President Trump’s Travesty: The Chaos and Incompetence of His First Year in Office
For Immediate Release:
January 30, 2018
Contact Info:
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight, and as we reflect on his first year in office, it is clear that the Trump presidency has so far been defined by chaos and incompetence. While reports indicate that the speech’s theme will be “building a safe, strong, and proud America,” the state of the union is not safer, stronger, nor prouder under President Trump. From dismantling protections for America’s working families to alienating America’s allies, he has pursued dangerous policies that create the carnage he spoke of in his inaugural address.
A recent poll show the American people agree he has failed to deliver:
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released January 18 shows 53% of Americans believe President Trump’s first year in office was a failure.
A Gallup Poll released January 18 said other nations’ approval of U.S. leadership is at 30% worldwide.
On the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, President Trump and Congressional Republicans shut down the unified Republican government because they refused to work with Democrats to responsibly fund the government. Instead of working on a bipartisan basis, Republicans refuse to reach agreement with Democrats on issues we have historically agreed on, including passing a budget agreement that adheres to parity. Trump’s refusal to lead and work toward compromise resulted in a shutdown of a government completely controlled by his party.
Despite promises to create jobs and grow the economy, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have failed to put forward a single jobs bill or infrastructure proposal during his first year in office. They have also enacted a law that raises taxes on millions of middle class Americans while exploding the deficit by $1.5 trillion. In addition, his decision to repeal DACA and TPS status for eligible immigrants who are contributing to their local communities undermines our economy.
NO JOBS BILL. After claiming to be the President of “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” on the campaign trail, the President has failed to put forward a single jobs bill in the last year. Instead, manufacturing has seen a decline under the Trump Administration.
RAISING TAXES ON MILLIONS OF MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLDS. After jamming the GOP tax scam through Congress without hearings or input from the American people, President Trump signed a partisan bill into law that gives 83% of the tax cuts to the top 1% of Americans and raises taxes for 86 million middle-class Americans by 2027. The law will also add $1.5 trillion to the deficit.
FAILING TO PROPOSE AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL. President Trump promised the American people he would work with Democrats and Republicans in Congress on an infrastructure bill. We still haven’t seen a bipartisan infrastructure proposal from the President.
ENDING DACA. The Trump Administration pulled the rug out from under 800,000 DREAMers in September by ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on March 5. These young people were brought to the country as children through no fault of their own and are contributing to our economy. They are students, teachers, doctors, military service members, and more. Trump is putting their jobs and education at risk with his decision to end the program. FWD.us predicts ending DACA will mean 1,716 jobs lost every day after March and 300,000 people removed from the work force.
ENDING TPS. Over the past few months, the Trump Administration has ended Temporary Protected Status for 2,500 Nicaraguans, 50,000 Haitians, and 200,000 Salvadorans living and working in the United States, uprooting families who work here and own homes. Losing these workers will result in a loss of billions of dollars in GDP over the next decade.
President Trump’s approach to America’s foreign policy has hurt the United States’ standing in the world; from his first day in office to his latest tweets baiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and putting America’s troops across the world at risk.
ALIENATING ALLIES. Throughout his term, President Trump has failed to understand American policy agreements with our allies and has taken steps to alienate our allies. In April, President Trump threated a trade war with South Korea over payments for an anti-missile system. In August, he hung up on the Prime Minister of Australia over an agreement regarding Australian refugees. At the end of November, President Trump retweeted far right wing, white nationalist videos drawing an immediate rebuke from the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
REJECTING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS. Against advice from security experts and the diplomatic community, President Trump publically refused to uphold Article V of NATO at the new NATO headquarters in front of international leaders and allies in May.
REFUSING TO HOLD RUSSIA ACCOUNTABLE. Throughout the past year, President Trump has refused to hold Russia accountable for its role in undermining our elections. In addition, he has ignored protocol by having multiple hour-long meetings with President Putin without American diplomats or translators in attendance.
RISKING SECURITY. During the transition in November, President Trump was warned against hiring someone who could be blackmailed into helping Russia and other nations’ interests as National Security Adviser. Yet, he hired both Michael Flynn and Sebastian Gorka to serve in the White House. This decision, despite warnings, gave both Flynn and Gorka access to the highest level intelligence and a hand in crafting policy.
