It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. 

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14 THINGS ABOUT THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

Donald Trump started his presidency four years ago with words ofunity, hope and strength.

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people,” he said, opening his inaugural address ([link removed]) .

But Trump’s vision was streaked within hours by his proclivity to not just exaggerate the truth, but to deny the truth, as he did when falsely inflating the size of the crowd ([link removed]) at his inauguration.

It was the first day in a term that was a downpour of news, drama and division. Here is a brief look at 14 of the standout stories from the Trump presidency.

* Health care. With his first executive order, Trump launched his efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, watering down enforcement of some provisions. His attempt at repealing the law was the first major legislative push of the Trump presidency, but it failed in a dramatic Senate vote in July of 2017. The president and Republicans later added a provision to their tax reform bill that zeroed out a key aspect of the ACA, erasing the fine imposed on Americans who did not meet the “individual mandate” for health insurance. The percentage of the uninsured rose ([link removed]) in each of the first three years of the Trump presidency.
* Tax reform. Perhaps the most sweeping legislation of the Trump presidency, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act moved with incredible speed in the fall of 2017. Signed into law in December that year, it cut individual taxes temporarily and corporate taxes permanently.
* Government shutdown. Trump oversaw the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, sparked by his insistence that Democrats in Congress agree to more funding for his border barrier. Democrats refused and in the end the president did not get the funding he was seeking in that standoff. The work stoppage at most agencies lasted 35 days, ending in Jan. 2019.
* Travel bans. One week after taking office, Trump issued the first of several orders aimed at banning travel from specific nations his administration saw as security threats. Initially all of these countries were Muslim-majority nations. Courts repeatedly ruled against the orders. The Trump administration finally adjusted its approach to include a total of 13 nations ([link removed]) under enhanced travel restrictions.
* Immigrant detention and family separation. Begun as a pilot program in 2017, Trump’s Department of Justice launched its “zero tolerance” policy ([link removed]) on undocumented migrants and asylum seekers in April 2018. Thousands of children were separated ([link removed]) from parents at the border, with more than 600 ([link removed]) still waiting to be reunited as of the end of 2020.
* Refugees. Trump slashed the number of refugees admitted to the United States, ultimately to the lowest level on record ([link removed]) .
* Trade and China. Among his first acts, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He then proceeded to launch one of the most aggressive confrontations of China, and Chinese trade manipulation, in U.S. history. The Trump administration imposed sweeping tariffs on China, which responded in turn. In Jan. 2020, the two countries agreed to mutually back down in phases.
* The Middle East. Trump rewrote some U.S. policy in the Middle East, moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and unapologetically supporting ([link removed]) the expansion of Israeli settlements. Under Trump’s watch, the U.S. dramatically scaled back ISIS’ territory, driving them out of much of their stronghold, and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid. Trump withdrew U.S. troops from engagements across the region, pulling out of Syria entirely. And he pushed a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Iran, with both countries abandoning their former nuclear deal.
* Racial injustice. Trump signed the First Step Act in 2018, which aimed to reform the criminal justice system. It specifically targeted racial disparities, removing mandatory minimums for non-violent crimes and ending sentencing disparities. But his presidency was also marked by outrage over unaddressed violence against Black Americans by law enforcement officers and his own reluctance to confront white supremacy. Notably, following a white supremacy march and protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, the president remarked ([link removed]) that there were “very fine people” on “both sides.” In Dec. 2019, the president vetoed a sweeping defense bill, in part, because he did not want to rename military bases honoring Confederate generals. Congress overrode his veto in a bipartisan effort.
* The courts. Among his longest-lasting accomplishments, Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices and 220 other federal judges, many of whom were relatively young when they began their lifetime court appointments.
* First impeachment and the Mueller Report. In 2019, the House of Representatives made Trump the third president in history to be impeached, following news of his efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating business dealings related to Joe Biden. Ultimately, the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump of all charges on a largely party-line vote. This followed on the heels of a report by special counsel Robert Mueller on his investigation into Russian efforts to manipulate the 2016 election. The Mueller Report found no organized effort by the Trump campaign to work with Russia. But it also found that the president tried to interfere in the investigation itself. It famously neither charged nor exonerated Trump, citing Department of Justice guidance that presidents cannot be charged. Trump and his supporters have seen both efforts as politically motivated.
* Second impeachment. This month, Trump became the only U.S. president to be impeached twice. The House of Representatives has charged him with inciting an insurrection after months of disputing election results and falsely claiming widespread fraud, then rallying a crowd of his supporters, repeating those same messages and supporting their march to the U.S. Capitol, which a number of them violently breached, leading to the deaths of five people, including a police officer. The Senate is expected to launch its trial soon.
* Coronavirus. Facing a once-in-a-century pandemic, Trump spent months downplaying the threat of the new coronavirus, questioning the need to wear masks, urging states and local governments to avoid strict shutdowns that would interrupt business and, at times, pitting states against one another in the battle to obtain precious resources. The Trump administration correctly pointed ou ([link removed]) t that the Obama administration failed to replenish depleted national stockpiles of protective equipment. But the refusal to mount a sweeping federal response to, or even properly acknowledge, the growing pandemic were issues unique to Trump.
* Constant headlines. Trump unleashed a firehose of news. As above, some was gravely serious. But other headlines bordered on ridiculous, even cartoonish. He used Twitter as an open mic, sometimes to announce policy, sometimes to congratulate, condemn, or antagonize foreign leaders, and in many cases addressed the public (and the media) directly, around the clock. Sometimes, his break-from-the-norm decorum became a late-night comedian’s dream. At one point, Trump incorrectly warned ([link removed]) that a hurricane was heading to Alabama and later tried to prove his case with an official map doctored by a Sharpie. He wanted to buy Greenland ([link removed]) . Dishwashers were a concern ([link removed]) . And we shall end with a single word:
Covfefe ([link removed]) .

