An Evaluation

1 Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion– For the most part this promise has been fulfilled.  The use of the military as support for ICE has worked.  Daily arrests have decreased from 5,100 per day under the previous administration to about 230 per day. If a migrant invasion was a problem, President Trump has solved it.  The question is, “Were migrants seeking a better life in America a problem?”  Based on national crime and work data, most migrants were not a problem, did not contribute disproportionately to crime, did not displace American workers, and were not provided with Medicaid benefits at the expense of the American taxpayer.  A majority of Americans support inclusive immigration policies, such as pathways to citizenship, and recognizing the economic and social contributions of immigrants.  (USC Equity Research Institute, April 29, 2025) But the false perception promoted by Donald Trump, allowed the MAGA movement to make this an issue when it wasn’t!  There was no national emergency.  Undocumented immigrant arrivals had already started falling in 2023, when the Biden administration introduced the CBP One app which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry to apply for asylum.  President Trump changed the purpose of the app to allow undocumented immigrants to receive $1,000 if they would voluntarily sign up to leave America.

2 Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history—This effort is currently underway.  ICE has removed 61,630 alleged illegals since January 2025.  The biggest issues here are currently under scrutiny by the courts.  Is the use of executive power, the Insurrection Act of 1807, and the Alien Enemies Alien Act constitutional?  The deportation of people without due process (the 5^th Amendment) is also a major issue.  It seems that President Trump has overstepped his executive power by claiming powers that were not granted under the Constitution or through the use of the before mentioned acts.

3 End inflation and make America affordable again– President Trump had promised to bring prices down during the first days in office.  It has now been over 100 days and instead, price hikes for food have accelerated. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that food costs have increased by 2.4% since January.   The big increase in egg prices may soon end with the cost of wholesale eggs now dropping.  When that drop will be passed on to the consumer is unknown.  To be fair, some products like pasta, rice, potatoes and lettuce have declined in cost.  And despite the President’s claim of $1.98 gas, prices have remained static. The nationwide average is $3.18.  The lowest price is in Mississippi at $2.66.  His implementation of tariffs worldwide have forced many businesses to pass the costs associated with the tariffs on to their customers.  Inflation has declined from 3% in January to 2.4% but is predicted to increase over the next few months. 

4 Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!  The problem with this promise is that it is misleading.  America has been and continues to be the number two energy producer behind China.  Given the disparity of populations between the two nations, this is not surprising.   With the world’s tenth largest oil reserves and environmentally friendly means of production of alternative energy, America is already a leader.  It appears that President Trump’s gambit here was to allow for greater production for the oil and coal producers when it is not needed.

5 Stop Outsourcing and Turn the United States into a Manufacturing Superpower– While many Americans wish for the days when industrial manufacturing was dominate, those days have passed.  The Rust Belt in the Midwest has been in recovery mode for decades.  Some cities have made significant strides while others continue to struggle. Efforts to revitalize the Midwest and other manufacturing hubs have included investments in infrastructure, education, and new industries. Cities like Buffalo, NY, and Madison, WI, have seen improvements in unemployment rates, poverty reduction, and real estate growth. However, the recovery is uneven, with some former manufacturing hubs still facing economic challenges. 

The loss of coal mining, due to the transfer of steel production overseas and environmental concerns, will likely not return.   President Donald Trump’s administration has made changes to support the coal industry, including allowing mining on federal land and allowing older coal-fired power plants to continue producing electricity. However, the industry still faces challenges due to environmental concerns and declining demand. Instead, the dominate industries in America are intellectual and technological, including  real estate, and healthcare.  We need to recognize our strengths in technology and intellectual development and allow other nations to provide manufacturing at lower costs to us.

6 Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!  Who wouldn’t like this idea!  The middle class and working poor need tax relief.  However, the “Nice Big Bill” being proposed cuts all tax categories.  Upper middle class, upper class, billionaires, and corporations do not need a tax cut.  There is plenty of money to live a decent lifestyle, invest in new ventures and build corporate profits.  Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have it right.  We need to increase tax on the upper income levels and lower taxes on the middle- and lower-income families.  America will prosper.  Our national debt can be reduced. Our $36.2 trillion debt could be paid off in a few decades. But for that to happen, the government would have to balance the budget and raise taxes on millionaires to the President Johnson era rate of 70%.  The money generated would go directly to paying down the debt.