HOLLOWING THE STATE DEPARTMENT. From slashing the State Department budget to undermining his Secretary of State, President Trump has “hollowed” out America’s diplomacy, the U.S. diplomatic corps, and diplomatic relationships across the world.
IMPLEMENTING A MUSLIM BAN. Just days after his Inauguration, President Trump implemented a racist and divisive Muslim ban, causing immediate chaos at America’s airports and across the world. The ban has now been challenged by Federal courts at all levels and rewritten to hide its original intent.
BANNING TRANSGENDER AMERICANS FROM SERVING IN THE MILITARY. In July, President Trump tweeted that he would ban all transgender Americans from the military in any capacity – without providing any prior notice and against the guidance from the Department of Defense.
From the day he was sworn into office, President Trump has sought to undermine Americans’ health care system, which has resulted in destabilizing insurance markets, driving up premiums, and undermining Medicare and Medicaid.
SABOTAGING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans spent months in a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After failing to do so, they included a repeal of the individual mandate in their tax law, forcing 13 million Americans off of health coverage and raising premiums and health care costs for millions more. In addition, President Trump has sought to sabotage the ACA by:
ALLOWING CHIP TO EXPIRE. Congressional Republicans failed to take action to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program before the expiration deadline of September 30. The program, which covers 8.9 million children, was held hostage as a Republican bargaining chip and only just reauthorized on Monday.
ATTACKING WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE. In October, the Trump Administration issued rules intended to restrict access to contraception, undermining women’s health care and putting employers in charge of women’s reproductive health care choices.
UNDERMINING MEDICAID. President Trump and Republicans in Congress sought to cut $800 billion in Medicaid funding through their failed ACA repeal legislation, threatening access to care for millions of working families, seniors, and the disabled. This month, the Trump Administration is allowing states to add work requirements to Medicaid, potentially denying coverage for the most vulnerable Americans.
In one year, the Trump Administration has weakened the rights of students, made it harder for Americans to afford an education, and rolled back worker protections.
MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR AMERICANS TO PAY OFF STUDENT DEBT. The Trump Administration, through a number of rescinded rules in July, has made it more difficult for students to pay back student loans.
RESCINDING GUIDANCE FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. In September, the Trump Administration rescinded guidance to protect victims of campus sexual assault, making it more difficult for America’s students to seek justice following sexual assault.
REPEALING PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS. In February, the Administration’s Department of Education repealed protections for transgender students in public schools.
UNDERMINING WORKER’S RIGHTS. In June, the Trump Administration attacked America’s workforce by rescinding joint employer guidance and other regulations meant to protect workers and their ability to collectively bargain.
After slashing the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency, President Trump’s Administration has conducted a steady attack on public health and environmental protections, efforts to combat climate change, and preserving our public lands. It is clear Trump is putting corporate polluters ahead of the American people.
DISMANTLING THE CLEAN POWER PLAN. In October, the Trump Administration began to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, which would mean more sick kids, more expensive hospital visits, and thousands of premature deaths that could have been prevented – and could lead to more intense and destructive severe weather events.
ENDING PROTECTIONS IN THE CLEAN WATER ACT. In June, President Trump and Congressional Republicans began an effort to overturn the Clean Water Rule, which protects the drinking water of one in three Americans by keeping arsenic, lead, and mercury out of our streams, rivers, and drinking water.
WITHDRAWING FROM THE PARIS CLIMATE ACCORDS. President Trump made America less safe, threatened our environment, and hurt America’s standing with our allies by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords in June drawing swift condemnation from Republicans, Democrats, and business leaders alike. The United States is now the only nation in the world to reject the agreement.
ATTACKING AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS. We have a duty to protect and preserve our public lands, waters, oceans, and wildlife for our children and grandchildren, but President Trump and Congressional Republicans are opening these areas up for drilling, mining, and logging, robbing future generations of their chance to enjoy America’s natural beauty.
A recent poll show the American people agree he has failed to deliver:
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released January 18 shows 53% of Americans believe President Trump’s first year in office was a failure.
- By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, Americans say Trump has divided the country since the election.
- One third of Americans called the first year of the Trump Administration a “major failure.”
- 42% of Americans says the country has changed for the worse under President Trump.
