The 10 biggest pre-election promises Donald Trump has failed to follow through on
If you thought that Donald Trump’s pre-election promises were all vague battle cries such as ‘Drain the swamp,’ you were wrong.
Trump was alarmingly specific about what he would achieve in his first 100 days – in speeches, and in a document entitled, ‘Donald J. Trump Contract With The American Voter’.
He promised 18 actions which would take place on his very first day – including to ‘cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama’.
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All of this was supposed to have happened either on Day One – or in the 99 that followed.
So – now that we’re near the 100th day of his presidency – which are the biggest pre-election promises that Trump has failed to deliver on?
Locking up Hillary Clinton
One of the major promises of Trump’s campaign was that he would pursue charges against Hillary Clinton over the email scandal – with supporters chanting, ‘Lock her up!’
Trump abandoned the promise almost immediately once he had secured victory, saying that it was, ‘No longer something’ he felt strongly about.
Addressing supporters after his win, he said, ‘That plays great before the election … nah, we don’t care.’
Labelling China a ‘currency manipulator’
In Trump’s Contract With The American Voter – a document unveiled on the campaign trail – he specifically promised that on Day One of his presidency, he would label China a currency manipulator.
After a meeting with President Xi Jinping, he Tweeted, ‘Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem? We will see what happens!’
Getting Mexico to pay for The Wall
It was the iconic promise of Trump’s campaign – that he would build a wall on the border with Mexico, and that Mexico would pay for it.
But 100 days into his presidency, there is still no sign of either the wall, or of Mexico agreeing to fund it.
When Trump moved into the White House, he admitted that American taxpayers would have to fund the wall, but claimed that he would get the money back at a later date.
But even that funding has proved difficult to come by – after Democratic senators blocked his spending plans unless he removed funding for the wall.
Defiant, Trump Tweeted, ‘Don’t let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc.’
‘Reinstating’ torture
Mr Trump was an enthusiastic cheerleader for torture while on the campaign trail – saying that he would approve waterboarding ‘immediately’.
He claimed he would ‘make it also much worse’.
But after his election, he bowed to the opinion of CIA director Mike Pompeo – who said he would ‘absolutely not’ reinstate the interrogation technique.
Freeze hiring of public employees
Trump promised in his Contract With the American Voter that he would institute a, ‘hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition exempting military, public safety, and public health.’
He did do so – but then lifted it this month.
The across-the-board hiring freeze is now being replaced with ‘a more surgical plan’.
Replacing Obamacare
On the campaign trail, Mr Trump promised at one point that Democratic health care legislation – known as Obamacare – would be repealed on Day One of his term.
But the first legislative effort to replace it failed 64 days into Trump’s term.
Trump said, ‘I never said repeal it and replace it within 64 days. I have a long time. But I want to have a great healthcare bill and plan, and we will. It will happen. And it won’t be in the very distant future.
Immigration ban
Trump’s ban on entry for travellers from six Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) was blocked for a second time by federal judges in March.
Trump has vowed to take his battle to the Supreme Court.
He told reporters, ‘I’m never surprised by the Ninth Circuit. We’ll see them at the Supreme Court.
Defunding sanctuary cities
In Trump’s ‘Contract With the American Voter’, he promised to ‘cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities’ – cities which limit their cooperation with immigration authorities, such as Boston and San Francisco.
Trump’s attempt to starve areas of federal funds was blocked by a San Francisco judge, William H. Orrick of United States District Court.
Orrick wrote that the president had overstepped his powers with his January executive order on immigration – and the temporary block applies nationwide.
Term limits on members of Congress
This popular anti-corruption measure was part of Trump’s Contract With the American Voter – and would imposed, ‘a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.’
Trump has been silent on the issue since he was elected.
The rest of his promised legislation
In his Contract With The American Voter, Trump promised a barrage of legislation including: the End the Offshoring Act, the Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act and the American Energy and Infrastructure Act.
None of these have materialised during the first 100 days.
