Donald Trump; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly; a library editorial

Donald and Melania Trump saying goodbye

Donald Trump left office yesterday after four years of very controversial leadership that has seen great turmoil in the United States along with some interesting accomplishments. Donald Trump was in many ways one of the most controversial presidents in U.S. history. Many people claimed he was a racist due to the fact that he attempted to halt illegal immigration to the United States by building a wall on the southern border. This fact was viewed as racist because the majority of people crossing the border illegally were Hispanic/Latino. Many other people however, including some people of Hispanic background, viewed stopping illegal immigration as a necessary measure to protect American citizens. Other presidents, in particular Barack Obama, deported more illegal migrants than Trump did. ICE arrests under Trump were significantly lower than under Obama, so it is difficult to say that Trump was a racist based on his immigration policies. Initially, some people also considered Trump to be anti-LGBT. Trump did limit transgender people's rights in the U.S. military, but it is not really clear from this act that Trump was actually anti-LGBT as few of his other policies limited the rights of LGBT people in any way. Similarly, although Trump was viewed by some people as being anti-African American, many Black people supported some of his actions and Trump pardoned prominent Black rappers on his last day in office, including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black as well as a number of other African Americans in prison for drug-related offenses who were not celebrities. If Trump is in fact a racist, it is hard to believe he would pardon these individuals as he leaves office.

Donald Trump and Lil' Wayne

So even though in our view Trump was not likely a 'racist', he did have some major short comings. First, he frequently relied far too much on social media to communicate his personal opinions and ideas, which is not the most presidential way to communicate. Trump's 'tweets' were often not checked or proofread and sometimes contradicted official statements. In addition, Trump responded unprofessionally and overly-emotionally to criticism by the media and the other politicians on too many occasions. There also seemed to be a lack of coherence to Trump's policies and a lack of clear direction that unnerved the rest of Washington. This problem was especially noticeable during the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, when Trump's policies did not appear well organized and coordinated. Despite this fact, other countries have had similar outcomes as the U.S. in terms of the pandemic, even if their initial response appeared more organized. Trump also seemed to encourage conspiracy theorists, such as QAnon, which also helped lead to the riot in the capitol a week ago. Finally, the 'capitol insurrection' that Trump instigated because, essentially he was a sore loser, was completely unacceptable and will very much damage his reputation.

Trump and QAnon supporters

What about the good things Trump did? The out-going Trump administration has published a list of Trump's accomplishments and at least some of them are accurate. Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic the American economy was the strongest it has been in many years. In fact the unemployment rate among all Americans, especially Black and Hispanic Americans, was at historic lows and incomes for all groups of people rose. According to ABC News:

Trump's Clintonian tack of "it's the economy, stupid," despite the myriad scandals and investigations that dogged him, largely worked as GDP grew at a healthy clip, the stock market soared and unemployment rates hit a half-century low, until the coronavirus pandemic gutted the job market. (A look at Trump's economic legacy)

The Trumps depart Washington DC

So yesterday it was goodbye to President Donald Trump and hello to President Joe Biden. I am certain that there are many reasons why we are happy to see Trump leave the White House. Yet in hindsight, Donald Trump did create some positive policies that benefited all Americans, despite the animosity against him from much of the media and Democrats. At least in terms of the economy, it will be difficult for Joe Biden to match Trump's accomplishments, although we hope Biden does equal Trump's economic success. In the end we all hope for the best from the new president and the new administration and look forward to a more peaceful presidency under Joe Biden.

Question: What are your feelings about Donald Trump?

How border apprehensions, ICE arrests and deportations have changed under Trump

President Trump pardons rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black hours before Joe Biden's inauguration

Full list of Trump's last-minute pardons and commuted sentences

Trump administration lists accomplishments from 2017-21