Opinionline: Midterm grades for Trump

2019-01-21 -

A report card on the Trump presidency from USA TODAY contributors and opinion editors:

Troika of Toughness

There’s a lot to love about President Donald Trump’s second year in office: smashed ISIS, embassy in Jerusalem, a booming economy with historically low unemployment. But I’m going to focus on his top three achievements: Trump’s Troika of Toughness, as I call them. No. 1: Brett Kavanaugh. Trump didn’t blink, much less panic when his Supreme Court nominee, a man of towering achievement and blameless reputation, had to endure a Democratic-orchestrated month of uncorroborated allegations about his supposed teen sexual misconduct. No. 2: The wall. Trump is holding fast on that one, too — and a Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 42 percent of Americans think the border situation is “a crisis” while 37 percent see it as a problem. No. 3: China. Trump slapped tariffs on Beijing that “free-traders” said would cripple the U.S. economy. In fact, China, hitherto Ground Zero for its own abusive trade practices and industrial piracy, is crawling to the negotiating table.

Charlotte Allen Columnist for “First Things”

Reckless, heartless

We began the year with a historically long shutdown of the government for no reason other than presidential pique. Why was the president angry? Because that part of Congress newly controlled by Democrats refused to “bend the knee.” For the first time in history, a U.S. president has brought gangsterism into the Oval Office. Not coincidentally, and also for the first time in history, we have a sitting president cited in court papers for illegal payments to women with whom he was personally entangled. And, again, for the first time, we have a president at war with the very institutions — the FBI and the Department of Justice — charged with keeping us safe at home, even as he attacks NATO, the United Nations and other organizations charged with keeping the world secure. And did I mention that he intentionally aggravated a crisis at the southern border that, in his mind, justified ripping children from the arms of their parents with no plan to reunite them? Never has a U.S. president been so reckless, so heartless and so clueless.

Ellis Cose Fellow, University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement

Not doing the work

From a conservative perspective, the president had fewer wins in his sophomore year. But there were certainly some. His foreign policy accomplishments in Year Two tend not to improve with scrutiny. The overtures to North Korea looks like a hollow PR stunt, and his decision to pull out of Syria with no real plan could be disastrous. This points to the real reason I am giving him an incomplete. He’s not doing the work. He’s not governing like the president of the whole country. And he faces every test like a student who prides himself on his refusal to study. Sometimes it works out for him. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Jonah Goldberg National Review contributing editor

For furlough

Trump has not changed or shown us anything new in the past 12 months. In a year that began and ended with government shutdowns, the United States showed “zero tolerance” for those fleeing persecution but nearly limitless tolerance for self-enriching Cabinet secretaries. And from disdain for “s--hole countries” to blaming California even as it burned, compassion remained on holiday. Trump’s Year Two was only different from his first year in office in that we, the American public, had been worn down by scrambling every day to either rationalize or fend off so many new not-normals. Now, “He can’t do that,” has given way to “Yes, he can.” His few Republican critics have retired, and his minders have been fired. The adults have left the building — well, except for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Melinda Henneberger Editorial writer at The Kansas City Star

Not being impeached

I’m grading on a curve mostly based on attendance. Not that Trump has shown up to negotiate with Democrats or even his own party, not that he has shown up for international diplomacy except with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and certainly not that his being around has accomplished much anything other than disasters. I mean, it’s amazing he hasn’t been impeached.

Sally Kohn Author of “The Opposite Of Hate: A Field Guide To Repairing Our Humanity”

Deepening the carnage

America sank into a Trump-shaped pit of disruption, damage and pain during the president's first year. At the end of Year Two, the pit is twice as deep. No one can figure out how to pull us out. The escalating daily chaos is what’s most visible, along with the ever-growing void where integrity, civility, patriotism, compassion, discipline, generosity and simply obeying the law should be. There’s also a conspicuously empty space on the world stage, larger and larger as Trump contemplates moves such as leaving NATO, where America used to stand as a reliable embodiment of freedom, tolerance and human rights, and as an ally of like-minded nations.

