“Six months into Trump’s presidency, Obama’s legacy is proving more resilient than even some in his administration expected.” ~ Politico
With the passing of July, the first six months of Trump have come and gone with little progress made when it comes to dismantling his predecessor’s policies.
Politico reports that although Trump campaigned on the promise to dismantle the legacy of Pres. Obama’s eight years in office, “six months into Trump’s presidency, Obama’s legacy is proving more resilient than even some in his administration expected. Trump has taken symbolic stands against many of Obama’s biggest policy achievements, but has unwound few of them.”
Take the Iran deal, for instance. Despite campaigning for two years on reversing Obama’s Iran policy, the Trump administration now says Iran is fully complying with the Nuclear deal and extended sanctions relief established by Obama.
In a stunning reversal, the Associated Press reported in April that: “The Trump administration has notified Congress that Iran is complying with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama, and says the U.S. has extended the sanctions relief given to the Islamic republic in exchange for curbs on its atomic program.”
Meanwhile, July 28th was the House of Representatives’ last day before the August recess; which lasts from July 29th until September 5th. Although the Senate session was extended two weeks by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as New York-based digital media company Heavy reports, “Any further efforts to repeal Obamacare will likely take weeks, and at this time, it seems rather unlikely that the Senate will be able to pass something before leaving on August 11th, even if they wanted to.”
Although there are some instances where it appears that Trump has caused damage to Obama’s legacy, as Politico explains “the details tell a different story.”
- “[Trump] withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal—but Congress had never actually ratified the deal, and Hillary Clinton also intended to withdraw from it.
- “Trump did announce that he would exit the Paris climate accords, but that exit is unlikely to actually happen until after the next presidential election; in the meantime, the rest of the world remains committed to the pact.
- “In June, Trump flew to Miami for a high-profile announcement rolling back Obama’s historic opening to Cuba but it wasn’t much of a rollback; the main pillars of the agreement remain in place.”
“So far, the signature achievements of the Obama administration seem very much alive and well,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Obama’s former press secretary, Josh Earnest, notes that “Trump has encountered something that many presidents encounter in their first year. There’s a big difference between promising to do something at a campaign rally and actually dealing with the consequences of it when you are sitting in the Oval Office.”
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