Trump isn’t looking for a second term - he’s looking for a do-over. Here’s how Trump’s record stacks up against the promises he made to the American people:
President Trump's tenure has been defined by insufficient wage increases for working families, massive federal tax cuts for the wealthiest and well-connected and giant corporations, and now millions of lost jobs and livelihoods due to his botched handling of COVID-19.
President Trump said the economy under his administration is “the greatest economy that we've had in our history, the best.”
Washington Post, 9/7/18
President Trump’s cruel immigration policy has separated children from their families and threatened deportation to Dreamers who know no other country but this one. And no, Mexico has not paid for the wall.
President Trump said “I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall.”
Politifact, 7/15/20
President Trump has put himself first, asking foreign leaders to help his re-election, embracing dictators and authoritarian strongmen around the world, abandoning our allies, and abdicating America’s global leadership. And he lost a tariff war, causing farm bankruptcies to rise and helping put American manufacturing into a recession.
President Trump said “‘America first’ will be the major and overriding theme of my administration.”
Military Times, 4/27/16
President Trump has given Russia and China free rein to expand their anti-democratic ideals around the world, and weakened our alliances, while turning a blind eye to Russian- and Iranian-ordered bounties on U.S. troops. His reckless withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and abandonment of our Kurdish allies is giving ISIS room to regroup.
President Trump said, “we will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.”
White House, 1/20/17
President Trump failed to meaningfully address the pandemic, and his relative inaction has led to nearly six months of economic chaos, millions of lost jobs, and 180,000 American lives lost - with no end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight.
President Trump said COVID-19, “like a miracle - it will disappear.”
Washington Post, 4/28/20
President Trump’s disastrous tariff war with China set struggling American farmers back even further, leaving entire crops unsold and left to rot while Trump tried and failed to play hardball with Xi Jinping.
President Trump said, “from day one, my administration has been determined to protect our nation’s incredible farmers.”
White House, 5/19/20
President Trump has tear-gassed peaceful protestors for a photo op, stacked the courts with unqualified, partisan judges, and steered as much taxpayer money as possible into his own pockets. His administration gleefully boasts that they regularly break laws like the Hatch Act.
President Trump said, “I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation, and that is exactly what I will do...I will fight to protect you. I am your president of law and order.”
Twitter, 7/1/20
President Trump is the most corrupt president in history. He and his family have profited immensely off taxpayer money while he’s been in office, he’s filled his administration with more than 350 lobbyists, and multiple Trump associates have been found guilty of major crimes.
President Trump said, “we are going to drain the swamp in Washington, DC.”
CBS, 10/22/16
President Trump and Senate Republicans are hellbent on destroying the Affordable Care Act and its protections for preexisting conditions, and have no plan to replace it. Now, Trump is backing a lawsuit by Republican attorneys general to repeal the entirety of the ACA, endangering Americans’ health care in the middle of a global pandemic.
President Trump said, “we’re going to produce phenomenal health care.”
Kaiser Health News, 8/13/20
President Trump has had several “infrastructure weeks” but no real infrastructure plan. He even proposed cuts to infrastructure investment.
President Trump said, “we will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land.”
White House, 2/12/18
President Trump has endangered students and educators by failing to give adequate or consistent guidance and resources during COVID-19. Trump put Betsy DeVos - an unqualified billionaire political donor who wants to undermine traditional public education - in charge of our kids’ schools.
President Trump said, “I want everybody to get together around a school and to make education great.”
Ed Week, 7/21/16
President Trump has sought to outsource the running of the VA to his Mar-a-Lago cronies, appointed officials who have mired the department in scandal, and pursued attacks on the U.S. Postal Service that led to delays in delivery of essential medications to veterans. If he had his way, he’d slash Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act - endangering benefits accessed by millions of our servicemen and women.
President Trump said, “no one has done more for veterans than me.”
New York Times, 8/19/20