President Trump recently addressed the United Nations. In his speech, he claimed that his administration accomplished more than any other President’s administration in US history:
“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.”
President Trump has developed somewhat of a reputation for hyperbole and exaggeration…which is probably why the United Nations General Assembly quite literally laughed, at his claim. Many people, especially his detractors, will dismiss his claim outright as another one of his grandiose proclamations. But, being the history teacher that I am, I have a duty to at least attempt to be objective as I teach my students to do.
So, let’s actually take a minute to compare Trump’s major accomplishments to his well-known predecessors.
George Washington
- Laid the foundation for the presidency
- Set precedents around term limits and cabinet positions
- Helped push through the Bill of Rights
- Oversaw the birth of a new country.
Abraham Lincoln
- Presided over the Civil War which maintained the Union
- Issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves
Franklin Roosevelt
- Created the “New Deal” which is often credited with ending the Great Depression
- Creating social security
- Reformed the banking system.
Barack Obama
- Pulled the country out of the Great Recession
- Oversaw a bull run in the market which persists today
- Pushed through marriage equality
Donald Trump
- Continued economic growth
- Repealed prior legislation
In comparison to his counterparts, Trump’s resume is almost objectively lacking. To be fair, he has only been president for “less than two years” however his claim that he’s accomplished more than anyone simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Truthfully there are many Presidents not included on this list that would have a much better claim to that than Trump.
Of course, there is some selection bias in terms of what is included or excluded in the list of accomplishments, but considering how often Trump and his proponents cite his economy, it’s fair to say that’s seen as his biggest accomplishment.
Currently, President Trump is spending a lot of energy trying to undo Obama era legislation and playing hardball with China.
Continued economic growth is great but an inheriting 8-year bull market and building on it is not equal to pulling a country out of a depression. There have been no great precedents set during Trump’s term, no catastrophes averted, no landmark legislation passed or no great wars won.
Maybe he will do these things, but he hasn’t yet. This makes it hard to put him over the people who have, making President Trump’s claim shaky at best.
Ok this is not fair. A liberal writing this article would bash on Trump. Trump has accomplished a lot more than that. Be honest and quit being a liberal.
He developed a reputation for hyperbole and exaggeration? Exaggeration is the definition of hyperbole. Nice try
Thus is the most bias, dumpster fire of an article I have ever read. If you had bother to list even a tenth of the positive decisions Trump has made the other on your list would have voted for him too.
so list them
Such as? Shut down the government (taking the mantle/proud of the longest gov shutdown in history!), separated children at the border (no other president did that – as we are not Nazi Germany), Repeal and replace “Obamacare” – oh wait, just keep trying to repeal and not get it down when his party had all 3 branches – and of course – border wall….Uh, no funding and now its NOT being paid for by Mexico nor is it even a wall anymore – a barrier, fence, moat, etc. He is definitely THE greatest president ever! I almost forgot about the Mueller report, but since its not finished yet, we shall see how that goes. As a famous Republican president once said “Lock her up!”. If he really wanted to have her locked up, Hillary should have worked on the Trump campaign!