Underperformed? Expert Weighs In on Trump’s First Year

© REUTERS / Jonathan ErnstU.S. President Donald Trump departs for holiday travel to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, from the White House in Washington, U.S. December 22, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump departs for holiday travel to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, from the White House in Washington, U.S. December 22, 2017 - Sputnik International
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Twelve months ago, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Since then, the 71-year old businessman has dominated the headlines. Radio Sputnik discussed Trump’s first year in office with Daniel Franklin, associate professor of Political Science at Georgia State University.

Daniel Franklin: It's difficult to separate the show from the substance.

You have to understand that in our political system the president is both a head of state and a head of government, the two roles which are separated in a parliamentary system. On the one hand, the president is supposed to be a paragon of virtue, and on the other hand the president is supposed to be a politician, and sometimes these two worlds kind of conflict. In his personal life, the president is not really a very elevating personality, I think most people would agree that he does not live an exemplary life. But then again, on the other hand, the Queen of England and the Royal Family is not always, you know, the paragon of virtue, either, but it doesn't necessarily affect the government. If we can get past the president as a person and start talking about his performance in government — that's a different story.

I would say that the president has had accomplishments, I think he has underperformed, given the fact that he has a majority in both houses of Congress. But on the other hand, he has accomplished a number of things.

Sputnik: What do you think was his most successful performance? With the majority in both houses of the Congress and the White house he should be able to do everything he wanted to do.

Daniel Franklin: That's why I say he underperformed. It's not that he didn't have a lot of accomplishments — I would suggest that, for example, President [Barack] Obama was in the same position […] in his first two years in office, and he accomplished a lot more than this president has done. On the other hand, there were a lot of accomplishments, particularly not so much in the legislative area (there was one major accomplishment — that, of course, the tax overhaul, and also the appointment of Supreme Court judge). But in terms of executive action, it depends on which cabinet official you are talking about, some of this appointments were very effective.

Sputnik: So do you think that tax overhaul was his biggest accomplishment?

U.S. President Donald Trump displays his signature after signing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul plan along with a short-term government spending bill in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S - Sputnik International
Trump Signs $1.5 Trillion US Tax Bill Into Law - Reports
Daniel Franklin: So far, absolutely. The tax overhaul was a major accomplishment for this administration. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I'm saying that in terms of what he wanted to do this was a major accomplishment. I think that the hyperbole, the language on both sides makes it seem a lot more than it actually is: there is a lot in the tax code that makes sense, but I think that there is a lot of disagreement on how it's paid for, but the cut on the corporate tax was pretty much agreed on both sides. I think that the Democrats kind of overstate their case and the Republicans overstate their case, too.

The projection is that the tax cut will add one and a half trillion dollars to the debt in the next ten years; it sounds like a lot of money, one hundred and fifty billion dollars a year, but in the context of 3,500-billion dollar budget, it's truly not that much money. I think, truly, the disagreement is in terms of who actually pays for it. But we'll see.

Sputnik: Do you think that we've seen any positive response from the US economy after passing the tax overhaul?

Daniel Franklin: Yes, yes, I think that people and corporate people respond to incentives, and there are certainly incentives for the companies to repatriate money. Where that money goes is not entirely clear, and that's the part of the complaints: for example, if Apple is going to bring back money — which it is saying it's going to — but then distributes it between its executives and its stakeholders, then it may not actually end up stimulating the economy very much. But if they build new infrastructure, if they invest in more employment, then yeah, it makes a difference.

These things have a long-term effect, so we won't really know for a while.

Sputnik: Let's talk about his other election promises, for example his promise to get rid of or overhaul Obamacare. With immigration he has been to some extent successful, with the travel ban, but what about the wall that he keeps saying Mexico will pay for?

Daniel Franklin: He is a salesman. He can sell the increase in funding for border security as a metaphorical wall and he can suggest that in some sense the Mexicans somehow paying for it. There is a way to spin these things; there's truth and there's also different levels of truth.

The opinions expressed are those of speaker alone and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

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