White House touts President Donald Trump's accomplishments, but how much credit does he really deserve?

On Friday, the White House released a fact sheet touting the accomplishments of President Donald Trump over his first year in office. The list was somewhat modestly entitled President Donald J. Trump: Year One of Making America Great Again. The White House listed the historic tax cuts recently enacted by Congress, repealing the Obamacare individual mandate (in the same bill), took credit for creating 1.7 million new jobs, a historically low unemployment rate, the Dow Jones index hitting record highs on more than 60 occasions, degrading the Islamic State, highest ever consumer confidence, appointing Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel among many, many other things. [caption id=“attachment_4250121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Donald Trump. AP[/caption] ‘Trump mainly stayed out of the way’ The list seems impressive at first glance. But how much credit does Trump really deserve? As conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg reflects in an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times,  contrary to the predictions of many, Trump’s accomplishments at the end of the year aren’t skimpy. However, Goldberg, senior editor at the National Review, which famously published an editorial entitled Against Trump in January 2016 , points out those victories were brought about by Trump staying out of the way of the Republican rank and file. “Tax reform was carried across the finish line by the GOP congressional leadership. Net neutrality was repealed by independent Republicans at the Federal Communications Commission…  the task of selecting judicial appointees, starting with Justice Neil Gorsuch, has largely been outsourced to the Federalist Society,” he wrote. He added, “The tax bill is clearly more in line with House Speaker Paul Ryan’s ideology than candidate Trump’s supposed populism. As for a counter example: When Trump was “hands-on” with Obamacare repeal, he often revealed he didn’t even know what was in the legislation.” ‘Any Republican president would have done most of them’ Over at Mother Jones , Kevin Jones seems to agree with Goldberg’s assessments, and makes a list of Trump’s failures and successes. Jones lists the victories as: Paris treaty, appointing judges, getting through a tax bill, repealing Obamacare’s individual mandate and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. Trump’s failures, according to Jones include: The wall with Mexico, failing to repeal Obamacare, his stymied immigration orders, no movement on infrastructure spending, reducing the deficit, bringing back jobs and being unable to renegotiate NAFTA. “Of Trump’s accomplishments, any Republican president would have done most of them. However, President Cruz might not have withdrawn from the Paris Treaty and probably wouldn’t have moved the embassy, so I’d give Trump points for those,” Jones writes. “However, it’s quite possible that a less chaotic White House could have provided the leadership needed to repeal Obamacare. This is a guess, but I think Cruz might very well have succeeded.” Jones also points out that the economy and the war against the Islamic State are merely following the path set by former president Barack Obama and that Trump has had no influence on these either way. So to sum it up, most Republican presidents would not only have accomplished what Trump did, they might have gone even further. And without the added baggage that Trump brings and the backlash that’s around the corner. Republicans prepare for bloodbath in 2018  Even as the White House pushes out press releases playing up Trump’s achievements, they’re ignoring the fact Trump is also historically unpopular.   And that unpopularity has very real consequences. As seen in the recent Alabama election, Trump energised voters of colour, women and independents, all of whom turned out in droves to vote against his handpicked candidate Roy Moore. And then the unthinkable happened, and the reddest state in America turned blue. African-Americans, in particular, voted in that election at a clip higher than the 2008 election , which was the first time an African-American was on the ballot for the presidency, something that even Democratic party elders thought impossible. And the 2018 midterms are rapidly approaching. Every sitting president, to some extent, suffers a backlash in the 2018 midterms. While the voters of the party in power are lackadaisical, the Opposition is energised. According to  an article in Politico,   those who are closest to Trump are getting ready for a possible “bloodbath” in the 2018 midterms, which could cost the Republicans their majorities in both the House and the Senate and completely stymie Trump going forward. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has privately warned that both chambers could be lost in November and House Speaker Paul Ryan has reportedly told donors that he fears that many Republicans in swing districts would retire rather than seek reelection. A report in Axios seems to back up this claim. Top White House officials told Axios that they think 2018 will be a “legislative and accomplishments grind, exacerbated by the very realistic prospects of losing their congressional majorities.” While most people ignore midterms and don’t turn up at the polls, the vibe feels different. The Trump show has grabbed a sustained audience and Democrats, especially women, want it canceled ASAP, which will further galvanise Democrats and polarise the two parties, the report further states. And as this Firstpost column argues,  women voters favour Democrats over Republicans  by over 20 points. At that spread, it will be almost impossible for Republicans to outperform Democrats. And if that trend holds, it won’t be a blue wave across America so much as a tsunami that will sweep the Republicans away and hand over control of the House and the Senate to the Democrats. For Donald Trump, that could mean the handicapping of his young presidency, the column concludes.