Now I Get it: Trump’s campaign promises, 100 days in

by Kelli Hill

President Trump is preparing to mark his 100th day in office on April 29 with a “big rally” in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The political milestone is an administration’s chance to highlight its achievements and revisit promises made out on the campaign trail. The president is well aware of this looming benchmark, taking to Twitter this past weekend to call it “ridiculous” but also reminding his 28 million followers that he has done a lot so far.

So how many of President Trump’s campaign promises have been fulfilled? Here’s a breakdown of some of his key pledges.

President Trump repeatedly told his supporters that his administration would repeal and replace Obamacare quickly. He put his full support behind Paul Ryan’s health care bill, the American Health Care Act, but the bill couldn’t please everyone in the party, especially the ultra-conservative members of the Freedom Caucus. The bill was pulled before it even reached a vote.

The health care battle looked like it was going to be put aside for a little bit. However, just last week, President Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with the Italian prime minister that there was never a “give up” on the healthcare plan. “This is a great bill, this is a great plan, and this will be great health care,” he said.

Another campaign promise: the wall. When Trump announced his candidacy for president on June 6, 2015, he said, “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” As of now, construction has yet to begin and Mexico is still insisting they will not pay for it. But President Trump has not forgotten this pledge and is pressuring lawmakers to set aside funding for the wall during this congressional session.

During his campaign in December 2015, Trump also proposed the so-called Muslim ban. He issued a statement on his website which called for, “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Back then, the statement sparked controversy, and protesters showed up at Trump events on the campaign trail.

Trump softened his stance on this proposed ban when he became president, issuing an executive order in January that pushed for “extreme vetting” and restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. The new travel ban sparked protests at airports across the country and was shut down in court. The administration has since issued a revised executive order in March, which is also facing legal challenges and may make its way all the way to the Supreme Court.

One promise that President Trump has made good on is the nomination and confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice. Despite drama in the Senate during his confirmation, Neil Gorsuch was sworn as the 113th Supreme Court justice on April 10.

During Trump’s campaign, supporters also heard this pledge over and over again at rallies across the country: America First. Trump even said during his first debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton that America could no longer be “the policeman of the world.”

During his first 100 days, Trump has faced a few challenges in keeping this promise. He initiated airstrikes with Syria, a country he once said the U.S. had no business being involved with, after a chemical attack in that country killed dozens of civilians.

Trump also repeatedly pledged to declare China a currency manipulator once he took office. But, now, as the world is facing a nuclear threat from North Korea, Trump has changed his mind, tweeting, “Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem? We will see what happens!”

And finally there’s the promise that Trump voters arguably cared the most about throughout the campaign: jobs.

Trump has been rolling back regulations that former President Barack Obama put in place, like an environmental regulation on the coal industry, in hopes of boosting that sagging industry and adding more jobs.

Still, last month job growth slowed to the lowest it’s been in a year. Economists say with just three months in, it’s too soon to tell how much job growth this president can bring about.

So it remains to be seen how the rest of President Trump’s term unfolds, but as for campaign promises during his first 100 days, at least you can say, “Now I get it.”