US President Donald Trump marked six months in office on Thursday, but haunted by legislative failures and hampered by a string of controversies his first half-year has been far from the rapid success he promised.
In fact, a poll released by ABC and the Washington Post suggests that Trump is the most unpopular US leader in history at this point in a presidency.
When Trump was sworn in, he pledged that “the time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.” However, after six months, results have been thin on the ground, commented ABC.
US President Donald Trump (C) delivers remarks on healthcare during a lunch with members of Congress in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 19, 2017 in Washington DC. /VCG Photo
In his domestic agenda, Trump has so far been unable to fulfill his promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare. The replacement option proposed by Republicans has proved divisive. With blanket opposition from Democrats and rejection by some members of his own party, Trump cannot win enough votes in the Senate to fulfill his campaign pledge.
Trump's headline domestic immigration policy – to build a US-Mexico border wall – has also failed to make much progress. Mexico refused to pay 20 billion US dollars for the wall, and Democrats were unwilling to pass funding.
The president's progress has also been dogged by the “Russian interference 2016 election” scandal. His eldest son Donald Trump Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be questioned by the Senate next week over their knowledge of alleged links between Moscow and the Trump presidential campaign, and a special counsel investigation is now also reported to be looking into Trump's business ties with Russia.
An activist paints an existing wall between the United States and Mexico during a demonstration against President Donald Trump on February 26, 2017. /VCG Photo
On the international stage, the president with no previous government or military experience has caused a stir.
Trump tried to temporarily ban citizens from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. The pair of executive orders were struck down by the lower courts, but partially revived by the Supreme Court last week. The attempted "ban" has largely been condemned by international leaders.
He pulled the US out of two landmark international agreements: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate accord. His decision to quit the Paris deal was widely criticized by the international community, and left the US as one of only three countries not committed to the climate goals.
US President Donald Trump announces his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on June 1, 2017. /VCG Photo
Trump's fight against ISIL is his foreign policy priority, said CNN. Progress has been achieved, with ISIL militants driven out of Mosul and Raqqa, but there is still a long way to go to totally defeat the terrorist group.
Another deadlock Trump has to cope with is Iran. Trump's new sanctions towards Iran on Tuesday seems to have done little to push it towards renegotiating the nuclear deal.
A look back at Trump’s first six months can't be complete without mentioning Twitter. According to CNN’s statistics, he has tweeted 991 times since he was sworn in.
He mentioned fake media 82 times, reflecting his bad relationship with the press. CNN also pointed out, during six months, Trump has only held one solo press conference.
Protesters against President Donald Trump gather in front of the White House in Washington DC on July 11, 2017. /VCG Photo
Public discontent is clearly indicated in the poll results. As well as the lowest approval rating in history, 66 percent of people believed Trump did not effectively represent the US interests in negotiations with foreign leaders, according to a survey released by Reuters.
“His (Trump’s) negatives outweigh the positives,” remarked Time. As Trump’s presidency continues, it is hard to predict where he will lead the US in the future.
