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Trump’s campaign promises don’t quite measure up as he nears first 100 days in office – Metro US

Trump’s campaign promises don’t quite measure up as he nears first 100 days in office

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Saturday marks President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, but despite the 45th president’s repeated promises on the campaign trail, he displayed an unfamiliarity with the “contract” he made with voters, and downplayed the importance of the 100-day benchmark in a recent Associated Press interview.

“I think the 100 days is, you know, it’s an artificial barrier. It’s not very meaningful,” the president told AP White House correspondent Julie Pace during an interview in the Oval Office on April 14. A day later, however, he announced he would host a “big” rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 100-day milestone.

Trump also claimed he’s “done more than any other president in the first 100 days.”

But has he?

The standard of measuring presidents by their accomplishments during their initial 100 days in office started with Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Taking office during the Great Depression, Roosevelt became known for his quick action that restarted the economy, enacting 14 pieces of historic legislation.

Most of Trump’s achievements so far have been accomplished through executive actions — he’s either failed to convince Congress, as with the Obamacare repeal, or has yet to introduce legislation, as is the case with his promised tax reform and infrastructure plans.

Former President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus package in his first month in office and President Ronald Reagan had already presented Congress with his landmark tax, spending and government overhaul. That, however, was not approved until later.

So what has Trump accomplished in his first 100 days?

The president said he’s “mostly there on most items.” But he’s not.

Of 38 promises the president made for his 100 days in office, two have not been kept, 15 haven’t been started, 11 are in progress and 10 have been completed, according to an Associated Press tracker of Trump’s first 100 days.

His two biggest flops? Failing to repeal Obamacare and his decision not to label China as a currency manipulator, something he repeated throughout the presidential campaign.

Though the list of what he hasn’t started is longer than what he’s accomplished, Trump has made good on 10 promises, including canceling federal funding to sanctuary cities, creating a violent crime task force, clearing a path for the Keystone Pipeline, withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and instituting a five-year ban on lobbying after White House service.

Things he hasn’t started include putting an end to Common Core education standards, making college more affordable and instituting ethics reforms to “drain the swamp” in Washington. He also has yet to get to limiting terms on Congress members, enacting child care deductions or even implementing even stricter immigration policies than he has already put forward.

Trump also nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, who has already been confirmed. That seat was vacant after the death of Antonin Scalia. The president apparently didn’t remember adding this one to the list.

“I didn’t put Supreme Court judge on the 100 (day) plan, and I got a Supreme Court judge,” Trump said in the interview.

Trump’s 100-day contract with voters, concerning a Supreme Court nominee, actually only ventured to “Begin the process of selecting a replacement.”