Trump’s Greatest Achievements, and His Biggest Failures During His 1-Term Presidency

Failure: Damaging democracy

During his tenure, Trump did many things to undermine democratic norms. 

He repeatedly attacked the media, prompting UN experts warning that Trump’s rhetoric was dangerous. raised the risk of violence against journalists.He threatened to deploy combat soldiers to American cities, over objections of their elected leaders. He also ordered illegal actions like demanding poll workersStop counting votes.

Trump’s constant dissemination of disinformation on a range of topics, especially the electoral process, has led historians and experts in fascism to investigate. compare him to dictators like Benito Mussolini.

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), a project that monitors the health of democracy across the world, in its 2020 report said the US has become more autocratic in the Trump era. 

“The United States – former vanguard of liberal democracy – has lost its way,” V-Dem’s 2020 report saidHe added that the US was the only country in North America and Western Europe suffering from significant autocratization. 

Trump often responded with confusion when asked to condemn the rhetoric of the former president. 

Although President Joe Biden was clearly the winner of the 2020 election Trump refused to concede. Trump rejected the results, and made baseless accusations of fraud.

Even as world leaders began congratulate Biden,Trump’s continued denial of reality was a major indicator of Biden’s legitimacy. 

After weeks of trying to reverse the election result and rejecting it, the president finally accepted the results. provoked an attempted coupThe US Capitol on Tuesday, the day Congress met to certify Biden’s Electoral College win. In an inflamatory speech, he exhorted his supporters to march on Washington and “fight like hell”! They listened. 

The pro-Trump mob stormed Capitol on January 6, destroying property and clashing with police. Five people were killed in this incident. Trump was later impeached and charged with inciting violence. 

Trump released a statement after the violence. videoHe acknowledged that a new administration would be in charge, but he didn’t explicitly admit to it.

Trump’s refusal not to concede breaks with a democratic tradition that has existed in the US since its earliest days, when President John Adams lost 1800 elections and was peacefully overthrown by Thomas Jefferson, who was a member from another political party.

The former president weakened the US political system and raised doubts about the integrity of the country’s elections. After two terms or losing an election, each president before Trump allowed for a peaceful transition to power.  

Trump also missed Biden’s inauguration. He is the first president to refuse to go to the inauguration of his successor since 1869.