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Trump's first 100 days were unlike any we've ever seen - here are all the promises he's kept and broken

Aug 22, 2024, 01:27 IST
REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueU.S. President Donald Trump displays an Executive Order on "Offshore Energy Strategy" at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2017.President Donald Trump has completed his first 100 days in office, and his administration has been touting his accomplishments all week.

"We're moving awfully well. We're getting a lot of things done," Trump said Friday. "We are, I don't think there's ever been anything like this. It's a false standard, 100 days, but I have to tell you, I don't think anybody has done what we've been able to do in 100 days, so we're very happy."

Political scientist David Jones agrees with that sentiment.

"It's not fair to judge presidents by their first 100 days," Jones told Business Insider. "It's both been a media narrative, and candidates themselves have fed into that, talking about what they're going to do during that first 100 days."

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But many of his critics insist that he came up short based on his own campaign promises in a wild 100 days that featured the resignation of his national security adviser, the failure of a major push to overhaul America's healthcare system, and an aggressive foreign policy that featured a missile strike on Syrian government targets.

Trump set out an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days - The Associated Press identified 38 specific promises Trump made in his 100-day "contract" with voters, only 10 of which he fulfilled.

Trump's accomplishments mostly came through executive orders rather than legislation, the AP noted. Though Trump had identified legislation he'd fight to pass in his first 100 days, none of it has come to pass.

Here's the AP's overview of all of Trump's 100-day promises and which he's followed through on:

Energy and the environment

Lift President Barack Obama's roadblocks on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

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Done. Keystone XL is revived and construction of the Dakota Access is completed.

Lift restrictions on mining coal and drilling for oil and natural gas.

Done. Trump has unraveled a number of Obama-era restrictions and initiated a review of the Clean Power Plan, which aimed to restrict greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.

Cancel payments to UN climate change programs and pull out of the Paris climate accord.

Nope. Trump has yet to make a decision on Paris. His aides are torn.

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Mark Lyons/Getty ImagesRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump

Economy and trade

Pass a tax overhaul with a plan that would reduce rates dramatically both for corporations and the middle class.

Nowhere close. Trump has scrapped the tax plan he campaigned on, and his administration's new package is in its early stages, not only missing the first 100 days but likely to miss a new August deadline set by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Some details may emerge this week.

Designate China a currency manipulator, setting the stage for possible trade penalties.

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Abandoned. Trump says he doesn't want to punish China when it is cooperating in a response to North Korean provocations. He also says China has stopped manipulating its currency for unfair trade advantage. But China was moving away from that behavior well before he took office. Also set aside: repeated vows to slap high tariffs on Chinese imports.

Announce his intention to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Backtracked, in essence. A draft of his administration's plan for NAFTA proposes only a mild rewrite. But in his AP interview, he threatened anew to terminate the deal if his goals are not met in a renegotiation.

Direct his commerce secretary and trade representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly hurt American workers.

Done. Trump has initiated plenty of studies over the past 100 days.

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Slap a 35 percent tariff on goods from companies that ship production abroad. Force companies like Apple and Nabisco to make their products in the US.

Nope.

Embark on a massive $1 trillion effort to rebuild the country's infrastructure, including airports, roads and bridges.

Not yet.

Reuters/Carlo AllegriA man with a costume poses for a photo after a U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump campaign event at an airplane hanger in Rochester, New York April 10, 2016.

Security, defense, and immigration

Immediately suspend the Syrian refugee program.

Trump tried, but the first version of his travel ban was blocked by the courts. A revised version dropped references to Syrian refugees entirely. That was blocked, too. And he has yet to mention another campaign pledge: to deport Syrian refugees already settled in the US.

Inform his generals they have 30 days to submit a new plan for defeating the Islamic State terrorist group.

Trump did indeed order up a plan. It's unclear what it is since it has yet to be made public.

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Suspend immigration from "terror-prone regions" where he says vetting is too difficult.

Trump's effort to bar immigration temporarily from some Muslim-majority countries has been stymied by courts.

Implement "extreme" immigration vetting techniques.

In progress. The Homeland Security Department is considering a number of measures, like asking for visitors' phone contacts and social media passwords.

Build an "impenetrable physical wall" along the length of the southern border, and make Mexico pay for it.

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The government has been soliciting bids and test sections could be built as soon as this summer. Mexico is not paying for this work.

End federal funding to "sanctuary cities" - places where local officials are considered by Washington to be insufficiently cooperative in arresting or detaining people in the country illegally.

The Justice Department has threatened to do so, but there are legal limits.

Immediately deport the estimated 2 million "criminal aliens" living in the country, including gang members, in joint operations with local, state, and federal law enforcement.

Deportations have not increased. Arrests of people in the US illegally are up and illegal border crossings are significantly down.

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Cancel visas for foreign countries that won't take back criminals deported by the US.

There's been no discussion of this yet.

"Immediately terminate President Obama's two illegal executive amnesties," one of which allows young people brought into the country as children to stay and work.

Trump has made no effort to end the program, even though it would take a single phone call. In fact, he told AP these young people can "rest easy" and not fear deportation.

AP Photo/Evan VucciWhite House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on cyber security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017.

Government and 'the swamp'

Ask agency and department heads to identify job-killing regulations for elimination.

Done.

Propose a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.

Nope.

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"Drain the swamp."

On his pledge to curb the power of special interests, Trump has so far used an executive order to prohibit political appointees from lobbying the government for five years after serving in his administration and to ban outgoing officials from representing foreign governments. But he's discontinuing the Obama-era practice of releasing White House visitor logs, restoring a shroud over what special interests are getting in his gates. He's also issued at least one waiver to his lobbying ban, allowing a White House budget adviser to go advocate for a business trade group

Impose a hiring freeze on federal employees, excluding military and public safety staffers.

This was one of Trump's first actions. But the freeze has since been lifted.

Require that two regulations be eliminated for each new one imposed.

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Trump signed an order requiring agencies to identify two existing regulations for every new one imposed - though there is nothing in the order that requires the two to be eliminated.

AP Photo/Alex BrandonPresident Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Foreign affairs

End the strategy of nation-building and regime change.

Trump's foreign policy posture is still in its early stages, though he has already intervened in Syria and has escalated rhetoric against North Korea.

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Move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The administration says it is studying the issue.

Negotiate the release of all US prisoners held in Iran, even before taking office. Renegotiate or leave the Iran nuclear deal.

No prisoners have been released. The administration is studying the nuclear deal and Trump told AP "it's possible" the US will withdraw.

Create a safe zone in Syria for refugees, paid for by the Gulf states.

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Not yet.

Reuters/John Sommers IIRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses members of the National Rifle Association during their NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at their annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 20, 2016.

Healthcare, courts, and guns

"My first day in office, I'm going to ask Congress to put a bill on my desk getting rid of this disastrous law and replacing it with reforms that expand choice, freedom, affordability. You're going to have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost."

The bill to replace "Obamacare" was pulled from Congress because it lacked enough support. He will try again with a revised plan.

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Begin selecting a new Supreme Court judge to fill the court's vacancy.

Done. Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch and the Senate approved him.

Eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases.

Nope.

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