Former Clinton Aide: Trump Should Be Ashamed For Accomplishing So Little With A GOP Congress

Over Christmas, former aide to President Bill Clinton decided to throw a wet towel on the GOP’s year-end victory lap by saying it was shameful that President Trump couldn’t do more. Boykin was on CNN with conservative Ben Ferguson. Host Dana Bash brought up the list of accomplishments from the Trump administration, which Boykin dismissed. He also said that Democrats are enthused, they have wind to their backs, and they won key races towards the end of the year.

Former Clinton aide Keith Boykin says Trump "should be ashamed of himself for accomplishing so little with having a Republican Congress, a Republican President and a Republican Supreme Court" pic.twitter.com/MBVw5K5X86

— CNN (@CNN) December 25, 2017

“I think he [Trump] should be ashamed of himself for accomplishing so little with having a Republican Congress, a Republican President and a Republican Supreme Court,” said Boykin.

Left-leaning tax policy center finds that 80.4% of Americans would see a tax cut in 2018. The average decrease would be $2,140. Only 4.8% would see a tax increase.https://t.co/2UVcvrom6d pic.twitter.com/52F9uDx90Z

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) December 19, 2017

Boykin did say that the only things Trump really got done were putting Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and passing the most extensive tax reform in 30 years. He also said it would benefit the wealthy. First, Gorsuch is a lifetime appointment. It’s not a small thing to get one your guys seated on the high court. Second, it was a tax bill that benefitted the middle class. CBS News found three families from different economic backgrounds and they all benefit. From the single mom renting a house in North Carolina to the family of three that just opened a small business in California, the lowering of the rates and the increase of the child tax credit is going to yield savings. Folks, even Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a democratic socialist, said the middle class will get a tax cut, but it’s still bad because this bill didn’t go far enough. The tax bill was a cornerstone of President Trump’s economic agenda. It’s not a small thing. Be sure to also check out our own Erika Haas, who listed some of the biggest conservative victories this year as well.

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The Washington Post’s Marc Thiessen added that he got NATO to kick in $12 billion more for their collective defense, and withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement that triggered liberals. Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner had a deeper list, however, listing 81 accomplishments. Here are some of them:

Jobs and the economy

• Passage of the tax reform bill providing $5.5 billion in cuts and repealing the Obamacare mandate.
• Increase of the GDP above 3 percent.
• Creation of 1.7 million new jobs, cutting unemployment to 4.1 percent.
• Saw the Dow Jones reach record highs.
• A rebound in economic confidence to a 17-year high.
• A new executive order to boost apprenticeships.
• A move to boost computer sciences in Education Department programs.
• Prioritizing women-owned businesses for some $500 million in SBA loans.

Killing job-stifling regulations

• Signed an Executive Order demanding that two regulations be killed for every new one creates. He beat that big and cut 16 rules and regulations for every one created, saving $8.1 billion.
• Signed 15 congressional regulatory cuts.
• Withdrew from the Obama-era Paris Climate Agreement, ending the threat of environmental regulations.
• Signed an Executive Order cutting the time for infrastructure permit approvals.
• Eliminated an Obama rule on streams that Trump felt unfairly targeted the coal industry.

Fair trade

• Made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
• Opened up the North American Free Trade Agreement for talks to better the deal for the U.S.
• Worked to bring companies back to the U.S., and companies like Toyota, Mazda, Broadcom Limited, and Foxconn announced plans to open U.S. plants.
• Worked to promote the sale of U.S products abroad.
• Made enforcement of U.S. trade laws, especially those that involve national security, a priority.
• Ended Obama’s deal with Cuba.

Boosting U.S. energy dominance

• The Department of Interior, which has led the way in cutting regulations, opened plans to lease 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling.
• Trump traveled the world to promote the sale and use of U.S. energy.
• Expanded energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline snubbed by Obama.
• Ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to kill Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
• EPA is reconsidering Obama rules on methane emissions.

Protecting the U.S. homeland

• Laid out new principles for reforming immigration and announced plan to end "chain migration," which lets one legal immigrant to bring in dozens of family members.
• Made progress to build the border wall with Mexico.
• Ended the Obama-era “catch and release” of illegal immigrants.
• Boosted the arrests of illegals inside the U.S.
• Doubled the number of counties participating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement charged with deporting illegals.
• Removed 36 percent more criminal gang members than in fiscal 2016.
• Started the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program.
• Ditto for other amnesty programs like Deferred Action for Parents of Americans.
• Cracking down on some 300 sanctuary cities that defy ICE but still get federal dollars.
• Added some 100 new immigration judges.

Protecting communities

• Justice announced grants of $98 million to fund 802 new cops.
• Justice worked with Central American nations to arrest and charge 4,000 MS-13 members.
• Homeland rounded up nearly 800 MS-13 members, an 83 percent one-year increase.
• Signed three executive orders aimed at cracking down on international criminal organizations.
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions created new National Public Safety Partnership, a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crimes.

There are more related to combating the opioid epidemic, pushing pro-life initiatives, and helping veterans as well.

On top of this, unemployment is at its lowest levels in nearly two decades. Consumer confidence is at a 17-year high. The economic growth in the fourth quarter was four percent. The Dow Jones had a 5,000-point surge this year; the highest spike ever its history. CNBC’s survey before Christmas showed that for the first time in 11 years, a majority of Americans expressed economic optimism. The booming economy is also starting to impact Trump’s approval numbers, with voters starting to give the 45^th president credit.

Boykin also skipped over the fact that the Obamacare individual mandate was repealed, the border wall is still on the table, and that score of companies have doled out thousands in bonuses to their workers, increased employee investment, and boosted philanthropic giving thanks to the tax bill.

Democrats have an advantage going into 2018, but we’re 10 months away from Election Day. The economy is doing well, Trump may get a bump from that, the Democratic recruits might not be ready for primetime, and everything could blow up when this tax bill becomes more popular and Americans see that they got some relief with this legislation. The Left will have to explain why they’re against the American worker, the American middle class, and economic growth. We all know the Democrats didn’t vote for this bill to screw over Trump. Time will tell, but it’s a bet they may not have wanted to take. In all, year one of the Trump presidency seems pretty solid.