Donald Trump



Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York) is the 45th President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman, active in New York City Real Estate Market and television personality known primarily from hosting Reality Show The Apprentice.

Immigration
President Trump is in favor of a more restrictive immigration system and reducing the overall number of immigrants coming to the US. One of the flagship points of his campaign was to build a concrete wall on Mexican-American Border. Following his Administration withdrawal of protections for "Dreamers" under the DACA program established by his predecessor Barrack Obama, he made several attempts to replace the current immigration system established in 1990 under President George H.W Bush.

During his first term, these attempts included giving his support for the RAISE Act, as well as several other legislations which were designed to reduce levels of legal immigration to the United States by 50%. If any of those were enacted, the number of green cards issued would be cut by half. They would also dramatically reduce family-based immigration pathways, impose a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions per year, end the diversity visa lottery which currently awards a green card to 55,000 people a year, and eliminate the current demand-driven model of employment-based immigration, which would be replaced with a points system. The bill did not receive a vote in the Senate, however, a similar - even stricter plan that would have increased federal government's deportation powers, heavily cut family-based legal migration and end the diversity visa lottery was also pushed by Trump, and his administration; this time receiving a vote on the senate floor and failing, by a margin of 39-60.

Department of Justice under President Trump expanded the reach of so-called 'Operation Janus' which resulted in stripping US Citizenship away from people who received it without stating that they were previously ordered to be removed from the US on form. Several cases of that matter are currently pending in court and two people of Asian origin have been already stripped of their citizen status. Donald Trump often expressed hateful or bigoted statements toward immigrants, particularly about those coming to the US from developing countries referring to them as "Shithole Countries". During his campaign launching event on June 9-th 2015 in New York City Trump called Mexicanss rapists and drug dealers which caused an outrage in the US Latino community.

Healthcare
During a 2015 interview with the Daily Signal, a conservative publication affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, President Trump promised not to reduce social safety net programs, putting a strong emphasis on Medicare and Medicaid: “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid,”.

However just two years after this statement Trump Administration released a budget proposal for the fiscal year 2019 in which it proposed to cap federal Medicaid payments to states and to cut federal Medicaid spending by $1.439 trillion over the ten year period 2019 – 2028. $1.439 trillion accounts for about 26% of what the Administration projects federal Medicaid spending would otherwise be, and the figure is also within shouting distance of the $1.455 trillion cosst of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017. The proposal was seeking to save that amount by “Repealing & Replacing Obamacare and Reforming Medicaid Financing”.

It has been reported that Senator John Barrasso, who seems to regularly chat with the president, has brought up the idea of cutting Medicare and Social Security with President Trump, who has talked about it being „a second-term project.” In 2017 President Trump was a staunch supporter of the two Republican healthcare bills that ultimately failed: the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, and the American Healthcare Act of 2017.

Both legislations would dramatically increase the number of uninsured Americans, that number would have risen by 24 million people by 2026, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The people affected would be the beneficiaries of Medicaid Expansion which currently offers free healthcare to people making below or 138% poverty line salary. It would end the provision that allows children under 26 to receive health insurance from their parents' policy, allow denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, reduce federal subsidies for healthcare that benefit families who receive a salary that is equal to or below 400% of the poverty line. Both legislations were massively unpopular and were reported as a massive transfer of wealth to the richest Americans by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities .The Republican legislatios would also repeal several taxes imposed on the richest Americans that were designed to fund healthcare coverage for the poor. After the initial failure to repeal Obamacare,the Trump administration rushed to underminethe Affordable Care Actiny other ways. First, they reduced the Individual mandate penalty to zero in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Then, the federal government supported a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of Texas that argued that because the Individual Mandate is no longer a tax, the legislation exceeds the tax imposing authority of Congress and is de facto unconstitutional. The 5th Circuit Appeals Court agreed with some of those assessments by deeming Individual Mandate as unconstitutional, although the litigation is pending and the case is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court.

