12 crazy months sinceAmerica chose Donald Trump as leader
A year ago today Americans went to the polls and elected property mogul-turnedreality TV star Donald Trump as their President. Twelve months on from that night which saw a majority of Americans back Hillary Clinton but Mr Trump triumph by picking up more
1. Twitter is a presidential weapon...
Mr Trump used the social media tool to communicate with his grassroots supporters during the campaign when he outmanoeuvred a string of more traditional Republican candidates. He has not switched off his account but instead engages it to attack his foes at home and abroad.
He famously called Meryl Streep “one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood” after she used an appearance at the Golden Globe’s to criticise his “instinct to humiliate”.
The President also enjoys trying to rile North Korean leader Kim Jongun, referring to him as “rocket man” for his ambitions to perfect an nuclear missile capable of hitting the US.
2. It’s now accepted as a fact that Russia meddled in the US election...
The US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia’s goals were to “undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency”.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the extent of involvement and a former campaign adviser – who communicated with a professor who claimed Russians had “thousands of emails” which contained “dirt” on Ms Clinton – has admitted lying to the FBI.
3. Brits are no longer excited about shaking the President’s hand...
When President Obama visited the UK in 2011, Parliament granted him the rare honour of addressing MPs and peers in Westminster Hall – a privilege normally reserved for the likes of Nelson Mandela or the Pope.
But when it was announced Mr Trump had accepted an invitation to come to the UK MPs mobilised to make it clear he was not welcome in Westminster. It is still unclear when he will come to Britain but it is reported it will not include staying at Buckingham Palace.
4. There is open talk of impeaching the President...
Billionaire activist Tom Steyer has launched a television ad campaign pushing for the President’s impeachment but there has been speculation about Mr Trump not getting to finish his presidential term from the moment he was elected.
The conservative New York Times commentator David Brooks said last year that “the guy will probably resign or be impeached within a year”.
The chances of impeachment proceeding starting hinge on two factors: (a) how close to the President the investigation into Russian meddling in the election gets and (b) whether the Democrats can win a majority in the House of Representatives next year. A simple majority vote would trigger a trial in the Senate. 5. The economy is doing well but Trump’s poll ratings are touching record lows... The US economy grew at 3% in the third quarter of the year and US stock markets have surged since his election. Unemployment is down to 4.1% but at the end of last month just 37% of Americans approved of his job performance, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
This makes him the first president since Harry Truman to have net negative ratings at the this point in his time in office.
6. The US has turned its back on the most concerted effort yet to fight climate change...
Nearly 200 countries signed the Paris climate agreement in 2015 but in June President Trump announced his intention to withdraw, dismaying other world leaders.
He demanded new terms that are “fair to the United States” in one of the boldest demonstrations of his “America First” approach to both foreign and domestic policy. This was a way of assuring his base he was still committed to ending the “war on coal”.
7. Gun control looks off the agenda...
The US continues to be hit by mass shootings but gun control does not seem a priority for Mr Trump.
Responding to the mass killing at a church in Texas by a gunman armed with a military-style rifle, he said that “this isn’t a guns situation”. Instead, he described it as a “mental health problem at the highest level”.
Last year President Obama had painted gun control as one of the last great civil rights challenges, saying: “In Dr King’s words, we need to feel the fierce urgency of now, because people are dying.”
8. China is seen as the superpower most likely to shape the future of Asia and much of the world...
President Obama could see that as China grew wealthier it would want to exert greater foreign policy clout. He was determined to cement US influence in the region and staged a foreign policy “pivot” to Asia and championed a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a way of strengthening trading links.
Mr Trump has abandoned TPP (and proposals for a similar deal with the EU are dead, and the future of free trade arrangements with Mexico and Canada are in doubt) but China is ploughing billions into new transport networks that will help it export not just to its immediate neighbours but to Europe and Africa.
Time magazine’s recent cover stated “China won”. It captured the sense that the US has flunked a chance to lay foundations for future security and prosperity.
Jon Roper, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, gave his take of Trump presidency so far.
He said: “He came to the office as the least experienced President in many, many years so it was always going to be a steep learning curve. The question is whether he has learned anything in the course of the last year because he seems to just stagger from one misstep or crisis to another really, doesn’t he?”
However, he stressed that the profound significance of what is happening with Mr Trump in the White House, saying: “Behind the scenes, I think a lot of people that he’s put in cabinet offices are working to basically destroy any achievements of Obama in the last eight years.”
There is speculation as to whether a more traditional Republican will challenge him for the party nomination ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Prof Roper said that Mr Trump’s base of supporters “isn’t strong enough to elect him on its own so it is possible a Republican could see an opportunity here to challenge him”.