The Gettysburg Address 2.0: Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office

Continued from yesterday.

2.4. National security and constitutional rule of law

The “restoration of national security and constitutional rule of law” package contains the following five actions:

(1) cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama;

(2) begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on Trump’s list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States;

(3) cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities;

(4) begin removing the more than 2 million illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back;

(5) suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur; all vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

2.5. New legislative acts

Finally, the “introduction to, and passage by, Congress of some broader legislation” package contains the following 10 measures:

(1) Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act: An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4 percent per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with two children will get a 35 percent tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from seven to three, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10-percent rate.

(2) End the Offshoring Act: Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate to other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.

(3) American Energy & Infrastructure Act: Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.

(4) School Choice and Education Opportunity Act: Redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends Common Core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and makes two and four-year colleges more affordable.

(5) Repeal and Replace Obamacare: Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.

(6) Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act: Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.

(7) End Illegal Immigration Act: Fully funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such a wall, establishes a two-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a five-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.

(8) Restoring Community Safety Act: Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a task force on violent crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.

(9) Restoring National Security Act: Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values.

(10) Clean Up Corruption in Washington Act: Enacts new ethics reforms to drain the swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

3. The Grace Period

Trump mentioned that his Contract with the American Voter would “restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.” He continued by saying that “if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people.”

This comprehensive 28-point action plan will be, obviously, the most discussed document until Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States, on Jan. 20, 2017, and also during the 100-day interval, between Jan. 20 and May 1, 2017, when the plan period expires. After that, Trump will have to deliver, and explain his achievements before the nation.

History has shown us that, during the interval between April 1953 and April 2009, presidential job approval ratings following the first 100 days in office varied overall from 55 percent (Bill Clinton, on April 22 – 24, 1993) to 83 percent (John Kennedy, on April 28 – May 3, 1961). As for the Republican presidents, the lowest approval rate belonged to George Bush, the father (56 percent), and the highest—to Dwight Eisenhower (73 percent), with Ronald Reagan in the middle (with 68 percent).

Will Donald Trump surprise everybody—again—with an unusual approval rate on May 1, 2017? This won’t be his first. (Tiberiu Dianu, Special to the Saipan Tribune)

Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and over 100 articles in law, politics, and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington, D.C.