Abortion
Trump supports limiting the variety of cases in which abortion can be executed. During a GOP debate argument with Ted Cruz, Trump stated that Planned Parenthood does "many wonderful things" but he would defund it anyway because "he is pro-life". Trump administration officially blocked funds for planned parenthood in 2019. First Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch avoided stating his views on abortion saying only that he strongly believes in the value of precedences to the judicial system. The second appointee Brett Kavanaugh declined to say if he would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade stating only that he considers the case important precedence. Although in 2003 Kavanaugh said in an e-mail: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so". In February 2019 both Trump appointed Justices voted to allow Louisiana law designed to limit access to abortion in the state, however, they were in a minority in 5-4 vote.

Gun Laws
During the campaign, President Trump has made defending the second amendment of the U.S Constitution his signature issue. He vowed to veto any legislation that would narrow its interpretation and limit the right to bear arms. However, as a response to the massacre that took place in Parkland, Florida his administration imposed a rule that outlawed bump stocks, devices that enhance the firing rate of certain weapons Following the Parkland massacre he also brought up the possibility of arming teachers which so met with broad contempt from various teacher and anti-gun groups, as well as democratic lawmakers.

In 2018 he supported a bill that would establish a nationwide right to carry concealed weapons. It ultimately failed.

Religion
Trump characterizes himself as a defender of Christian values. During CPAC 2017 he stated, "I Love The First Amendment, Nobody Loves It More Than Me". He took a tough stance in regards to abortion and the so-called "War on Christmas". Although much is known about Trump's private life before becoming President that doesn't necessarily fit with his words. It has been reported, that Trump had multiple affairs with various women while being married. This includes cases such as his alleged romance with pornstar Stormy Daniels and Playboy playmate Karen McDougal while being married to Melania Knauss. He has been accused of sexual harassment or rape by at least 17 women and was caught on tape in the infamous Hollywood Acess tape bragging about groping Nancy O'Dell and possibly raping Arianne Zucker. During a November 1992 episode of a show "A Closer Look" Trump publicly admitted in the presence of the audience to forcibly kissing the host Faith Daniels in the lips while her husband was turned back. In spite of that, he has received endorsements from various religious leaders, including, most notably, Tele-Evangelist Pat Roberts .

LGBT Rights
Trump repeatedly issued contradicting statements about his stance on LGBT issues. He stated that he would strongly consider appointing Supreme Court judges who would overturn Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that federally legalized same-sex marriage. However, he also said during an interview on the show 60 Minutes that his personal view on same-sex marriage was "irrelevant" and that he was "fine with" it, stating that the issue was "settled" in the Obergefell decision. Trump was the first Republican President who publicly endorsed Pride Day. However, during his term in office, he has enacted policies preventing Trans-Gender individuals from enrolling in the military, withdrew several regulations protecting LGBT individuals, and even though he publicly took part in the Pride Day celebrations, he banned U.S embassies from putting LGBT flag next to American on the flagpoles.

On July 26, 2017, Trump announced on Twitter that transgender people would no longer be allowed to serve in the military "in any capacity", explaining that American forces could not afford the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of transgender service members. After numerous lawsuits and a case before the Supreme Court, the policy went into effect on 12 April 2019.

Wall Street Regulations
In May of 2018, on a bipartisan basis, Congress approved a measure that raises the level at which banks are subject to stiffer regulations. The rules now apply to institutions possessing assets worth, at least, $250 billion, up from $50 billion previously. The new rule deregulates major regional banking institutions such as Sun Trust or BB&T and will encourage other banks to grow up to the $250 billion barriers. Trump has signed the bill. He has also approved a second deregulation bill that passed the House in July with a big bipartisan majority. It exempted some non-banks — such as insurance companies or money managers — from assessments meant to determine whether a firm can survive a national economic calamity without being bailed out. Mick Mulvaney his Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chief appointee pulled back from investigations, ended promising cases and changed the bureau’s name. He also believes the office shouldn't exist.

