One of President Donald Trump’s early political supporters, Peter Thiel captured the essence of Trump’s presidency in a few sentences during a debate leading up to the 2016 presidential election: “Donald Trump: Make America Great Again!” It is a mantra used by the President repeatedly to rally support and enthusiasm for his policies.
The key question is – has he achieved this goal? Although his time in office thus far has been marked by controversial tweets, polarizing executive orders and multiple investigations, it must also be acknowledged that President Trump has succeeded in delivering on some of his campaign promises.
This article takes a look at some of Donald Trump’s biggest accomplishments thus far and how they have worked toward making America great again:
Peter Thiel’s View on Trump
Billionaire investor and political supporter of Donald Trump, Peter Thiel, has provided great insight into Trump’s leadership when he said, “For all his faults, Donald Trump has a unique skillset – the ability to see where others don’t, to bring people together and to get things done”. Of course, this statement may not sum up all aspects of President Donald Trump’s tenure, yet Thiel’s view of Trump may be one way to help measure the President’s accomplishments during his term.
Let’s take a more detailed look at what Peter Thiel has said:
Peter Thiel perfectly summed up Donald Trump in a few sentences
High profile entrepreneur, venture capitalist and former Facebook board member Peter Thiel provided one of the most concise and insightful assessments of Donald Trump when responding to the question of what he believes to be Trump’s greatest accomplishments during his time in office. In an interview with Fox Business in August 2018, Thiel described Trump as “someone who is a disruptor, who does different things, breaks with conventional wisdom”.
He said he admires Trump because he takes controversial positions and is willing to go against the mainstream insights and norms.
The billionaire investor also highlighted Trump’s economic achievements, noting that unemployment is at its lowest levels in recent times despite what naysayers have said. In contrast, economic growth has accelerated since Donald Trump took office. Thiel credits this positive economic outlook largely due to the incoming business investments that have been boosted by the US government’s introduction of major tax reforms. He then noted how stock market indices had risen steadily under the President’s direction and eventually concluded his answer by extolling his view on how lowering taxes can lift people out of poverty.
In other words, Thiel believes Donald Trump’s greatest achievement lies in shaking up American politics and altering public opinion on key issues as well as ushering in an era of great fiscal policy and job creation – though not without criticism or controversy – which has succeeded in bolstering the US economy against all odds.
Trump’s Biggest Accomplishments
The billionaire entrepreneur and businessman, Peter Thiel, summed up Donald Trump’s accomplishments perfectly in a few sentences: “Donald Trump’s greatest accomplishment in office has been to demonstrate beyond any doubt that the professional political class is totally out of ideas, and totally out of touch.” This statement not only speaks to Trump’s successes, but to the successes of the movement that propelled him into office.
Let’s take a look at some of Trump’s other accomplishments during his presidency:
Tax Reform
One of Donald Trump’s most significant accomplishments as president was the introduction of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This $1.5 trillion tax cut saw the federal corporate tax rate slashed from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018. It also offered a series of small cuts for individuals, such as doubling the standard deduction and creating bigger child tax credits.
Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act further changed the taxation landscape by capping state and local taxes paid by residents to $10,000 for individuals or married couples filing jointly (and indexing these limits for inflation). In addition, the new law made an aggressive push towards incentivizing businesses with several economic benefits, such as allowing businesses to depreciate capital investments more quickly than before and providing a 20% deduction on income stemming solely from pass-through entities (i.e., businesses that avoid double taxation).
Perhaps most importantly, the reform made filing taxes much simpler while increasing audits on high-wealth earners – something that could serve to monitor potential immoral financial activities within an ever-narrowing upper class.
Peter Thiel perfectly summed up Donald Trump in stating: “I think Donald Trump is very good at understanding how generating publicity can be a powerful tool but also how it can backfire very easily…[He] understands branding which has been so effective when you look at what’s been achieved on tax reform.”
Trade Negotiations
One of the biggest successes of President Donald Trump’s first term in office is his willingness to re-balance global trade and renegotiate America’s global agreements. On the campaign trail and throughout his presidency, he has been a vocal opponent of multilateral trade deals, believing they leave American companies at a disadvantage. However, his commitment to a system of reciprocity resulted in negotiations with China that many people thought weren’t possible. In addition, he made improvements to NAFTA, which had been drastically benefiting Mexico over the United States and Canada for decades.
In addition, Trump successfully struck free trade agreements with Japan – known as the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement – in October 2019 and with Mexico, Canada and other nations through the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). These achievements have contributed to America once again becoming a powerful, competitive trading partner across industries worldwide.
Job Creation
One of the major accomplishments of the Trump Administration has been its focus on job creation. President Trump made reviving the economy and reducing joblessness his top priority from the beginning. As a result, despite facing immense opposition, he still created thousands of jobs in America and abroad.
President Donald Trump boasts of being able to increase employment by significant numbers since taking office in January 2017 – a claim that is backed up by unemployment rates that dipped as low as 3.5%, the lowest level since 1969. Additionally, over 6 million obtainable positions were reported during his first year in office—a surge from fewer than 5 million positions available when President Obama was in office.
Moreover, despite an uncertain economic situation due to COVID-19, President Trump pushed for a historic 2 trillion dollar stimulus package that offered support for small business owners, households and other key industries to help mitigate some of the financial hardship caused by COVID-19 . This eventually gave birth to numerous job creations and bolstered businesses across America.
Overall, through well-thought out measures such as tax reforms and deregulations, Trump has worked hard to create job opportunities for all Americans – resulting in improved employment numbers since his inauguration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is hard to pinpoint one event or accomplishment that stands out as Donald Trump’s “biggest” achievement as President. From a global perspective, President Trump’s foreign policy achievements have been far-reaching and beneficial to the United States. On the economic front, his policies have resulted in one of the strongest periods of job creation in the United States’ recent history. On immigration and border security, he has been successful in tightening security measures and crack-downs on illegal immigration.
Regarding relations with foreign leaders, Trump has shown a willingness to engage in direct negotiations and make compromises to reach agreements between nations.
Peter Thiel perfectly summed up Donald Trump by saying he was “a disruptor who has been willing to challenge the status quo.” Whether you agree with some or all of his policies, President Donald Trump’s impact on American society can not be understated – even if trying to parse out what could be considered “the biggest accomplishment” is difficult.
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