TRUMP’S TOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2017

By Carol Rushton

President Trump has been in office less than a year but his accomplishments in 2017 have been stunning. For a first-year president, he has achieved more than many thought possible. Proving his sceptics, including me, wrong, Donald Trump has become the most conservative president the United States has had since the great Ronald Reagan, and in some ways, has surpassed Reagan. Here is a list of what President Trump has done in 2017.

• Officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – For decades U.S. presidents have promised to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but never had the courage to do it. They were more concerned about reactions from the Arab world than doing what is right. But President Trump actually decided to do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may, and the violence from Arab nations has actually been less than anticipated. While recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may not be at the top of the list of many, it is at the top of the Lord’s list. The blessing and curse pronounced in Genesis 12:3 from the Lord is still in effect today. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” No country can be successful, prosperous, and enjoy the blessings of God unless they are pro-Israel. The announcement has led to other countries considering to move their embassies to Jerusalem as well. This is the single, most important, foundational move that President Trump could do, not only in his first year, but in his entire presidency.

• Reducing payments to the United Nations – The United Nations is the largest, most anti-Israel, anti-American organization in the world, ruled by tin-pot dictators who hate liberty and love tyranny and despotism – and the wealth that comes with it at the expense of their citizens. Israelis cheered the appointment of Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, as a very pro-Israel U.N. ambassador. It is clear that Trump and Haley are on the same page regarding the U.N. as a waste of space. Days after 120 U.N.-member nations voted to condemn the United States for the unmitigated gall of daring to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Haley announced the U.S. would be reducing its budget to the U.N. by $285 million dollars, with more cuts coming in 2018, as well as reducing foreign aid to countries who voted against the U.S. These cuts can’t come soon enough. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if President Trump and Ambassador Haley decided to end all payments to the U.N. Well, I can dream, can’t I?

• Repealing the Obamacare individual mandate – This was one of President Trump’s huge campaign promises. Although Congress failed – and failed miserably – to repeal Obamacare en masse, including the repeal of the individual mandate within the tax reform bill was one of the best Christmas presents to American citizens in a long time. Hopefully, a complete repeal of Obamacare is not far behind.

• Drilling in ANWR – I pride myself in keeping up with what is going on in the country and Congress, even though I have a full-time job outside of my writing. However, I missed this one. Drilling in ANWR – the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge – has been another Republican commitment that for years has eluded the ability of Republican presidents and congresses to pass. I usually do not like including “additions” to bills but slipping this into the tax reform bill was brilliant. Again, President Trump has accomplished what many past presidents and their administrations promised but could never accomplish. Drilling in ANWR will open up vast quantities of oil for American consumption, further reducing our dependence on foreign oil while also providing more great paying jobs for Americans. And for those environmentalist nut jobs out there, only 1.5 million of the over 19 million acres of ANWR will be open for energy exploration. Another win-win for Americans.

• Tax reform – Although I would have preferred deeper tax cuts for individual tax brackets, an elimination of some tax brackets, and a deeper reduction in the capital gains tax to 15% instead of 21%, the tax reform bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump is certainly better than what we had. American companies and corporations announced bonuses and job expansion before the bill was even signed, among them AT&T, Boeing, Comcast, Sinclair, Wells Fargo, Washington Federal, and Fifth Third Bank. Plus, most Americans will be keeping more of their own money. Conservatives should not worry that this tax reform bill is not very popular right now. When Reagan’s first tax reform bill was passed and signed into law in the early 1980s, only 16% of Americans approved it. It did not become popular until Americans saw more money in their paychecks, leading to a second term for Reagan. Another Trump promise to make America great again fulfilled.

• Rolling back government regulations – This is one more Trump campaign promise that the president has delivered on without having to wait for Congress. According to Townhall.com, as of July 20 Trump had already rolled back more than 800 Obama-era regulations, touting this had “already saved billions in regulatory costs.” Some of the rescinded regulations include those involving the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and greenhouse gas emissions, an Interior Department ban on coal mining on public lands, and the Education Department’s regulations on student loans.