Estate Tax
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, championed by Trump, increased Estate Tax exemption from 5.5 million dollars for an individual to 11.18 million, making it effectively 22.36 million for a married couple. As a result, 3200 people per year were no longer obliged to pay the tax, reducing the number of people who are liable to pay by 64% from 5,000 to merely 2,000.

Income and Corporate Taxes
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced personal income rates for people making up to 200,000 dollars after deduction by 1 to 5%, it raised the rate for earners between $200,001 and $416,700 from 33 to 35% but lowered it for people making 500,001$ or more from 39.6 to 37%. For couples, these rates were respectively $0-$400,000 and 600,001+. For households heads, the rates also were cut for incomes up to $200,000 and higher than 500,000. Corporate Income Tax was cut most drastically, from 35% to 21% flat rate. US Treasury reported a similar decrease in CIT revenue from 297 billion dollars in 2017 to 205 billion in 2018.

Social Security
In 2013, while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Donald Trump had this to say about welfare programs: "As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen... What we have to do and the way to solve our problems is to build a great economy.".

However, as President, Trump made moves that undermined his earlier statement. In a budget proposal for the fiscal year 2020, his administration included several cuts to Social Security. Among them was a cut to a program designed to give assistance to those who have disabilities preventing them from being in the workforce. In all, the proposed cuts to Social Security amounted to $25 billion over ten years, cutting roughly $10 billion from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, which the administration says will be found through cutting down on fraud.

Justice System Reform
President Trump supported and signed the First Step Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at reforming the prison and sentencing system. The act, among many provisions, retroactively applies to the older Fair Sentencing Act, restricts the use of restraints on pregnant women, expands compassionate release for terminally ill patients, places prisoners closer to family in some cases, authorizes new markets for Federal Prison Industries, mandates de-escalation training for correctional officers and employees, and improves feminine hygiene in prison. The legislation increases the number of good conduct time credits prisoners receive from 47 days per year to 54 days. Due to a legislative drafting error, this change won't be applied retroactively. It also requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to make feminine hygiene products "available to prisoners for free, in a quantity that is appropriate to the healthcare needs of each prisoner." The law shortened sentences for non-violent drug offenders to a maximum of 5 years and eases a federal “three strikes” rule — which currently imposes a life sentence for three or more convictions — and issues a 25-year sentence instead. As of July 2019 more than 3,000 people have been freed from federal prisons thanks to the First Step Act. After signing the legislation President Trump came forward with a plan for a Second Criminal Justice reform bill called Second Step Act that would focus on easing employment barriers for formerly incarcerated people. This act would feature a $88 million funding request for prisoner social reentry programs. However, the Second Step Act turned out not to exist nor be in works, according to the Washington Examiner. The bill hasn't been introduced or publicly spoken about as of June 2020.

Global warming
In the open letter, which appeared as a full-page advertisement in a 2009 edition of The New York Times, Trump and other business leaders urged then-President Obama to enact climate legislation, invest in clean energy projects, and lead the world in combating climate change. Trump's three adult children were also listed as signatories.

However Trump has frequently expressed climate-change skepticism in recent years, including once in 2012 when he suggested that climate change was a Chinese-manufactured hoax.

On June 1, 2017, United States President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation. Trump stated that "The Paris accord will undermine (the U.S.) economy," and "puts (the U.S.) at a permanent disadvantage." During the presidential campaign, Trump had pledged to withdraw from the pact, saying a withdrawal would help American businesses and workers. Trump stated that the withdrawal would be in accordance with his America First policy.

Trump has continued to ignore warnings from his own government agencies, dismissing a 2018 report warning of devastating economic consequences from climate change, saying he did not believe it. Giving an interviev in Britain's ITV channel he placed the blame on other countries, namely China, India, and Russia, for worsening air and water quality while claiming the US has one of "the cleanest climates there are".

In August 2019, Donald Trump, responding to a question about climate change after skipping a G7 session on the issue, said on Monday that American wealth is based on energy and he will not jeopardize that for dreams and windmills.

