General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's funny that when I ask Republicans what Trump's accomplishments as president were,... [View all]karynnj
(59,474 posts)I don't remember any speech by any departing President - one term or two term. It is likely all had some, at least brief words of thanks to their administration as they quietly left after a dignified appearance at the transition of power. It is almost by definition a time calling for graciousness and acknowledgment of the power of our democracy.
As to the list, there are some things he can claim - that resonate at least with his base:
- He did nominate and get 3 Supreme Court Justices and an enormous number of lower judges, many not qualified and almost all of whom will put their thumbs on the scale of justice on the side of corporate and conservative interests. As you said, this was more McConnell and ANY Republican President would have been able to do the same.
- He will claim that he (and Jared) created peace between Israel and a few Arab states - that were not at war. It is true that the US brokered trade agreements - giving weapons to Arab countries and recognizing the annexation of Western Sahara which has been occupied by Morocco since the 1970s. A bigger problem is that it made a genuine 2 state solution even less likely. It also was what Netanyahu had wanted for years.
- As to the economy, it is NOT TRUE that when covid struck, it was the strongest economy ever. In fact, the economy was already slipping into recession, which was then aggravated by covid. It is true that before that the economy was growing, it was mainly fueled by his inequitable unsustainable tax cuts.
- He NEVER improved any infrastructure - something badly needed.
- His point that he reduced regulations really should be stated as he allowed dirtier air and water and unsafe practices at companies that employed a huge number of powerless employees.
Jonathan Chait has a New York Magazine article that speaks of how much of Obama's legacy still exists or will once Biden is in office. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/01/trump-wanted-to-erase-obamas-legacy-he-failed.html It is really worth reading and made me more optimistic. On some issues, I was surprised that the budget (yeah I know it starts in the House) contained many things that ally with Biden's goals. The key takeaway is that Obama's legacy is real and will hold. He really did save the economy, build ACA, which survived, and the Paris Accord did not fall apart when Trump left.
On climate change, it is easier for Biden to rejoin than it was to create an agreement that has something like 190 countries agreeing to. For Biden, and much tougher task to push the needed more aggressive goals. - It seems his plan is that we need to step up ourselves, which Gina McCarthy et al are eager to start doing and he has John Kerry to lead the international push on this.