JOHN F. FLOYD COMMENTARY: Trump's long
list of accomplishments and
the facts concerning Trump and the African American
community
John Floyd
Published oct 20,2020
Listening to the national media,
one would think President Donald Trump has achieved
little during his presidency. The media gives him credit
for no accomplishments. Being a goals and objective
person, I decided to examine some of Trump’s successes,
if any. I, quite frankly, was surprised at the results,
because I listen to the negative daily drumbeat of the
liberal national media toward Trump.
Trump has been called a racist,
but facts don’t support that opinion, which I believe is
based on nothing but innuendos.
Here are the facts
concerning Trump and the African American community as
reported by Farah Stockman, member of the editorial
board of the New York Times.
-
The lowest-paid 25% of Americans had a 4.5% income
boost in November 2019, which outpaces a 2.9% gain
in earnings for the country’s highest-paid workers.
This benefits African Americans because many,
according to Associated Press research cited in 2018
by USA TODAY, are in low-paying jobs.
-
In 2018, Trump signed the groundbreaking First Step
Act, a criminal justice reform bill that enacted
reforms that made our justice system fairer and
helps former inmates return to society. More than
90% of those benefitting from the retroactive
sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are
African Americans.
-
Under Trump, poverty rates for African Americans
and Hispanic Americans reached their lowest levels
since the U.S. began collecting such data.
-
Pre COVID-19, African American unemployment was at
an all-time low.
-
The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in
employers committing to train more than 4 million
Americans.
-
The First Step Act’s reforms addressed inequities in
sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed
African Americans, and reformed mandatory minimums
that created unfair outcomes.
-
Trump signed the first Perkins C.T.E.
reauthorization since 2016, authorizing more than $1
billion for states each year to fund vocational and
career education programs.
The previous noted actions by the
Trump administration are all substantive and measurable.
The Trump administration has done considerably more for
the African American community than several previous
Democrat administrations. Considering those
accomplishments, it is puzzling that black leaders
continue to march in lockstep with the Democrats. Where
are the free thinkers in that community?
From an economic
standpoint, the Trump administration has made great
strides.
-
Under Trump’s leadership, in 2018 the U.S. surpassed
Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the worlds largest
producer of crude oil.
-
The Trump administration made a deal with the
European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to
Europe.
-
It withdrew the U.S. from the job-killing
Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major change in trade
policy.
-
The Trump Administration secured $250 billion in new
trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion
in Vietnam.
-
It approved up to $12 billion in aid for farmers
affected by unfair trade retaliation, but announced
a total of $28 billion in aid for farmers in 2018
and 2019.
Other accomplishments include a dozen hostages freed,
moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem,
initiating historic tax cut legislation for Opportunity
Zones and fulfilling his campaign promise to improve the
Veterans Administration, just to name a few.
Trump’s accomplishments are many, but you would never
know listening to the Democrat-controlled liberal media.
As far as they are concerned, none of these things
happened.
Trump has achieved many of his goals, while surviving a
corrupt impeachment investigation, hostility by a
liberal press and a continuing pandemic of epic
proportions. As I have said before, I wish Trump was
more presidential, but he is not going to change his
demeanor. When I measure his accomplishments versus his
status on the social register, the social register pales
in comparison.
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