Nonetheless, in December 2019, asked whether he was thinking about climate change, Trump replied “''I think about it all the time, Phil. And, honestly, climate change is very important to me. And, you know, I’ve done many environmental impact statements over my life, and I believe very strongly in very, very crystal clear, clean water and clean air. That’s a big part of climate change.''”

Foreign Policy
When running for office Donald Trump claimed that he would strengthen America standing on the world stage. He made a variety of decisions concerning the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula, he has also changed America's relation with powerful international organizations and alliances like NATO and the UN.

2017 Sayrat missile strike

On the morning of 7 April 2017, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Airbase controlled by the Syrian government. It was executed under responsibility of President Trump, as a direct response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack that occurred on the fourth of April. The strike was the first unilateral military action by the United States targeting Ba'athist Syrian government forces during the Syrian Civil War. Shortly thereafter, President stated: "It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."The Syrian Air Force launched airstrikes against the rebels from the base only a few hours after the American attack. The ability to continue to use the base for these attacks has been attributed to the advance warning the US gave to Syria's ally, Russia, prior to the missile strike.

Trump's accusation: "Nato doesn't pay their share"

President Trump castigated the leaders of NATO allies to their faces during his trip to Europe this week, suggesting that many of them “owe massive amounts of money” to the alliance. “NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense,” he said. -> NATO has a budget to cover common civilian and military costs, and some NATO-owned assets are also commonly funded when they are used in operations. The United States pays 22 percent of those costs, according to a formula based on national income. None of the NATO allies are in arrears on these contributions. Trump was referring imprecisely to a goal NATO has set for each member to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on its own defense each year. He correctly claimed that only five of the 28 members currently meet that goal, and they are the United States, Greece, Britain, Estonia, and Poland.

2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit

In June of 2018 the summit was held between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore. It was the first-ever meeting between leaders of these two countries. They signed a joint statement, agreeing to security guarantees for North Korea, new peaceful relations, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, recovery of soldiers' remains, and follow-up negotiations between high-level officials. Both presidents also met separately with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Immediately after the summit, President Trump announced that the U.S. military would discontinue "provocative" joint military exercises with South Korea, and stated that he wished to bring the U.S. soldiers back home at some point, but he reinforced that it was not part of the Singapore equation.

2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit

In 2019, both leaders met again during a two-day summit held at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27–28. Immediately after the summit, the White House announced that it was cut short and that no agreement was reached. President Trump later clarified that it was because of North Korea's request to lift all sanctions imposed on the country. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho asserted that the country only sought a partial repeal of the five United Nations sanctions placed on North Korea between 2016 and 2017.

The assassination of Quasem Soleimani

On 3 January 2020, President Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport which targeted and killed Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while he was purportedly planned to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in Baghdad. Soleimani was commander of the Quds Force—which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain—and was considered the second most powerful person of Iran, subordinate to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Nine others were killed alongside Soleimani, including four Iranian and five Iraqi nationals such as deputy chairman of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and commander of the Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis—a designated terrorist in the U.S. and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The strike occurred during the 2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis, which began after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, reimposed sanctions and accused Iranian elements of fomenting a campaign to harass U.S. forces in the region. On 27 December 2019, the K-1 Air Base in Iraq, which hosts Iraqi and U.S. personnel, was attacked, killing an American contractor. The U.S. responded by launching airstrikes across Iraq and Syria, killing 25 Kata'ib Hezbollah militiamen. Days later, Shia militiamen and their supporters retaliated by attacking the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone.

Soleimani's killing sharply escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran and stoked fears of a military conflict. Iranian leaders vowed revenge, while U.S. officials said they would preemptively attack any Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq that they perceived as a threat. Many in the international community reacted with concern and issued statements or declarations urging restraint and diplomacy. Five days after the airstrike, Iran launched a series of missile attacks on U.S. forces based in Iraq, the first direct engagement between Iran and the U.S. since the naval battle precipitating the Vincennes incident on July 3, 1988. Following the shootdown of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 amidst the escalation, leaders from both countries seemed reluctant to further escalate the crisis.