A Gallup Poll released January 18 said other nations’ approval of U.S. leadership is at 30% worldwide.
- 2016 to 2017 was the single largest one year drop in approval of U.S. leadership, or any other nation, to date.
- Nearly every part of the world said the U.S. was weaker in the last year and registered record lows within multiple countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
SHUTTING DOWN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
On the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, President Trump and Congressional Republicans shut down the unified Republican government because they refused to work with Democrats to responsibly fund the government. Instead of working on a bipartisan basis, Republicans refuse to reach agreement with Democrats on issues we have historically agreed on, including passing a budget agreement that adheres to parity. Trump’s refusal to lead and work toward compromise resulted in a shutdown of a government completely controlled by his party.
PUTTING AMERICA’S ECONOMY AT RISK
Despite promises to create jobs and grow the economy, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have failed to put forward a single jobs bill or infrastructure proposal during his first year in office. They have also enacted a law that raises taxes on millions of middle class Americans while exploding the deficit by $1.5 trillion. In addition, his decision to repeal DACA and TPS status for eligible immigrants who are contributing to their local communities undermines our economy.
NO JOBS BILL. After claiming to be the President of “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” on the campaign trail, the President has failed to put forward a single jobs bill in the last year. Instead, manufacturing has seen a decline under the Trump Administration.
RAISING TAXES ON MILLIONS OF MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLDS. After jamming the GOP tax scam through Congress without hearings or input from the American people, President Trump signed a partisan bill into law that gives 83% of the tax cuts to the top 1% of Americans and raises taxes for 86 million middle-class Americans by 2027. The law will also add $1.5 trillion to the deficit.
FAILING TO PROPOSE AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL. President Trump promised the American people he would work with Democrats and Republicans in Congress on an infrastructure bill. We still haven’t seen a bipartisan infrastructure proposal from the President.
ENDING DACA. The Trump Administration pulled the rug out from under 800,000 DREAMers in September by ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on March 5. These young people were brought to the country as children through no fault of their own and are contributing to our economy. They are students, teachers, doctors, military service members, and more. Trump is putting their jobs and education at risk with his decision to end the program. FWD.us predicts ending DACA will mean 1,716 jobs lost every day after March and 300,000 people removed from the work force.
ENDING TPS. Over the past few months, the Trump Administration has ended Temporary Protected Status for 2,500 Nicaraguans, 50,000 Haitians, and 200,000 Salvadorans living and working in the United States, uprooting families who work here and own homes. Losing these workers will result in a loss of billions of dollars in GDP over the next decade.
MAKING AMERICA LESS SAFE
President Trump’s approach to America’s foreign policy has hurt the United States’ standing in the world; from his first day in office to his latest tweets baiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and putting America’s troops across the world at risk.
ALIENATING ALLIES. Throughout his term, President Trump has failed to understand American policy agreements with our allies and has taken steps to alienate our allies. In April, President Trump threated a trade war with South Korea over payments for an anti-missile system. In August, he hung up on the Prime Minister of Australia over an agreement regarding Australian refugees. At the end of November, President Trump retweeted far right wing, white nationalist videos drawing an immediate rebuke from the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
REJECTING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS. Against advice from security experts and the diplomatic community, President Trump publically refused to uphold Article V of NATO at the new NATO headquarters in front of international leaders and allies in May.
REFUSING TO HOLD RUSSIA ACCOUNTABLE. Throughout the past year, President Trump has refused to hold Russia accountable for its role in undermining our elections. In addition, he has ignored protocol by having multiple hour-long meetings with President Putin without American diplomats or translators in attendance.
RISKING SECURITY. During the transition in November, President Trump was warned against hiring someone who could be blackmailed into helping Russia and other nations’ interests as National Security Adviser. Yet, he hired both Michael Flynn and Sebastian Gorka to serve in the White House. This decision, despite warnings, gave both Flynn and Gorka access to the highest level intelligence and a hand in crafting policy.
HOLLOWING THE STATE DEPARTMENT. From slashing the State Department budget to undermining his Secretary of State, President Trump has “hollowed” out America’s diplomacy, the U.S. diplomatic corps, and diplomatic relationships across the world.
