JOSH HAMMER: Grading The Second Trump Presidency, Six Months In
Over the course of four years’ banishment to America’s political wilderness while subjected to both a would-be assassin’s bullets and the humiliating and unprecedented spectacle of criminal prosecution by his political opponents, Donald Trump seems to have intuited a key life lesson: Time is of the essence. Carpe diem, seize the day. And so it has been. Like a thoroughbred bursting out of the Kentucky Derby starting gate, the second Trump administration has been racing full speed ahead ever since Trump was inaugurated once again as president of the United States. If the Derby is the “fastest two minutes in sports,” then this has surely been the fastest six months in modern presidential history.
Awareness of life’s ticking clock is important for any elected official, but it is particularly important for Trump. During his first term in office, much of Trump’s agenda was derailed or sidetracked by forces beyond his direct control: an unexpected John McCain thumbs-down on the Obamacare repeal vote, “nationwide injunction”-happy lower-court judges, subversive administrative state actors, a bogus special counsel probe on Russian election interference, the COVID-19 pandemic, extraordinary Big Tech censorship and more. Based on these experiences and sobered from those long interregnum years, Trump adjusted his game plan this time around. And it shows.
Here, then, is a six-month Trump administration report card.
Economy: B
There has been much in the way of genuinely great news on the economy. The stock market is considerably up since Trump resumed office, Trump’s tariffs are bringing in substantial revenue to the Treasury, the president renewed his landmark 2017 tax cuts and cut taxes on tips and overtime pay, he has finalized historic trade deals with........
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