Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
One of President Trump's under-appreciated re-election assets is something all politicians promise but few do: He has largely done precisely what he promised his base he would do.
Why it matters: In our travels around the country, when we push people on why they're sticking with Trump, this is the #1 reason they cite.
Love him or hate him, Trump fixates on turning campaign promises into reality— or at least making the case that he tried:
- Conservative Supreme Court justice? Check and double-check.
- Tax cuts? Check, although they were heavily weighted toward corporations rather than the middle class.
- Gut regulations, especially from the Obama era? Check.
- Crack down on immigration? Even this is a check, despite his failure to build a wall.
- Tariffs on China? Check.
- Declaring China a currency manipulator? Check.
- Withdrawing from Paris climate agreement? Check.
- Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal? Check.
- Withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the giant Pacific Rim trade deal? Check.
- Renegotiating NAFTA? Check. (Pending congressional approval.)
Then there are the huge promises Trump hasn't kept:
- He promised in a 2016 interview, with the WashPost's Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, to wipe out the national debt in eight years. Instead, he’s increased the deficit and inflated the debt by trillions.
- He promised to build "a great wall," but inflates the mileage he claims by mixing replacement projects with new construction.
- He promised Mexico would pay, but of course it hasn't.
- He promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act and give amazing health care to everyone. Failed on both scores.
- He promised to reverse trade deficits. Instead, the U.S. trade deficit with Europe has grown.
- Trump, who yesterday called Afghanistan "the Harvard University of terrorism," had pushed to end America's longest war. But he hasn't withdrawn all U.S. troops, and said: "[W]e’ll always have somebody there."
- Other areas where reality has fallen short: infrastructure ("We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways all across our land") and ending the opioid crisis.
- Perhaps Trump's most absurd broken promise: to drain the swamp. Instead, he brought us Scott Pruitt and friends.
What's next: Watch for Trump to argue that unfulfilled promises are the fault of others.
Go deeper: Trump's shaky policy legacy