Report card on Trump's first six months shows a lot of wins, a little room for growth
Awareness of life's ticking clock is important for any elected official, but it is particularly important for Trump. During his first term in office, much of Trump's agenda was derailed or sidetracked by forces beyond his direct control: an unexpected John McCain thumbs-down on the Obamacare repeal vote, injunction-happy lower-court judges, subversive administrative state actors, a bogus special counsel probe on Russian election interference, the COVID-19 pandemic, extraordinary Big Tech censorship. Based on these experiences and sobered from those long interregnum years, Trump adjusted his game plan this time around. And it shows.
So there's a lot to report here in the Trump administration's six-month report card.
Economy: B+
There has been much in the way of genuinely great news on the economy. The stock market is considerably up since Trump resumed office, Trump's tariffs are bringing in substantial revenue to the Treasury, the president renewed his landmark 2017 tax cuts and cut taxes on tips and overtime pay, he has finalized historic trade deals with major powers, inflation has stayed relatively consistent and blue-chip companies have announced massive domestic investments in the U.S. economy. On the other hand, inflation stubbornly remains a bit high, the tariff rollout has been bumpy at best, and the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' while a net positive piece of legislation, only exacerbated America's glaring debt problem. Elon Musk's DOGE, while still a great public service, also identified only a minuscule portion of federal bloat for rescission.
Domestic policy: A
The administration's broader domestic agenda has been, from a conservative perspective, extremely successful. Trump's war against the higher education establishment is long overdue and is already paying huge tangible dividends. Trump, through both court wins and crucial executive orders, has taken meaningful steps to curtail the administrative state Leviathan and consolidate executive power where it properly belongs: with the president himself. He has protected women's sports and female federal inmates from intimate exposure to biological males, protected vulnerable confused children from the irreversible depredations of transgender 'medicine' and crushed the modern racism that is 'diversity, equity and inclusion.' He has secured numerous other decades-sought-after domestic conservative goals, such as (partially) defunding Planned Parenthood, defunding NPR and PBS and vastly downsizing the Department of Education.
Immigration: A+
Trump has not disappointed on his longstanding signature political issue, immigration. Illegal border crossings and 'gotaways' have dropped to historic lows as Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and 'border czar' Tom Homan have overseen one of the most sweeping border security and immigration enforcement operations in American history. There are no signs of slowing down, either. Perhaps even better, the administration has pursued its immigration enforcement agenda in a way that also redounds to its political interests — from the Hamas-sympathizing former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil to the 'Maryland man' Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is now charged with human smuggling.
Law: A-
Lower-court judges have tried to nip the administration's agenda in the bud with ludicrous nationwide injunctions, but most of those acts of judicial hubris will be brought to heel by Trump's recent Supreme Court victory in the CASA case. The administration has secured other crucial Supreme Court victories, including the Skrmetti case, which paved the way for states to protect vulnerable children from mutilating transgender surgeries. And while judicial nominations have gotten off to a slower start than during the first Trump term, the administration's picks thus far for federal courts have invariably been top-notch. On the other hand, the administration might want to try to entice more conservative older judges to take 'senior status' — perhaps, for instance, by offering them shiny ambassadorships. Finally, the Jeffrey Epstein saga, while not the monstrous scandal-in-the-making some even on the MAGA right make it out to be, has clearly not been handled particularly well.
Foreign policy: A
The Trump administration has reversed the Biden-era approach of rewarding geopolitical enemies and punishing geopolitical friends by returning to the more familiar approach he deployed during his first term: rewarding friends and punishing enemies. Trump's limited incursion in last month's 12-Day War between Israel and Iran achieved the decades-sought-after goal of severely hampering Iran's nuclear program, while also not suffering a single American casualty or even requiring a boot on the ground. In Europe, NATO nations are already committing to spend more money on defense, thus freeing up the United States to focus first and foremost on its true rival: Communist China. Trump has brought peace to India and Pakistan and to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Russia-Ukraine peace deal remains elusive, but Trump has shown an admirable willingness to adjust in response to changing circumstances.
There is undoubtedly much work left to be done. Trump would probably be the first to say that himself. But his second administration is off to a very strong — and fast — start. Seize the day, indeed.
Josh Hammer's latest book is 'Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West.' This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate. @josh_hammer
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