Jill Lawrence USA TODAY commentary editor

Ship of state still floats

My expectations for Trump were never very high. Two years in, I remain pleasantly surprised that he hasn’t embroiled the United States in a pointless war. His trade battles have been less destructive than I expected and he has managed to back away from some. Even his government shutdown is only partial. His decision to fire the attorney general didn’t turn into a constitutional crisis as the president decided to appoint William Barr, a normal Republican passably familiar with reality. And now the automatic stabilizers of the Constitution have started to kick in with the election of a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. We may yet get out of this presidency in one piece.

David Mastio USA TODAY deputy editor of the editorial page

Undermining himself

In his second year in office, Trump learned how to use the presidency — to do some things and avoid doing others. The toughest challenges included two government shutdowns, school shootings like the one at Parkland High School in Florida, and the immigration impasse. On the latter, the president promised to legalize “Dreamers” who were brought here illegally as children, stop “chain migration,” create a merit point system, end sanctuary cities, and build a “big beautiful” wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump broke all those promises. All in all, not a good year for the president. The tweeter in chief lost focus and proved once again to be his own worst adversary.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. Syndicated columnist

Day One dropout

We must assign two grades: one to President Trump, and one to the people actually conducting the business of the U.S. government. Trump, in every area, gets an F. Everyone else gets a passing grade, from the people trying determinedly to keep our armed forces ready, to the bureaucrats and administrators who execute a daily mosaic of actions that assist Americans in keeping their economy afloat despite Trump’s tariff wars and wealth-annihilating tweets. At this point, almost everything Trump does is organized around his own safety, and the rest of the government is left trying to manage itself.

Tom Nichols Author of “The Death of Expertise”

Bad dystopian novel

In a year that felt more like 20, Trump’s highlight reel is like a tumultuous backstory to some poorly written dystopian novel, featuring a president who spent his days either golfing at his own hotels or live-tweeting as he watched cable news. Amid mounting evidence that he and his campaign directly coordinated with Russia during the presidential election, Trump’s former national security adviser, personal lawyer and campaign manager all faced federal charges for criminal behavior. On foreign policy, Trump continued to cast aside our traditional allies in favor of siding with authoritarian leaders and going with his own uneducated and tempestuous whims. His White House remained a revolving door as he kicked out the few remaining “adults in the room.”

Cindy L. Otis Writer and former CIA officer

Needs improvement

We’re at or above full employment. He has achieved a de-escalation that could lead to peace in Korea and a realignment of Middle East affairs that is in the U.S. interest, particularly with Iran being brought under pressure from Arab allies. He has renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump stuck it out with Kavanaugh when other GOP presidents would probably have folded. The tax cuts he passed have helped to fuel economic growth. Beyond that, not much. The do-nothing GOP House lost the voters’ confidence, and now Trump has to deal with an obstructionist Democratic House. The worst commentary on Paul Ryan’s Republicans is that Trump might not see much difference, except for the blizzard of subpoenas. Trump and the congressional GOP should have had bills lined up like airplanes on a runway. Instead, they squandered a rare opportunity. Glenn Reynolds University of Tennessee law professor also known as Instapundit

Unreal president

Season 2 of the “Trump Reality Show” was outstanding. Last year’s crossover episodes with Kanye and Kim Kardashian West were brilliant, and I look forward to further crossover projects (or maybe a spinoff — seriously, George and Kellyanne Conway deserve their own show). In Season 2, the producers did a great job writing out old characters and bringing in new ones. (Over 80 percent of the major players in the White House have been replaced.) The Russia-Mueller plot line will have lots of cliffhangers to keep us glued to the show. And let’s not forget the porn stars and their nondisclosure agreements and so much more to keep us enthralled. The North Korea plot device is especially riveting — and it can be ramped up or down, as needed. The same with Iran, Syria, NATO, Israel-Palestine and the trade war with China. As a reality TV show, the Trump presidency is clearly a ratings hit. But Trump as our actual president is a disaster.

Steven Strauss Professor at Princeton