Two years in the White House: Has Trump delivered?
Updated 17:05, 21-Jan-2019
By John Goodrich
["north america"]
02:33
Donald Trump has repeatedly been accused of being a little "economical with the truth" since entering the White House, but the promises the U.S. president's supporters care about most are the ones he made to them ahead of the 2016 election.  
As Trump marks two years in office on Sunday and steps up his bid for a second term, has he delivered on his campaign pledges?  

Tax cuts

On the trail: Cut income and corporate taxes! 
In the White House: Trump's biggest legislative achievement is on tax. Republicans passed a plan in 2017 which delivered a single corporate tax rate at 21 percent (down from a high of 35 percent) and a drop in individual income tax rates (although these are temporary).
Verdict: The plan wasn't as substantial as promised, has been criticized for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and is forecast to add trillions to the national debt — but Trump promised tax cuts, and he delivered. 

Create jobs

On the trail: 25 million new jobs! Bring back manufacturing! 
In the White House: Some 4.8 million more people were in employment at the end of 2018 than the beginning of 2017. The manufacturing sector added 207,000 jobs in 2017 and 284,000 jobs in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, having lost jobs in 2016.  
Verdict: The U.S. added a combined 4.9 million jobs in 2015 and 2016, so Trump's headline record compares unfavorably to President Obama's final two years. But unemployment hit a near 50-year low in November, wages are rising, and the manufacturing industry has seen steady job growth. Overall, Trump has delivered.

Tackle immigration 

On the trail: Border wall! Deport illegal immigrants! Muslim ban!
In the White House: Trump's attempts to get funding for a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border have proved fruitless. The courts rejected two "travel bans" targeting Muslim-majority countries, but a third remains in place. Deportations were up 13 percent in the fiscal year 2018 to 256,000.
Verdict: Trump has failed to "build the wall" or persuaded Mexico to pay for it, but has pursued hardline, controversial policies on immigration. Results have been mixed, but he has tried to do what he promised.
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump rally for the president during his visit to see the controversial border wall prototypes in San Diego, California, March 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump rally for the president during his visit to see the controversial border wall prototypes in San Diego, California, March 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

Military spending

On the trail: More troops, ships, planes! 
In the White House: Defense spending has increased in both of Trump's two years, and he has backed a new branch of the military: Space Force. In August 2018, the Senate approved a 716 billion U.S. dollar defense budget for the fiscal year 2019, up 82 billion U.S. dollars.
Verdict: Trump has described the levels of funding for the military as "crazy" and sent conflicting signals about future spending. To-date, however, spending on the military has increased sharply as promised. 

Overseas wars

On the trail: Bring the troops home! End ISIL!
In the White House: Trump announced an additional deployment of troops to Afghanistan in 2017, but at the end of 2018 said U.S. forces would withdraw from Syria and indicated a drawdown in Afghanistan would take place. A significant presence remains in Iraq. ISIL has been pushed back in Iraq and Syria on Trump's watch, ending the militants' hopes of establishing a caliphate. However, the group remains active.
Verdict: Trump has long called for U.S. troops to be brought home, and the withdrawal from Syria has begun. U.S. forces remain committed in large numbers overseas, however, and ISIL is far from defeated.
CGTN Graphic

CGTN Graphic

Global trade

On the trail: No NAFTA, no TPP! No trade deficits!
In the White House: Trump has withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiated a replacement for NAFTA (which is yet to be ratified) and signed a revised trade deal with South Korea. He has also started a maelstrom by imposing tariffs on China, the European Union and Canada among others. 
Verdict: Trump has followed through on most of his campaign promises on trade, or attempted to, but the results have been mixed. China and the EU have fought back hard on tariffs, and USMCA - the new NAFTA - may not be ratified. 

Environment

On the trail: Withdraw from Paris deal! Bring back coal!
In the White House: Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate deal, issued permits for the controversial Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, and opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration. More coal-fired power plants were shut in Trump's first two years than Obama's first term.
Verdict: Trump has delivered on the Paris deal, but many U.S. mayors, governors and businesses have pledged to stick to it anyway. He has so far failed to halt the closure of coal-fired power stations.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) holds a copy of a health care bill introduced by Republicans, and later rejected by the Senate, in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2017. /VCG Photo  

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) holds a copy of a health care bill introduced by Republicans, and later rejected by the Senate, in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2017. /VCG Photo  

Scrap Obamacare

On the trail: Repeal and replace!
In the White House: The Republican attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act – or Obamacare – in Congress was a huge failure. Yet, the ACA has been undermined under Trump, for example by removing the individual mandate. In 2018 a Texas judge ruled the ACA unconstitutional; an appeal is heading to the Supreme Court.
Verdict: Obamacare remains in place, but has been steadily weakened. Politicians from both sides agree it needs to be reformed. Healthcare will likely be a top issue in the Democratic primaries. 

Appointments

On the trail: Conservative judges! Drain the swamp! 
In the White House: Trump has appointed two conservative justices to the Supreme Court - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - and packed lower federal courts with young, conservative judges. His top team has had extraordinarily high turnover.
Verdict: A Supreme Court seat was open when Trump came into office, and the promise to replace Antonin Scalia with a conservative was a big factor in his victory over Hillary Clinton. While there has been near-weekly resignations or sackings from his top team, on judges Trump has delivered exactly what his voters wanted. 

Infrastructure 

On the trail: Rebuild America! One trillion U.S. dollars! 
In the White House: Trump has called for at least one trillion U.S. dollars to be invested in much-needed infrastructure. He appeared to criticize a plan released by his own White House in 2018, but a new proposal is expected in early 2019. 
Verdict: Infrastructure is one of the few areas in which bi-partisan agreement should be possible, but so far there has been minimal progress. 

Economic growth

On the trail: Double growth to four percent!
In the White House: The economy has grown sharply under Trump, at an average of around 2.82 percent according to Bloomberg, but so has the deficit — potentially storing up problems for the future.
Verdict: Trump regularly applauds himself for the success of the U.S. economy, though the lengthy shutdown and the impact of tariffs could be among the factors hitting growth in the year ahead. But in the first two years, headline growth has been strong. 
Mick Mulvaney, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, speaks during a White House press briefing on MAGAnomics in Washington, D.C., July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

Mick Mulvaney, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, speaks during a White House press briefing on MAGAnomics in Washington, D.C., July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

Multilateral ties

On the trail: Ditch Iran deal! NATO obsolete! 
In the White House: Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from a range of multilateral groupings, from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords to UNESCO and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has veered from support to condemnation of NATO and sparked uproar by keeping his promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Verdict: For better or for worse, Trump has shaken things up on the global stage - though the pacts he has pulled away from have continued, and in some cases grown stronger. 

So has Trump delivered? 

With the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, the Mueller inquiry circling and concerns over the economy growing, there'll be plenty of distractions over the next two years - but so far, Trump has largely delivered or attempted to deliver what he promised in 2016.
Amid the exaggeration, bombast and apparent chaos, agree or disagree with the policies, two years in the president has a record to campaign on.
(Graphics by Zhao Hong and Yin Yating; video by Le Tian and Shen Anqi)