This just in: I see that Trump allowed himself to get played by North Korea; today, stepping out of the proposed summit so that “He could do it before they did.”
Just in case you missed it, Trump has accomplished virtually nothing since taking office. Yes, some things have happened but nothing that would (or should) be considered an accomplishment.
Trump is very big on making a bold promise and then basking in the adulation. Here’s the deal…he actually doesn’t do anything other than say the words. I’m going to post a list of things that Trump has claimed credit for doing simple because he “says he’s going to do it.”
First, a couple of footnotes: (1) Trump recently told Leslie Stahl of 60 minutes that he calls news fake so that people will not believe it when bad stories are written about him and (2) In his book, The Art of the Deal, he says you can lie to people and then do whatever you want to do.
Here is my list….
- Trump promised better healthcare at a much, much lower price. “The best healthcare you have ever seen.” He got lots of applause for this on the campaign trail…then did nothing. That’s not quite true. He actually made it worse by eliminating the “individual mandate”; a move that is supposed to add $1,000 to the average medical bill next year.
- Trump promised to cut taxes which will bring jobs back to America, lower the debt and spur grow “like we’ve never seen before.” He claimed, without evidence, that GDP would grow at a rate above 5% under his plan. Again, people ate this up on the campaign trail believing that Trump could turn water into wine. As it turns out, he had no plan. This allowed the GOP to cut taxes for their billionaire donors, leaving the rest of the 99% to foot the bill of the largest deficit ever.
- Trump promised to deal with North Korea. So far, his strongest action has been a tweet calling the leader of North Korea “rocket man.” On his watch, North Korea has developed the ability to strike North America with a nuclear tipped ballistic missile.
- Trump said he would deal with the Iran threat. Instead, he reneged on a treaty with Iran and 5 other countries; opening the door for Iran to once again pursue the development of nuclear weapons.
- Trump claimed that he would renegotiate the TransPacific Partnership trade deal. Instead, we dropped out and the deal moved forward without us; effectively reducing our ability to trade with about half the world.
- Trump claimed that he would renegotiate NAFTA. Instead, both Canada and Mexico are looking for trading partners to replace us with.
- Trump claimed he was going to “deal with China”. Instead, China claimed the South China Sea as their own. Economically, they have outplayed him in every way. China knows that Trump responds to flattery and bribes so they use both to great effect.
- Trump claimed he would build a Mexico wall and have them pay for this. His supporters (those that fear we will become a non-Christian, non-white country) loved this idea. Mexico has told him to pack sand.
- The biggest one is simply Trump getting on television and saying, “We have been the most productive administration of all time.” His followers believe this and applaud wildly.
Sadly, this too is just words. He brags. People hear what they want to hear. He retains his power.
Sad.
Time to save the world.
Up, up and away…
Jim
