A year ago I wrote in this blog (http://www.jpost.com/Blogs/The-Trump-Presidency/The-Trump-Presidency-The-Best-of-Times-or-the-Worst-of-Times-475074) that provided two options of how USA would potentially look like during a Trump presidency. While I was hoping that President Trump and America will succeed , I also outlined what the USA would look like if President Trump failed. No one really knew how President Trump would fare. This blog will provide a snap shot of how President Trump is doing .
Please keep in mind , I am a registered Democrat and have been for the past 48 years
Economy - The economy is booming . The stock market has gone up 5000 points since his election. I forecast that the Dow will be at 25000 by 2020, it looks like it will get close to 2500 by the end of 2017. Unbelievable !!! The GDP has been over 3 percent for the past 2 quarters , almost doubling the average under the Obama administration. The passage of the new Tax Law will probably increase the GDP to 4 percent by end of 2018. The elimination of anti business regulation will stimulate many segments of the American economy. Unemployment continues to drop. Challenges for 2018 is the passage of the infrastructure bill that will not significant increase the deficit.
President Trump exceeded my expectations of what Trump presidency would do to the economy
Global Trade - President Trump has pulled out of multi-lateral agreements in favor of bilateral agreements a big part of the economy. While the jury is still out how effective these bi lateral trade agreements will be, global trade has not come to a screeching halt .
On foreign policy and security story the first year has been almost as rosy. Donald Trump learnt from the Israel and is the early stages of building a real and virtual wall to protect the population. 11 million immigrants have not been not deported, and the number of illegal immigrants entering the USA have decreased dramatically. A new immigration laws need to be one of the objectives of the next year for President Trump.
Jerusalem was recognized as the capital of Israel by the USA. Tys will lead to other countries moving their embassies. President Trump has shown to be the most pro Israel President . Appointing Nikki Haley to the UN is starting to have a positive impact on the UN behavior. Russia and USA collaborated to destroy ISIS . But USA is strengthening Ukraine against the Russian backed rebels. Iranian and North Korean sanctions are being be strengthened. Iran and Russia were able to save Assad in Syria, leaving the USA out of any final decision. Iran was the big winner of this battle , but the USA is determined that they will not win the war . Currently Saudi Arabia, Israel are plotting with the USA on how to confront the Iranian/ Hezbollah threat. Trump is showing that he will stand up for America and its’ allies. He will need to show how he can handle the complexities of North Korea and Iran in the coming years.
While the State of the Union today is better than it was a year ago, there are still some concerning signs that need to be addressed, such as the increase in anti Semitism ,racial and political tensions.
Clearly President Trump is clearly a non traditional President. His use of twitter and his ad-libing is not helping with the media and those who are not part of his base when he focuses in on irrelevant topics. Clearly the media and many American have not adjusted to his style and rhetoric. And the Russian collusion charges are still a cloud over his administration. But how America has progressed in a year is impressive. Will America really be stronger economically , politically,morally, and militarily with the changes that he has advocated . Only time will tell.
Is President Trump on his way to be the best or worst USA President . Too early to tell, but indicators is that he is trending towards the best. Hopefully the changes will continue to be positive , as there are still many challenges that need to be addressed.