• Federal job cuts – Almost every president and his administration expands the government bureaucracy. President Trump is cutting the federal bureaucracy. According to the Government Executive website in an article from August 4, 2017, the Trump administration has eliminated almost 11,000 federal employees during the first six months of the Trump presidency. Even President George W. Bush increased the federal bureaucracy by 36,000 jobs. The article continues that federal agencies are being required to turn in short and long-term plans to reduce their employment rolls. Less federal employees mean less tax money being spent on the federal government. This should only be the beginning but at least it’s a start and another win-win for American taxpayers.

• Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch – President Trump promised conservatives that he would appoint originalist judges to the Supreme Court. He delivered on that promise in a big way by appointing Neil Gorsuch to replace the great Antonin Scalia. Justice Gorsuch has already distinguished himself by writing separate conservative opinions on cases such as the president’s travel ban of Muslims from certain countries, a same-sex birthright case, a Second Amendment California gun law, and a church-run school receiving government funding. Gorsuch is a big win for conservatives, Americans, and the Supreme Court that will continue to pay dividends in the years to come.

• Conservative appellate court nominees – President Trump has not dragged his feet in nominating very conservative judges to the lower courts as well. After Democrats blocked most of Trump’s judicial appointees, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally tired of the Democrats’ antics and started pushing through Trump’s nominees as Democrats howled and protested in horror. Some of these, like Steve Grasz, Don Willett, and James Ho, all who have been attacked by progressives and liberals, look to be very needed additions to the lower court system that saw a horde of progressive judicial court appointees under President Barack Obama.

• Travel restrictions from Muslim countries – The most important job the president is entrusted with is the security and safety of the country. One of the first things President Trump concerned himself with is trying to protect American citizens from deliberately allowing foreigners from Muslim and terrorist-supporting countries into the United States where they would use the freedoms this country enjoys to attack, injure, maim, and kill Americans. That the courts have fought our president’s attempts to defend our country from these potential killers and terrorists is beyond the pale. However, the Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of President Trump’s travel restrictions and now most citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, and North Korea are barred from entering the U.S. It is to the opposing judges’ shame that they do not have the same concern for Americans’ safety and welfare that our president has.

• Defeat of ISIS – After President Obama’s comment about ISIS being a “JV team,” many wondered if he took the threat from this radical terrorist group seriously. ISIS gobbled up territory in Syria and Iraq quickly, and it looked like the U.S. would be battling these barbarians for years. However, toward the end of 2017 Iraqi sources acknowledged that ISIS was close to being defeated in both its country and in Syria. Up to 98% of the land that ISIS once held has now been liberated. One of the major reasons for this is that President Trump has freed the U.S. military from its prior “rules of engagement” that hampered its efforts under Presidents Bush and Obama to fight terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere. It is encouraging that the U.S. military has now been given the freedom to fight our country’s enemies without having unnecessary restrictions imposed upon them from a commander in chief who is more concerned about what foreigners in other nations think about us than doing what it takes to achieve victory at the least expense of American lives. Great job, President Trump!

• Police officer deaths at 50-year low –. Being a police officer is a tough job. You must make life and death decisions at a moment’s notice, putting your life on the line every day. You never know from one moment to the next what you will encounter. It’s a job I would not want. Most police officers do an exemplary job without glory or recognition, day in and day out. According to a September 1, 2016 article in POLICE The Law Enforcement Magazine, as of July 2016 94 police officers had died due to being deliberately targeted and ambushed under President Barack Obama. His constant attacks of police officers and glorification of racist groups such as Black Lives Matters caused race relations in this country to drop to a low not experienced in the U.S. since the 1960s. I don’t know that President Trump has done anything drastic to cause a drop in police officer deaths except the absence of constant attacks on police officers. Even so, the statistic is amazing.

This list is impressive but there is still much left to be done. Border security and walls are still needed on both our northern and southern borders. Eliminating all government funding of Planned Parenthood is desperately needed, as well as repealing the rest of the Obamacare disaster. Considering the opposition the president has faced from both parties, it is astonishing that he has accomplished as much as he has. But President Trump has not let any of this stop him. He has already exhibited much courage and determination his first year. We as Americans are obligated to pray for him and his administration that they will have wisdom and courage to continue this great start into the following years.