HOW TRUMP WILL BE REMEMBERED
By Laura Santhanam, @LauraSanthanam ([link removed])
Health reporter and coordinating producer for polling

As President Donald Trump prepares to leave the White House, 47 percent of Americans say he will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.

By comparison, Marist data from December 2016 shows 17 percent of Americans said President Barack Obama had been among the worst chief executives. Four years later, 83 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of independents and 13 percent of Republicans felt Trump had earned that title. And more than half of Americans — 57 percent — disapprove of the job he has done in office.

Sixteen percent of Americans overall, including a third of Republicans, think Trump has been one of the country’s best presidents, and roughly a third of Americans — 38 percent — approve of his performance over his tenure.

At Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, he described a United States that he said was besieged with “crime and gangs and drugs” and littered with “rusted-out factories,” while vowing to put an end to “American carnage” and put the nation “first ([link removed]) .” Now, as the country prepares to usher in President-elect Joe Biden’s presidency, the Capitol is being guarded by more than 20,000 National Guard troops after a deadly attack by Trump’s supporters, the U.S. has lost roughly 400,000 lives to the coronavirus, due in part to a haphazard pandemic response, and the country’s economy has been battered in the fallout. Presidential historian Jeffrey Engel said history will “remember Trump as a person who focused primarily on himself and left carnage in his wake.” Read more... ([link removed])

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @iancouzenz ([link removed])
Politics production assistant

Rick Scott’s rocky start atop GOP Senate campaign arm ([link removed]) - Jan. 15. After just one week leading the Senate GOP's campaign committee, Rick Scott came under scrutiny for voting against accepting electoral votes for Biden after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Why it matters: Business leaders have been pulling back from the GOP since the Capitol attack for their role in fomenting the insurrection. Some fear Scott's vote has created a disadvantage for the party ahead of the 2022 election cycle, when large donors will be critical if they wish to win back the chamber after losing their six-year majority. -- Politico

The NRA moves to Texas, files for bankruptcy after legal trouble in New York ([link removed]) - Jan. 15. The move was prompted by New York Attorneys General Letitia James’ lawsuit pushing to dissolve the organization for misspending and self-dealing. Why it matters: Gun control advocates worry about granting the NRA safe harbor in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbot is welcoming the organization with open arms. -- The Dallas Morning News

After a year of civil unrest, the U.S. is running low on body armor and gas masks ([link removed]) - Jan. 15. Companies producing military-grade protective equipment are having trouble keeping the shelves stocked due to a nearly fivefold increase in demand, prompted by political unrest. Why it matters: State and federal lawmakers, law enforcement officials, journalists and others who are more wary of violence in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol now find themselves unable to secure important supplies for self-defense. -- The Los Angeles Times

As nation braces for armed protests, Arizona showcases how First and Second Amendments intersect — or collide ([link removed]) - Jan. 16. In Arizona, and other states with open carry laws, there are few limits on when and where a person can bear arms, and as a consequence, guns are often brought to protests and other political events. Why it matters: The displays of firepower at events where political passions run high pose a potential risk to public safety at a time when capitals around the country are girding themselves for a possible attack like that on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 . -- The Arizona Republic

‘Little old West Virginia’ sets pace on vaccine rollout ([link removed]) - Jan. 17. Per capita, more people have been vaccinated in West Virginia than in any other state, with at least 7.4 percent of the population having received the first of two shots. Why it matters: West Virginia has emerged as an unlikely success story when so many states are struggling with their vaccine roll-outs. How? They decided to reject a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens and instead enlisted mom-and-pop pharmacies to vaccinate residents. -- The Associated Press

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff ([link removed])
Deputy senior politics producer

When Joe Biden is sworn in as president, his wife, Jill Biden, will go from second lady to first lady. Before her, Barbara Bush was the most recent second lady to make that leap.

Our question: Aside from Biden and Bush, how many of the 38 second ladies went on to serve as first lady?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: How many days passed between when impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson were announced and when the House voted to impeach him?

The answer: Two

Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act less than a year before Johnson violated it by ordering the secretary of war removed from office. The next day, on Feb. 22, 1868, the House Committee on Reconstruction announced an impeachment article against Johnson. Two days later, on Feb. 24, the House voted to impeach Johnson. That part of the process moved quickly, but Johnson’s Senate trial wasn’t wrapped up until May 26, 1868.

Congratulations to our winner: Melinda Henningfield!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.

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** Biden inherits a deeply divided nation, but most voters think he will bring unity
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