IMPLEMENTING A MUSLIM BAN. Just days after his Inauguration, President Trump implemented a racist and divisive Muslim ban, causing immediate chaos at America’s airports and across the world. The ban has now been challenged by Federal courts at all levels and rewritten to hide its original intent.
BANNING TRANSGENDER AMERICANS FROM SERVING IN THE MILITARY. In July, President Trump tweeted that he would ban all transgender Americans from the military in any capacity – without providing any prior notice and against the guidance from the Department of Defense.
UNDERMINING AMERICA’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
From the day he was sworn into office, President Trump has sought to undermine Americans’ health care system, which has resulted in destabilizing insurance markets, driving up premiums, and undermining Medicare and Medicaid.
SABOTAGING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans spent months in a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After failing to do so, they included a repeal of the individual mandate in their tax law, forcing 13 million Americans off of health coverage and raising premiums and health care costs for millions more. In addition, President Trump has sought to sabotage the ACA by:
- Making it harder to enroll in health coverage by halving the open enrollment window, implementing planning shutdowns of HealthCare.gov during open enrollment, slashing advertising budgets and resources for navigators.
- Issuing executive orders that weaken the law, undermine consumer protections, destabilize health care markets, and allow insurance companies to discriminate against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
- Cutting off payments for Cost-Sharing Reductions, which reduced out-of-pocket costs for low-income working families.
ALLOWING CHIP TO EXPIRE. Congressional Republicans failed to take action to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program before the expiration deadline of September 30. The program, which covers 8.9 million children, was held hostage as a Republican bargaining chip and only just reauthorized on Monday.
ATTACKING WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE. In October, the Trump Administration issued rules intended to restrict access to contraception, undermining women’s health care and putting employers in charge of women’s reproductive health care choices.
UNDERMINING MEDICAID. President Trump and Republicans in Congress sought to cut $800 billion in Medicaid funding through their failed ACA repeal legislation, threatening access to care for millions of working families, seniors, and the disabled. This month, the Trump Administration is allowing states to add work requirements to Medicaid, potentially denying coverage for the most vulnerable Americans.
HURTING AMERICA’S STUDENTS AND WORKFORCE
In one year, the Trump Administration has weakened the rights of students, made it harder for Americans to afford an education, and rolled back worker protections.
MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR AMERICANS TO PAY OFF STUDENT DEBT. The Trump Administration, through a number of rescinded rules in July, has made it more difficult for students to pay back student loans.
RESCINDING GUIDANCE FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. In September, the Trump Administration rescinded guidance to protect victims of campus sexual assault, making it more difficult for America’s students to seek justice following sexual assault.
REPEALING PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS. In February, the Administration’s Department of Education repealed protections for transgender students in public schools.
UNDERMINING WORKER’S RIGHTS. In June, the Trump Administration attacked America’s workforce by rescinding joint employer guidance and other regulations meant to protect workers and their ability to collectively bargain.
UNDERMINING AMERICA’S PUBLIC HEALTH & THREATENING OUR ENVIRONMENT
After slashing the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency, President Trump’s Administration has conducted a steady attack on public health and environmental protections, efforts to combat climate change, and preserving our public lands. It is clear Trump is putting corporate polluters ahead of the American people.
DISMANTLING THE CLEAN POWER PLAN. In October, the Trump Administration began to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, which would mean more sick kids, more expensive hospital visits, and thousands of premature deaths that could have been prevented – and could lead to more intense and destructive severe weather events.
ENDING PROTECTIONS IN THE CLEAN WATER ACT. In June, President Trump and Congressional Republicans began an effort to overturn the Clean Water Rule, which protects the drinking water of one in three Americans by keeping arsenic, lead, and mercury out of our streams, rivers, and drinking water.
WITHDRAWING FROM THE PARIS CLIMATE ACCORDS. President Trump made America less safe, threatened our environment, and hurt America’s standing with our allies by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords in June drawing swift condemnation from Republicans, Democrats, and business leaders alike. The United States is now the only nation in the world to reject the agreement.
ATTACKING AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS. We have a duty to protect and preserve our public lands, waters, oceans, and wildlife for our children and grandchildren, but President Trump and Congressional Republicans are opening these areas up for drilling, mining, and logging, robbing future generations of their chance to enjoy America’s natural beauty.
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