Donald Trump’s unique style will long be remembered not only by Americans. He made and broke deals, restored greatness to America, made scandals, “incited rebellion”. He was sung and cursed. One way or another, until recently, supporters of the 45th US president had weighty arguments in favor of re-election, but everything changed dramatically.
No unions needed
“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me and say that I am old, because I would NEVER call him “short and fat”. Yes, I try to make friends with him, and maybe someday I will succeed”. On the eve of this statement in 2017 in the DPRK, the American president was described as “an old man out of his mind” – because of a “militant tour” in Asian countries.
An exchange of barbs did not stop Trump from becoming the first US head to set foot on North Korean soil. Contacts improved, but not for long. Even three summits have not produced much results.
With another Asian partner, China, relations have slipped to the worst in history. Trump was going to successfully wage a trade war with the “violator of international obligations and the main strategic adversary of the United States”. However, no deal was struck, and sanctions did not affect human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The degree of confrontation has risen so much that the world is talking about a new Cold War.
Trump has been accused of paying little attention to his allies in Asia – Japan and South Korea – that would help contain the PRC. However, the same applied to Europe.
“They want us to protect them from Russia, and at the same time they send billions of dollars there, and we, assholes, pay for all this”, – Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the European partners. Repeatedly he declared the uselessness of the military bloc, reproached the Europeans for small contributions, and described his own position as “a stable genius”.
Pragmatic position
Trump’s other big failure is his relationship with Russia. Forging ties with Moscow is one of the key promises of his campaign. But four years later, the confrontation only intensified. Affected by internal strife, said Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEMI) at the Higher School of Economics.
“The Russian factor is used as an instrument of internal political war, and this does not allow for real rapprochement. Even the dialogue itself was positioned as proof that Trump is a friend and “Putin’s puppy”. This ruled out any possibility of a serious conversation”, – the expert believes.
However, Suslov points out, some campaign promises have been fulfilled. For example, the White House is now more rational about helping other countries. Yet Trump has failed to restore America’s greatness on the international stage.
“The opponents are not defeated. On the contrary, the positions of Russia and the PRC have strengthened, and the positions of the United States have weakened”, – the political scientist says. This is due, in his opinion, to internal problems and aggravated contradictions in transatlantic relations.
“Trump failed to reverse the redistribution of forces in the world, the movement towards multipolarity. Although these processes are in principle irreversible”, – Suslov emphasizes.
But there were successes in the Middle East. The original “deal of the century” did not take place, but Washington reconciled several Arab countries with Israel at once. And he stepped up the pressure on Iran, as promised.
Excellent mark
Despite ambiguous assessments of foreign policy, Trump lived up to the aspirations of ordinary Americans. All four years, the approval rating of the head of state has been consistently high, and even on the eve of the first impeachment in 2019, it averaged 41 percent.
Trump considered the success deserved and jokingly called himself the only remaining celebrity in the country. “I would give myself a five-plus as president”, – he told Fox and Friends.
As promised, he changed the way the federal judiciary works. Appointed 220 federal judges, three to the Supreme Court. They will determine the course of internal political events for many years to come. Although it did not help him to challenge the election results.
With bipartisan support, Trump began reforming the criminal penalties system. Under him, there were changes in taxation. Corporate payments have been cut from 35 percent to 21 percent. Proponents of the decision believe that this is a stimulating factor. Opponents are convinced that this is how Trump allowed corporations to profit from the middle class. Be that as it may, the promise has been kept.
Destroyer virus
A year ago, the main merit of the president was considered the success in the economy. Bloomberg estimated that things were doing better than under Obama. The unemployment rate fell to a record low of three and a half percent. With such indicators, Trump could have won the November elections, but the work of his administration was thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is impossible to say whether he fulfilled his promises or not. Objective circumstances did not allow him to finish what he started”, – says Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University. Under Trump, he recalls, the United States has become the leading exporter of oil and gas.
“Trump wanted to build his new campaign on the basis of economic achievements, but the strategy collapsed, everything was crossed out. Not for himself – it happened”.
Trump’s “phenomenal health plan” under the slogan “health insurance to everyone” also suffered a fiasco. The pandemic showed that it was not possible to carry out the plan.
The racial riots that swept the country in the summer after police killed blacks are also credited with Trump’s blunders. Critics accuse him of pandering to neo-Nazis. One of the most controversial moments is the clash between supporters and opponents of the demolition of the monument to Confederate General Robert Lee in Charlottesville. A woman died due to the riots. Trump then said that good people were on both sides of the barricades, which angered the representatives of the left movement.
He was repeatedly accused of supporting radical ideas. At the end of the presidential term, they were impeached for the second time – for refusing to decisively condemn their own adherents, who were carried away by the topic of “stolen elections” and staged the first invasion of the Capitol in two hundred years. Trump has been accused of instigating a riot. Despite 70 million supporters who voted for him in the elections, he leaves the White House, risking a permanent goodbye to his political career. Moreover, go down in history as the president who caused the greatest harm to his country.