Nearly a year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Trump administration has approached immigration, healthcare and job growth — issues that Trump used as a platform during his candidacy. During his first year in office, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, repealed pieces of Obamacare and dealt with conflict in his administrative staff.
Senior history major Nathan Wagner, president of the Young College Republicans Club, said he believed that the Trump administration experienced a learning curve that has assisted the president in learning how to navigate political waters.
“He has great ideas,” Wagner said. “But if he wants to appease in some way, he should just tone it down a little bit.”
Throughout Trump’s political triumphs, his comments on current events often casted a shadow on his biggest political victories. According to Wagner, he has room for improvement.
“He wasn’t a politician, but I think his administration has done a good job,” Wagner said. “It’s been a learning curve that they hit fast because they had to learn once he got elected.”
Trump’s first year incurred a variety of controversial events and national tragedies, including the firing of former FBI Director James Comey and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, the ongoing Russian collusion investigation, Hurricane Harvey and the Las Vegas shooting. Each difficulty was a separate firestorm of press coverage analyzing Trump’s non-traditional approach to critical issues and his frequent use of social media to address them.
Trump’s first trip abroad trip was in May 2017. According to Time: World, Trump spent nine days traveling to five countries, wghere he improved international relations that were once strained under President Barack Obama’s administration.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump solidified relations with Saudi officials who were affected by former President Barack Obama’s increasing leniency with Iran sanctions. He also spent time in Israel, attending dinner with the nation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife. The two showcased their friendship by addressing each other on a first name basis.
Although he received criticism when he withdrew from the Paris climate accord, Trump successfully solidified international relations through creating a dynamic foreign relations team and supporting NATO upon his visit to Belgium, according to USA Today.
“Candidate Trump questioned the value of American alliances around the world,” the USA Today article stated. “Yet President Trump has assembled a team that quickly underscored America’s commitment to its allies and took active steps to demonstrate the enduring bonds.”
Under Trump, the unemployment rate remains at an all-time low of 17 percent, and the stock market continues to be successful, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Despite the number of victories the administration obtained during the year, Trump and several of his staff remain under investigation by the FBI for allegedly colluding with Russia during his election campaign.
Ann Compton, retired White House correspondent for ABC News, commented that in the past, FBI investigations have overshadowed everything an administration does during the investigation.
“They take years. It takes months,” Compton said. “They are living, dynamic creatures that can consume and overshadow just about anything a president wants to do.”
According to Fortune Briefing, Trump also passed a tax bill in Decemberof 2017, which will implement tax cuts to almost all tax brackets in early 2018, as well as other changes that will take effect in 2019.