7 Defend our constitution, bill of rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms– Again, who can complain about this?  We should all want to maintain the rights that our founding fathers fought so hard to achieve 250 years ago.  President Trump took and oath to uphold the Constitution when he was sworn in as President.   Yet, in an interview with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when Welker asked him if he would uphold the Constitution he said, “I’m not sure.”  You don’t have to look hard to find social media and news outlets that are questioning whether our fundamental freedoms are being limited!

8 Prevent World War three, restore peace in Europe and in the middle east, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in America– While the first part of this goal should be supported by all, the last section makes little sense.  Preventing wars is a world goal.  So far, President Trump’s bold prediction that he would end the Ukrainian conflict on his first days in office, has not even resulted in a real ceasefire.  The Israeli/Hamas conflict continues.  However, to be fair, in the last few days the Trump administration has announced tentative cease fire agreements between India and Pakistan, as well as a possible 30-day cease fire between Ukraine and Russia.  Yet, threats to take over Greenland and perhaps Canada by force are counterintuitive to world peace.  The threats against Iran regarding nuclear weapons does little to reduce tension in the middle east.  A missile dome over the United States sounds like a great idea if war were to happen.  However, think about the total cost of developing Trump’s “Golden Dome.”  The cost of developing and maintaining Israel’s Iron Dome is $1 billion, and that system is much smaller with less complicated missiles than America would require.

9 End the weaponization of government against the American people—I think this goal was a joke.  While President Trump declared that the government was victimizing him, I see no proof!  Now that he is once again President, I believe that he has weaponized his government against those who have opposed him or might criticize what he has done.  Consider the following actions.  Some notable figures reportedly pursued by the Justice Department includeLetitia James, the New York Attorney General who won a civil fraud case against Trump, is now facing a criminal fraud probe led by the FBI. Also, former Rep. Liz Cheney, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and John Bolton, among others, have been targeted through various government actions because of perceived anti-Trump opinions.

10 Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders—This all sounds great!  However, there is not a migrant crime epidemic! Research consistently shows that immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, tend to commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. Studies have found that as the immigrant share of the U.S. population has increased, crime rates have declined. Additionally, historical data suggests that first-generation immigrants have been less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born individuals for over a century. Demolishing foreign drug cartels is a problem for the countries where they originate.  American needs to focus on the market demand side of the equation.  Reduce or eliminate the demand and the cartels will need to find other markets.  Gang violence is a problem that impacts other gangs.  The spill over to the general population is tragic, but not significant.  The statistics support the reality that convicted violent offenders are locked up

11 Rebuild our cities, including Washington DC, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again—This is another misleading statement.  Our cities are not hotbeds of crime and decay.  All cities have problems with the homeless, under-employed and under-educated.  These are social problems that can best be solved by providing better opportunities for jobs and education.  Our largest cities do have increased crime problems, but most, like New York, have found strategies to reduce crime.   According to the National Crime statistics, American crime is down across most categories.  The national murder rate has dropped significantly—about 16% from its 2020 peak. Violent crime and property crime are approaching historic lows, though some regions have seen increases in specific types of crime

12 Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world- Another misleading statement.  America has by far the most modernized and powerful military in the world, according to the 2025 Global Firepower rankings. The ranking considers over 60 factors, including troop numbers, military equipment, financial stability, geographic location, and available resources. The U.S. leads in technological advancements, with a large fleet of aircraft, tanks, and naval assets.  Following the U.S., Russia and China rank second and third, respectively. 

13 Keep the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency—A worthy goal.  However, President Trump’s recent support for crypto currency has many doubting whether this is a real goal.  The Trump family has become increasingly involved in cryptocurrency. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. co-founded American Bitcoin, a crypto mining firm merging with Gryphon Digital Mining. The company aims to mine Bitcoin at a lower cost and accumulate reserves of the cryptocurrency.  Additionally, the Trump family has backed World Liberty Financial, a crypto exchange that recently secured a multi-billion-dollar investment from an Abu Dhabi-based firm. Donald Trump himself has launched a meme coin called $TRUMP, which has seen significant fluctuations in value since its release. These ventures have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, with some lawmakers calling for investigations into the family’s crypto dealings.

