IN FIRST YEAR, NO LETUP BY TRUMP – OR THE MEDIA
Reality turns away from tradition
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s first calendar year as president may have been light on major legislative or policy achievements, but it delivered every bit of the chaotic, “America First”-focused, reality-television style of governance that his campaign promised.
From Trump’s unprecedented use of Twitter as both a megaphone and sledgehammer, to the revolving door of White House staff, to the constant looming intrigue of an ongoing special counsel investigation that has already led to charges against four ex-Trump aides, nothing about the 2017 White House was traditional.
The president was able to rack up a few notable achievements, including Justice Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court and the flurry of lower court appointments that is spurring a rightward shift to the federal judiciary that will be felt for decades.
The passage of the GOP tax overhaul gave Trump his first major legislative victory just before the year ended.
But it was Trump’s leadership style and ensuring controversies that really transformed Washington.
One constant was the White House’s unrelenting excoriation of the press. The Trump administration’s demonization of the media was unprecedented. It began on Day One, when the press was condemned by former press secretary Sean Spicer for accurately describing inauguration crowd sizes, and continued through the year with the president himself decrying any uncomplimentary account as “fake news.” At one point, the president even tweeted about challenging the licenses of television networks — precisely the kind of threat the First Amendment was meant to prevent.
Trump’s embrace of culture wars also a marked departure from his predecessors. From his comments that “there’s blame on both sides” of the deadly Charlottesville white supremacist rally, to his insistence that NFL owners force protesting players to their feet, to his embrace of a Senate candidate accused of molesting young girls, Trump frequently inserted himself into socially and racially incendiary issues.
Beyond the U.S.’s borders, the Trump administration’s Pentagon has seen tactical strides in the fight against ISIS, and his Justice Department has moved steadily to toughen its approach to drug crime prosecution on immigration enforcement. But the State Department reels from increased tensions with allies and foes alike as Trump has walked away from or disparaged U.S. commitments to the Paris climate pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran nuclear deal.
Several major policy promises remain elusive to Trump’s White House, including the full repeal and replacement of Obamacare and funding for a southern border wall. Other attempted moves, including a travel ban and prohibition on transgender individuals serving in the military, have been held up by court challenges.
Trump has declared the year an unmitigated success. Which only means there is no end in sight to his frenzied approach to governance.