Here we are just over halfway through President Trump’s term. It has been an interesting first two years, to say the least. It’s hard to remember a President who has generated as many polarized opinions among the general public.
With that in mind, how would you grade Trump’s performance to date? Let me expand on that question. I’m interested in how you grade Trump’s performance on different major areas of interest to the American people. A separate question is how do you rate Trump from a behavioral aspect.
Regarding the first question, grade Trump (using the A to F scale) on the following areas:
- Economy
- Foreign Policy
- Health Care
- Environment
- Energy
- Immigration
- Crime
On the second question, grade Trump using the same scale on the following:
- Character and integrity
- Courage to make unpopular decisions
- Communication skills
- Ability to work with Congress
- Inspiration to others
- Accountability
- Commitment and passion
- Temperament
Please feel free to add other issues or behavioral traits as you wish. Explain why you grade him the way you do, and use examples if possible.
Finally, and a question of extreme relevance to those of us who are Puerto Rican, how would you grade President Trump as far as his interactions with Puerto Rico?
I thought people would be jumping to grade Trump. Ok, I’ll start. Due to space considerations, I’ll separate my grades for areas of performance from my grades on behavioral aspects.
Economy: B
Several things are facts regarding the Trump administration thus far. In 2017, the year that Trump took office, Wall Street saw record gains. Things have cooled off in the stock market since then, with 2018 being a slightly turbulent year. But overall the gains have been healthy to date. Other economic indicators have been positive as well, such as GDP growth and employment numbers. At the same time, there are two factors which many forget when analyzing the national economy. One is that the effects of policy change and decision making on the economy have a certain lag time. Meaning that during a President’s first year in office, it is unrealistic to take all the blame or credit for what the economy’s doing, without noting that there is some lag effect from the last years of the previous administration. The other factor is the cyclic nature of the economy in general. Those who study this type of thing know that the economy tends to behave in a cyclic manner. There are general upturns and downturns to the economy every “X” number of years.
Foreign Policy: D
I was actually tempted to grade him lower on this one. Before Trump was even elected, I always felt foreign policy would be his weakest point. Trump’s background and personality just doesn’t lend itself well to the global politics stage. Let’s discuss one of the “good” things he’s done. He’s been the first President to sit with North Korea and give the Supreme Leader (love the title) Kim Jong-un an audience. “Good” because, although I feel it’s always a positive to try and establish and/or improve diplomatic relations with other countries, it’s obvious to most observers that the denuclearization of North Korea is something that without reliable verification is practically empty words. Taking Kim Jong-un “at his word” just isn’t enough I’m afraid. Relations with Russia and their President Vladimir Putin aren’t much better, and you get the sense that Putin plays Trump a bit like a marionette. Rather than go into every country where Trump has interacted in one way or another, I’ll just sum it all up by saying that the general feeling is that Trump isn’t respected as the leader of a world power on the global stage. That alone is a very damning statement.
Environment/ Energy: D-
Beginning with Trump’s insistence on pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Accord, one could say his track record on energy and the environment isn’t very good. Trump defenders will point out that Trump pulled out of the Accord because other countries, such as China weren’t being held to the same standards as the U.S. That may or may not be true, but pulling out of an international effort to clean up the environment seems like a questionable decision. I feel there were other ways for the U.S. to achieve its goal of getting more involvement out of other nations. Pulling out just sends the wrong message. Trump’s appointments to head agencies such as the EPA have also been questionable to say the least. It seems he has purposely sought out individuals known for their disdain for protecting the environment, to head the very agencies that exist to protect it. Everywhere you turn, Trump’s actions have been mostly anti-environment.
Immigration: C
On the one hand, Trump has placed a well-deserved focus on trying to protect the nation’s borders, mostly with Mexico. He cannot be faulted for that. On the other hand, the way he has gone about it leaves a lot to be desired. He has succeeded in alienating Mexico, its neighbor and trade partner. He has astonishingly insisted on a physical wall across the entire border, something that is costly, unnecessary, and not entirely effective. Here in today’s 21st century world, there are many technologies available to protect borders. A medieval wall isn’t one of them. Yet on this issue there are many who would give him a higher grade, simply because he’s actually trying to come through on some campaign promises, which in itself is something that many prior Presidents have failed to do.