, however, he cut taxes much more sharply for the wealthy, thereby driving national debt to new record levels. Trump has only partially achieved the alleged energy independence of the USA, provided that the criterion is the difference between energy produced and consumed in the country.

The tone is harsh in the US when it comes to immigration.

(Photo: imago images / UPI Photo)

Rules for immigrants without a residence permit have been tightened in some cases, immigration has been reduced, and visa access has been made more difficult for citizens of some states. In mid-September, a court also confirmed the decision not to extend the residence permit for a total of 400,000 people and, if necessary, to deport them to their countries of origin. They had been admitted for humanitarian reasons due to natural disasters.

Simply broken

Keeping half of the campaign promises at least partially is not a bad rate. But voters are not a homogeneous mass who decide according to percentages, but according to their respective interests. Lower income groups have reason to be disappointed with Trump: He had promised to raise the minimum wage. But it's still unchanged at $ 7.25 an hour.

Likewise, new health insurance should "take care of everyone" and "make the government pay for it". But after a failed attempt to replace Obamacare, the Republicans left it to dismantle the existing system. Medicines have also not become cheaper as promised. 30 million Americans still do not have health insurance. Half of them say they can't afford it. It is one of the most important campaign topics that the Democrats can score with.

Trump's much-announced infrastructure program and the resulting jobs are also not in sight. Nor does the state help women who are not granted six-week paid maternity leave by their employers – Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka in particular had campaigned for this. There is nothing to suggest that he will implement them on either of these issues.

Success wrecked

Trump offers various arguments about why he deserves re-election, but his most important one has always been: Only I can lead the US out of the crisis. One for which he is jointly responsible, because the coronavirus has shaken up the economic data. When fighting the pandemic, Trump acted rather amateurishly, especially in the first few weeks, and thus not in the interests of the general population.

Its electorate, who mainly live outside of the big cities, is less affected by the virus. But the worst effects on the lower income brackets are yet to come. At some point there will be no state financial aid for the people. Forced evictions for rent arrears are on hold until the end of the year, but the debt is growing. The big question is how people deal with their fears and how this affects their voting decision.

So did Trump keep all his promises? No. Did he break them all? Neither. Trump has for the most part represented Republican positions, prioritizing the economy and companies. From the perspective of Republicans and Conservatives, these are points that speak for him. Other things were secondary; about Trump's behavior, his lies and contradictions. Was the four years under Trump "in the best interests of the country"? It's a question of perspective.