14 Fight for and protect social security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age– A wonderful promise.  We will need to see what the House of Representatives cuts from the “Big Beautiful Budget”.  Recent drafts of the proposed budget bill show significant cuts and changes to Medicaid and support for SNAP.

15 Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations—This is a difficult topic.  It concerns environmental issues versus regulation, and the real contribution of fossil fuel to global warming.  The facts make it clear that global warming is real.  The debate over how much is natural and how much human activity contributes to the problem, weighs heavily toward a major impact from human developments.  However, it does not matter when humanity can reduce its contribution, whether significant or not.  There is no reason not to cut our pollution of the environment.  Costs might be a factor, but then improving our overall standard of living by not taxing middle income and working poor households could make up the difference. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to eliminate the so-called “electric vehicle mandate.” This mandate was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that required auto manufacturers to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new vehicles, effectively pushing for more electric vehicle production. Trump’s order also aimed to remove regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access and terminate state emissions waivers that limited the sale of gasoline-powered cars

16 Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children– This again is an issue that really is not an issue!  Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in American schools existed long before Donald Trump’s presidency. The foundations of DEI can be traced back to civil rights movements and legislation such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.  By the 1990s and 2000s, DEI initiatives expanded beyond race to include gender, disability rights, and LGBTQ+ inclusion in education. Schools and universities implemented diversity training, multicultural curricula, and affirmative action policies to promote equitable access to education.  While DEI became a more widely discussed topic in recent years, its roots in American education go back decades.  Some schools incorporate discussions on these subjects, while others face restrictions on teaching them. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 56% of teachers reported that topics related to racism and racial inequality came up in their classrooms at least sometimes, while 29% said the same about sexual orientation and gender identity. The survey also found that these discussions are more common in urban and suburban schools than in rural areas.  Sixty percent of teachers believe parents should not be able to opt their children out of discussions on racism and racial inequality. Schools are not pushing critical race theory or promoting gender decisions.

17 Keep men out of women’s sports—There are so few men who are transgender.  Only 1.4% of youth aged 13-17 identify as transgender.  Only about 33% report as males. Of the transgender group few compete in sports events.  Transgender youth make up a small fraction of all athletes. For example, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified in December 2024 that fewer than ten transgender college student-athletes were among a total 510,000 athletes. Research also suggests that states allowing transgender participation tend to have more girls participating in sports than states with bans.

18 Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again– This goal flies in the face of all that America stands for.  Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment.  Many may not like those who do not agree with their personal position or that of the government, but our Bill of Rights guarantees those individuals the right to speak out.  Our universities and college campuses have always been a place where this right exists without fear of retaliation.  We recently noted the heartbreak when President Nixon attempted to curb the right to peaceful anti-war demonstration at Kent State.  These types of demonstrations and sometimes violent ones are not the rule, but rather the exception.   

19 Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship—Again, another false issue!  Our elections have been secure.  It has only been since President Trump’s claims of a stolen election that the issue has been raised.  The facts have shown that Trump’s claims have no merit.  Under the Trump administration, the government is making it more difficult for many to vote.  Just the opposite of what Is needed! While instances of voter fraud do occur, multiple studies and investigations have found that widespread fraud is rare. Election officials and experts generally agree that the election system has safeguards, such as voter registration requirements, identification checks, and audits of results in place to prevent fraud.

20 Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success—What a joke!  From the very beginning President Trump through his rhetoric has increased divisions in our country.  However, there is hope that through its own policies, the nation may be uniting against his agenda.  Consider the most recent polls which show mixed approval ratings for the president and his policies. In various surveys, his overall approval rating has hovered around 40-45%. Some of his policies, such as tariff increases and government cuts, have faced majority disapproval, with 59% opposing tariffs and 55% disapproving of federal department reductions.