Will Donald Trump win the 2020 Presidency? His report card so far

Donald Trump’s presidential win over Hillary Clinton was a surprise for many. Very few Americans (except the Republicans) expected a hardcore businessman to beat a seasoned Congresswoman, especially Trump, a multi-millionaire who almost went bankrupt once!

However, here we are in Trump’s final leg of Presidency and the campaigning for the 2020 Primaries have already begun. Let’s see how Trump fared in the approximate 4 years of his presidency and if he has a chance to win a second successive term.

Here’s Donald Trump’s report card so far:

Foreign Policy

Apparently, this is what is the most messed up folio under Trump’s ledger! Here’s where he went wrong in FP:

• From summits with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, threatening to constantly sanction China over deep discounts and dumping imports on US soil.
• Ordering Mexico to build a border wall along the US-Mexico borderline at Mexico’s own expense.
• Denying Russia’s alleged involvement in rigging the 2016 US Presidential Elections.
• Fighting with Iran over oil imports and deep-sea drilling.

Whoa, that’s a long list of follies by Trump! But, here’s where he scored the brownie points:

• He has consistently promised to bring back all US troops from Afghanistan and Syria. That’s a plus for the troops fighting someone else’s war.
• He has been sanctioning many countries (especially Iran and China, even India) over costly import duties and is more for promoting indigenous jobs and less offshore talent. A BIG plus for the US working and unemployed class.

Internal Functioning

• The US government at the White House has seen more resignations under Trump’s regime more than any other after the Watergate scandal under Nixon’s tenure. The United States federal government shutdown that happened from December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 was the longest U.S. government shutdown in history! How abysmal is that!
• He has been accused of rape, molestation, and general disposition of women during his entrepreneurial years. Don’t forget how he admonishes Hillary still!
• He backed out of the US INF treaty, the Paris climate change agreement and he is also pretty silent on the local mass (lone-wolf) shootings that occur almost every day under his tenure. He hasn’t cornered the NRA (National Rifle Association) because gun sales are booming in the US at an all-time high!

Dual-Talk

• ‘I never said that. That’s fake news!’, seems to be his go-to words every time he seems to poop his pants with his mindless and adolescent tweets. Yes, this is the US President (the most powerful man in the world) who tweeted ‘Covfefe’ and defended it!
• There was a time when he promised to rain “fire and fury” against North Korea but even after two ‘successful’ summits with Kim Jong-un, the US only declares verbal threats. Jong-un, on the other hand, keeps launching ballistic missiles in his backyard like child’s play.
• China has increased its activity (territorial and maritime) in the South China Sea (a disputed territory with Philippines) and is challenging the US’s inaction on the matter. Even after the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruled against the PRC's maritime claims in Philippines v. China., China is still enhancing its military bases on the Spratly and Paracel islands with the US still tight-lipped about the entire fiasco.
• Trump chest-thumpingly declared that he offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue, but his statements were retracted by the White House itself. Moreover, after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special law (Article 370), Trump said he never offered to mediate but will do so in future!

The scrapping of essential Obama-era services

Trump has single-handedly wiped-out Obama’s legacy (8 years of hard work) by promoting his Republican agenda (opposing the Democrats no matter what) and has since repealed Obamacare, repealed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and backed out of the Paris climate accord.

This was all something Obama toiled for in order to bring balance in the world order, but Trump decided to go with the iron-fist technique and messed up relations with Russia too. Russia is now selling fighter jets to Turkey after the US stopped selling jets to the latter over spying allegations.

US Economy

Ever since the 1960s, the US is currently facing its highest level of unemployment, despite Trump’s tall claims of indigenization. Even after Trump proclaimed that “this is the greatest economy in the history of our country”, only about 5m jobs have been created in the US under his leadership.

Under Obama (Obama’s tenure was under immense economic recession), the US added 10m jobs! Bill Clinton had added 23m jobs. Let’s just say, though Trump’s figure seems low, this is only his first tenure whereas the other two Presidents had two tenures.

Another major feather in his cap is the $1.5tn tax cut that has helped the US experience 99 months of consecutive job growth. This is why Apple posted its first major profit after 2002.

Immigration

This is where he seems to lose the plot! Despite global condemnation, Trump has been forcefully garnering support for his bipartisan approach towards the infamous border wall with Mexico.

This may be a good democratic move but doesn’t handle the arrested migrants properly and is a burden on the US economy as well! Thousands of migrants and their children have been forcibly separated and housed into detention centers since 2017. More than 46,000 people are currently detained under his orders!

Not to forget the travel ban imposed by Trump on Muslim-majority countries in 2017 during the massive ISIS hunt by the US and its allies. Many innocent people were prevented from meeting their families and this also labeled Trump as an anti-Muslim bigot.

Final Report Card – a la Trump

Overall, despite being at the ire of the international media, the government shutdown, the harsh law repeal decisions, and the foreign policy disasters, Trump has managed to hold on to his presidency without being impeached! He may as well go on to complete his full-term. This shows that despite global dissent over his authoritarian and seemingly sadist rule, Trump has done justice (if not fully) to his role.

We feel that he might win another second term for the one simple fact – there is probably no Hillary in 2020 and only three candidates from the Democrats stand out against him – Joe Biden (D) (ex-US VP and Obama’s running mate), Bernie Sanders (D) and Tulsi Bennet (D).

However, going by Trump’s confidence since he filed for re-election on January 20, 2017, the very day of his inauguration – he is sure to win again this time. George H.W. Bush (R) was the last president to lose his re-election campaign way back in 1992.

Only sixteen U.S. presidents—approximately one-third—have won two consecutive elections – will Trump be the seventeenth? Let’s wait and watch!