A Review of President Trump’s First Year in Office

by Derrick Krane

I have seen 10 US presidencies in my lifetime, and have never seen an American president subjected to such hatred and vitriol as the current holder of the office. People have made threats, wished death upon President Trump, have wished rape upon his wife, Melania, portrayed him decapitated, and blamed him for all that is wrong, without recognizing any of his accomplishments.

This is mostly due to the liberal media distortions and the gullible, naïve, Kool-Aid guzzling, extreme left lemmings. This is so frightening how so many people have  stopped thinking critically, believe whatever they are told by left leaning news outlets and liberal celebrities and educators, and are so easily led.

During the 2016 Presidential campaign, I kept an eye on both the Republican and Democratic candidates.  I heard the numerous media reports stating that Donald Trump was crazy, he was a clown, he wasn’t serious, he was running as a publicity stunt, and he would never get close to the oval office.

But as he ascended and left other Republican candidates behind, I did something that not enough Americans did during this last election. I listened to what he had to say, instead of what the media reported he was saying, out of context and through the distorted lens of liberalism. I watched some of his rallies. He did not sound like he was crazy, or a clown.

We have numerous pressing domestic and foreign issues that are challenging and threatening our nation. Do the American people need substance or form? We need a strong leader to deal with these issues effectively. He was saying thing that made sense and that resonated with me.

Yes, during his campaign, he said a few things that were a little out there, he was boisterous, crude, and rough around the edges, but so what?  He is a real man; an Alpha-male.

He was not bowing to political correctness, which has permeated and infected western civilization like the disease that it is, or acting like a weakling beta-boy. He spoke decisively, and had sound ideas to dig America out of the pit that ex-president Barrack Hussein Obama had put us in during his presidency, which is what he has been doing his first year in office.

Here I want to focus on what President Trump has accomplished in major foreign and domestic issues in 2017.

1. Immigration and crime

We have a problem in this country with illegal aliens collecting public assistance from programs with limited resources, which are intended for down and out Americans.

Criminal illegal aliens come here and commit heinous crimes. They are deported and return over and over. We no longer need immigrants, rather immigrants need us. The last thing we need are freeloaders and criminals who contribute nothing to society and only take. Under the Trump administration, things are changing. Fewer illegals are trying to enter the US, showing that enabling law enforcement to do their jobs is working.

The number of people caught trying to illegally enter from Mexico is at the lowest level since 1972. U.S. Border Patrol and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) made 310,531 arrests, down 24 percent from 2016, and the lowest since 1971.

2. Healthcare

An executive order signed within days of President Trump taking office “waived, deferred, or delayed” the punitive fine (Fox News, 2017) that was imposed for those who were unable to afford the ridiculously high monthly payments from the Health Care Exchange, but made too much money to qualify for Medicaid state insurance.

Some people even received a refund for the fines imposed in previous tax years. The effort to get rid of the disastrous Obamacare program is still ongoing, and will hopefully be resolved in 2018.

3. Education

As an educator, I see the end results of inadequate public education in college students who are woefully unprepared for college, and lacking in essential, fundamental academic skills. There are wasteful programs in place at the federal level which do nothing to prepare students.

Trump wants to cut the Department of Education’s budget by $9.2 billion, from $68.3 billion to $59.1 billion. 63% of this reduction is from eliminating programs that are redundant or ineffective.

4. Economy

The US economy is thriving and growing stronger under President Trump. The stock market has been soaring, and unemployment is down, with more jobs being moved to, or kept in the US. Consumer confidence hit a 17-year high, labor costs are decreased, and productivity and retail sales are increased.

The national deficit is also being addressed by curtailing wasteful and redundant government spending. The Trump administration withdrew or delayed 1,500 proposed regulations, resulting in a savings of $8.1 billion in 2018, and will save another $9.8 billion in 2018 (Binion, 2018).

5. Foreign policy

• ISIS’s has been defeated and driven from Iraq; Trump has clearly stated the US is committed to Afghanistan long term to help develop and maintain stability, and prevent the formation of other radical Islamic extremist groups such as the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, or ISIS.
• Trump responded decisively against the use of chemical warfare in Syria by the government of Bashar al-Assad. On April 4, 2017, the Syrian regime used the nerve toxin Sarin against civilians in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which killed over 80 people. Trump called the attack an “affront to humanity” that “crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill innocent children, innocent babies … that crosses many, many lines — beyond a red line”. Two days after the Sarin attack, US warships launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield. This sent a clear message that the use of barbaric chemical weapons would not be tolerated.
• North Korea is being contained. While many have been critical of President Trump’s provocative words toward Kim Jong-Un, (Vital and Allen, 2017), another clear message is being sent: we do not fear North Korea, and any attack on the US or its possessions would be a suicidal move by Jong-Un.
• President Trump has a warm relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and had renewed out commitment to our most important middle eastern ally, with whom we also share many cultural links. In December 2017, Trump announced that the US officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. There was abundant international criticism, and the UN condemned the measure. Nikki Haley, our ambassador to the UN noted which countries voted for their condemnation, and in keeping with the America First policy of the Trump administration, foreign aid to these nations is being considered for cutting or elimination.

6. National defense

It is human nature for the strong to dominate the weak. Go to any correctional facility or middle school to see this theory in action. Better still, look at the history of the world. Whether an individual or a nation, those who are weak are at the mercy of their enemies.

Only the threat of retaliation and a position of resolute strength, and the ability to enforce it stays the hand of our enemies. To this end, President Donald Trump has assigned The Fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorized $700 billion for the Defense Department (Bushatz, 2018). The Trump administration is also supporting the ongoing development of a ballistic missile interceptor system (The White House, 2018).

7. The Second Amendment.

This has become an area of contention recently. Initially President Trump showed strong support of the Second Amendment and gun owners. It appears he has bent to pressure from the gun control crowd following the latest school shooting by a deranged individual.

However, if the media distortions are sifted through, this is about better enforcement existing laws for background checks and the purchase of firearms, and a ban on bump stocks, which in effect make a semi-automatic rifle fire in fully automatic mode. Even the NRA supports regulation of bump stocks.

More controversial are Presidents Trump’s asking an increase in the age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21, and Trump’s statements regarding what he referred to as excessive “checks and balances” that limit what can be done to keep guns out of the hands of those that are psychologically unfit to handle them responsibly. T

ake the firearms first, and then go to court,” Trump said “You could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” (Gearan, DeBonis, and  Min Kim, 2018).  Circumventing due process for any reason is alarming.

Conclusion

Donald Trump’s presence in the White house is making America stronger than it has been in the past eight years.  Our economy is growing, our military is stronger, damaged relationships with our allies are being repaired,  our enemies are receiving unequivocal messages that they need to choose their actions with care, illegal immigration is being dealt with, economic burdens are being eased, and conservatives are becoming bolder at being able to speak out against the toxic insanity of political correctness.

He is a flawed human being, as are all of us.  I do not blindly follow, or agree with his every word and policy.  The very right to engage in informed criticism of our leaders is an essential part of the system of checks and balances, which make a free society. Only in the worst of totalitarian dictatorships does the populace march in lockstep, not daring to question or challenge their leaders. But the hate coming from the supposedly tolerant left is difficult for me to understand.

I realize most of my readers will be conservatives. I hope that some from other parts of the political spectrum have also exposed themselves to some alternatives to the liberal echo chamber, and will think critically, rather than accepting what they are fed without question.

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