During his State of the Union, President Donald Trump declared himself wonderful.
My new video takes a closer look, scoring his fifth year as president.
He deserves an “A” for his willingness to take questions. It’s a relief after President Joe Biden, who hid from reporters.
But Trump deserves an “F” for childish bragging. Ignorant, too.
He proudly announced he cut drug prices by “400%, 500%, even 600%!”
Didn’t he learn math? If he cut prices 100%, drugs would be free.
Trump deserves an “A” for ending Biden’s self-destructive, anti-energy policies. On the other hand, Trump has blocked solar and wind projects, even those not government-subsidized. Can’t either party just let the market work?
I’m relieved that the president hasn’t fulfilled my worst fear: He has not acted like a total dictator.
He does respond to public opinion. After ICE brutality in Minnesota, he pulled troops out, saying, “We can use a little bit of a softer touch.”
And when courts rule against him, he obeys, ending National Guard deployment in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, and now searching for court-approved ways to preserve his tariffs.
Hysterical media still scream about Trump being “a dictator!” and “authoritarian!”
Mises Institute Editor-in-Chief Ryan McMaken points out that America has had many authoritarian presidents.
“Nixon and LBJ, in terms of new bombing campaigns, ignoring Congress … both of those presidents were significantly worse. FDR, through executive order, destroyed the gold standard. Just by the stroke of a pen, he impoverished many Americans, stole Americans’ gold. This was one of the worst economic crimes in American history. I don’t think (Trump) could get away with it.”
Trump deserves an “A” grade for easing some regulation.
TSA no longer requires people to take their shoes off.
The EPA stopped mandating things like “stop/start” features that were supposed to save gas but barely did.
Trump ended “disparate impact” analysis, the toxic legal theory that led to parasitic lawsuits if workforces did not exactly match U.S. racial proportions.
Ken Griffin, CEO of the investment firm Citadel, says that Trump’s merely criticizing regulation, telling bureaucrats back off, lifted the economy. It “gives you so much energy as an entrepreneur!”
“That’s probably the best part of his administration right now.” says McMaken, giving Trump a “B-” on regulation.
Not an “A” because his attempts to cut red tape have mostly failed.
And Trump hasn’t cut spending.
“Spending has only increased!” McMaken points out.
Trump promised to cut America’s debt, but since he took office, it’s increased by more than $2 trillion.
“I give him the same grade I gave Joe Biden,” says McMaken, “a ‘D.’ You should want to see significant cuts in the national debt.”
“Why doesn’t it ever happen?” I ask.
“It’s popular to say, ‘We’re going to cut government spending.’ (But) when you ask voters, ‘Should we cut social security?’ They always say, ‘No.’ ‘Cut Medicare?’ ‘No.’ … ‘Defense spending?'”
“That’s where most of the money is,” I point out.
“Exactly. There’s also money going to Medicaid and smaller programs, but there’s just not enough spending to be had in those areas. Even then, a lot of those smaller programs, they’re popular, too.”
When Trump was asked how he’d grade himself on the economy, he said, “A+++++.”
I say, “C.”
It’s true that the stock market set records, but unemployment is up.
And Trump promotes crony capitalism, taking part ownership of private companies. That rarely ends well. When executives suck up to politicians instead of innovating, companies decline. Investors and consumers lose.
Finally, immigration: I give Trump an “A” for restoring order to our southern border. Illegal crossings are the lowest they’ve been since 1970. But Trump deserves a “D” for the needless cruelty of his deportation campaign.
Also, most of Trump’s good changes come through executive orders, not by working with Congress to change law.
“We’re going to find out how problematic that is when the next president comes in,” says McMaken. “Could very well be a Democrat, and they can reverse all that.”
So far, Trump’s done a lot of good … and a lot of bad.
Some of the bad is so unpopular that Democrats now are winning Republican districts.
President Trump has three more years to turn things around.
Hope he does.
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
First off, the President does not 100% control the economy. AI and robotics are causing some unemployment, but there are huge opportunities for small businesses to start. It’s on the people to get off their butts and start a business.
The stock market is not a measure of the economy. GDP is a measure. Lower crime is also a measure of the economy.
I give you an F for faulty logic.
Much of the poor grade for working with Congress rests with Congress. They’ve sat back for too long and allowed presidents to use executive orders as though it’s the majority party’s easy-button.
The State of the Union Address reveals the willingness, or even the ability, of disparate views getting moved to any sort of compromise.
And they accuse Pres. Trump of being “authoritarian”. That description also applies to groups unwilling to discuss or find common ground. “My way or the highway” doesn’t work to the benefit of the people but it sure illustrates the “party over country” problem Americans are forced to endure these days.
That 600% type of analysis on prices goes back to these old retail guys, where the markdown equals the markup. So if something is marked up 600% from $100 to $600, the markdown is the same from $600 to $100. Where did Trump cut off access to solar panels and such? Just the subsidies, which have been ABUSED for decades. D for cruelty of deportation. John, look who he is deporting and go back and watch some video of who Biden let across the border. Not a lot of skilled workers or families. I believe you are anti-tariff, which Trump is using to reduce the deficit. You may not like Tariffs, but in this country we believe that it is important to have worker safety and security laws (OSHA, SSDI, SSRI, Paid Healthcare, FMLA, PTO, Clean Air & Water Laws for industry, THOUSANDS of safety regulations, etc…), none of which they have in China.
how does he cut the debt if congress “controls the purse strings”? bad promise
I give you a B on your grading of Trump. I agree with most of your ratings but disagree with the removal of illegals. He should make it as terrible as possible and make sure the public knows it. And he should make it clear that this is all the Democrats’ doing. He should say that if a Democrat tells you to sneak into this country for a better life that he is lying. That you will never have a better life here unless you come in the right way. And that you will be removed no matter how long you’ve been here. If Trump does this then when President Newsome opens the border in 4 years it won’t matter because people will not come anyway.
I don’t agree that removing illegals should be as terrible as possible. Because we haven’t been guarding the border like we should, giving them the message that we don’t take this law seriously. The only thing stopping them from coming here illegally has been the honor system.
But they still broke the law to come here. They should still be deported.
The math issue that always comes up makes me laugh so hard because I can’t believe people are so stupid they cant work out that he ment by decrease 600%. Just goes to show alot of people have zero critical thinking skills. I never even took buisness. And I knew they day he said it what he ment. Yet here we are still bringing up basic sales formulas as fake math.. shame.
This are a good talking points and a good start. I agree with most of them. You forgot to mention Trump Derangement Syndrome and the effect on Democrats and some protestors. Almost kidding.
vote Red this midterm to keep the momentum going. If democrats take over we’ll see censorship of conservatives- the fact that Dems wanted a “misinformation” czar should send a chill down every Americans spine. The border will be thrown open again with all the death rape drugs and child sex trafficking that goes with it
Stopping offshore projects (“Trump has blocked solar and wind projects, even those not government-subsidized.”) doesn’t bother me too much, because our offshore territory belongs to the government. We can still have wind and solar on private land.