Previously Published in The Washington Times
By Steve Levy
Depending on your perspective, the first year of President Trump’s second term was either an unmitigated disaster or one of the most productive and consequential inaugural years in our nation’s history.
As usual, the likely answer is somewhere in the middle, but from our perspective, the positives far outweighed the numerous unforced errors that usually emanate from the mouth and social media posts of the undisciplined president.
First, let’s look at the accomplishments. There were many.
Closing the border: Conservatives claimed throughout President Biden’s term that the illegal alien invasion was deliberately facilitated by Democrats who yearned for new residents in their districts to avoid losing seats in Congress while gaining future Democratic voters. Although Mr. Biden falsely claimed he needed legislation to curb the flow, Mr. Trump proved that, by simply enforcing the law, you could close off the spigot. It was a remarkable achievement, both politically and for the financial welfare of our nation.
Other accomplishments included:
- Lower gas prices.
- No taxes on tips.
- No taxes on some overtime.
- Tax write-offs on purchases of U.S.-manufactured vehicles.
- A continuation of the across-the-board tax cuts that save the average family $2,000 a year.
- Trillions of dollars of new investment in the U.S.
- Europeans now paying up the 5% for their defense capabilities.
- Europeans finally going to pay their fair share for pharmaceuticals, thereby lowering costs for the American consumer.
- Deals with the pharmaceutical companies that will dramatically drop the price of weight loss drugs, thereby making them accessible to millions of Americans.
- Falling crime rates in the District of Columbia, Memphis, Tennessee, and other crime-ridden cities because of federal intervention.
- Genital mutilation of minors banned.
- Diversity, equity and inclusion policies rolled back in many government institutions.
- Iran’s nuclear program set back for years.
- Hostages returned to Israel.
- Hezbollah and Hamas dramatically weakened.
- Selective tariffs, opening many foreign markets to U.S. goods.
- 4% growth in the third quarter.
- A record-high stock market.
- Federal government workforce downsized by 300,000.
- All new job growth within the private sector (a reversal of the Biden administration, where a majority of jobs were created in the public sector or for illegal aliens in the private sector).
- Large numbers of illegal aliens self-deported.
- Cracking down on expired visas and those on visas inciting violence in the U.S.
- Woke universities forced to confront their ineffective and neglectful efforts to combat antisemitism.
- Inflation, while not eradicated, cooled to less than 3%.
The not so good:
- Picking a needless fight with Canada.
- Picking a needless fight with Greenland and Denmark.
- Deplorable remarks about Hollywood director Rob Reiner after his murder.
- A tariff policy that was too fast and too broad, as opposed to being targeted and spread out over time.
- Threats to revoke the licenses of networks delivering negative coverage.
- Unjustifiable pardons, including for protesters who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, a former drug runner who was the president of Honduras, and a crypto thief with ties to a Trump family business.
- Policy directives pumping up crypto at the same time the Trump family is investing heavily in the industry.
- Too many blatantly political ads (especially featuring media hog Kristi Noem) paid for by the taxpayers.
- Naming the Kennedy Center after Mr. Trump.
- Childishly placing denigrating plaques under the busts of former presidents not to Mr. Trump’s liking.
- Allowing 600,000 more students from communist China to enter U.S. universities.
- Stopping wind projects already under construction, after millions of dollars were already invested.
- Failing to impose strong enough sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.
- Failing to acknowledge the unaffordability felt by many Americans.
- Embracing New York’s incoming socialist mayor, which will come back to haunt the president down the road.
Here’s the formula for success that the president should follow in the upcoming year: Stay the course on the economic, energy, border and cultural issues while toning down the divisive rhetoric and curtailing the conflicts of interest. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump can continue to promote sound policies while eliminating the unpresidential unforced errors.
Steve Levy is president of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as Suffolk County, New York, executive, as a New York state assemblyman and host of the “On the Right Side Podcast.” He is the author of “Solutions to America’s Problems” and “Bias in the Media.” www.SteveLevy.info @SteveLevyNY, steve@commonsensestrategies.com.