Fifty days into his presidency, how is Donald Trump doing? We looked at some of his major campaign promises and whether he has kept them.
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Now that Donald Trump has been in office for 50 days, it’s a great time to check in on how things are going. So far, his record is a mixed bag. If you expect a president to work for all Americans, uphold the country’s values, and not kneecap its economy, then Trump has been a disaster. However, if you want a commander-in-chief who pursues personal vendettas, destroys the government, or if you are short-selling stocks, he has been a resounding success.
Not surprisingly, the White House believes that things are going great, saying that Trump has “already established himself as the most consequential President of our time.”
But what about all of those campaign promises he made and the things he wanted to get done on “Day One?”
Let’s first look at the big ones.
Trump ran on lowering prices. Not only is that not happening, they are actually increasing.
The price of eggs, which was a major campaign theme, reached a new record this month. But it’s not just groceries. Once Trump’s tariffs take hold, cars will become much more expensive, and the cost of construction is expected to soar.
Another major promise he made was to end the war in Ukraine right away.
Well, Trump has certainly tried to do that… on Russia’s terms. He ambushed Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, undercut the Ukrainian president’s negotiating position, and halted promised weapons shipments.
Oh, and he is also trying to extort Ukraine.
Another central pillar of his campaign was the promise to conduct the largest mass deportation in US history, and he seems to be trying to make good on that.
However, while his administration touts the numbers of immigrants it has rounded up, they are not all that impressive so far.
According to a Reuters investigation, 37,660 people were deported in Trump’s first month in office, which is well below the monthly average of 57,000 removals under Joe Biden.
However, it does appear as though the flow of immigrants has slowed significantly this year.
There are some “Day One” promises that Trump has kept.
For example, he let Elon Musk loose on the government, which has predictably resulted in chaos (and plenty of lawsuits).
The president also pardoned the January 6 insurrectionists. In that case, he even went above and beyond, since most people did not expect him to free those of his supporters who were convicted of assaulting police officers.
That certainly meshed with Trump’s vow to be a dictator. However, while he told Sean Hannity of Fox News that he would only be a dictator on day one, the president still acts like a petty tyrant seven weeks in.
To the White House, all of this is reason to celebrate 50 days in.
“The winning never stops — and President Trump is just getting started,” his press office stated.
Well, based on how things are going, we are not sure how much more “winning” the country can take.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
