More Good Things Trump Has Done

The following list is from Wayne Grudem, professor of Theology and Biblical studies.

As with other long lists, this list of 25 good things that President Trump has done for America will be in increments. Please forward this list to your email mailing list.

21. Streamlining environmental reviews for major construction projects: in order to build a new section of highway, a new subway line, or a new gas pipeline, the necessary environmental impact statements have recently taken an average of 4.5 years, and many ran for six years or longer40. These delays massively increased construction costs and delayed relief for over-congested highways for many years. But on July 15, 2020, President Trump’s White House released new guidelines limiting environmental impact studies to two years and limiting less-extensive environmental assessments to one year41. The Wall Street Journal says these new rules “could literally cut thousands of years of cumulative delay”42 for construction projects. This will be a huge help in renewing America’s aging infrastructure.

22. Sending weapons to Ukraine: Whereas President Obama sent only humanitarian aid, President Trump authorized the selling of actual military equipment to Ukraine, including Javelin missiles which were necessary to defend against Russian aggression.43

23. Standing up to China, Russia, and Iran: Trump has been the first president to decisively denounce China’s blatant practice of industrial espionage and bullying44, stealing of intellectual property45, and violating international copyright protections46. He has followed up with strong trade sanctions against China47, an increased US naval presence in the South China Sea48, and the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston, which was a center of Chinese espionage49. He withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, which would have allowed Iran to build a nuclear bomb within the next few years50. The Trump administration has closed several Russian consulates in the US and expelled over 60 Russian “diplomats” (espionage agents)51, issued sanctions against several Russian officials52, and persuaded several European nations to increase their defenses against potential Russian invasion.53

24. A wise COVID-19 response: President Trump imposed strict restrictions on travel from China on January 31, 2020, long before other leaders recognized the danger of this coronavirus. Then, when the COVID-19 virus began to spread rapidly within the United States, the fear was that we would run out of hospital beds to care for the sick. President Trump immediately mobilized the military to construct huge new hospital facilities in New York City and elsewhere, and soon there were enough beds54. The next fear was that we would run out of ventilators, and President Trump persuaded leaders of American industry to fast-track the manufacture of ventilators, and soon there were enough ventilators55. Then the question was how soon to reopen buildings and meeting places, and present Trump wisely left the decision to local governors and other local officials who best know the different situations in their individual locations. Finally, the FDA has fast-tracked the trial and approval process for a vaccine56, and the federal government has made commitments to purchase millions of vaccines from various companies as soon as they are approved for widespread use. Several promising vaccines are now in the advanced stages of testing on human subjects. In addition, President Trump, working with Congress, quickly passed threecoronavirus relief packages, with the result that millions of Americans continued to receive pay in spite of their workplaces being temporarily closed.57

25. Welcoming evangelical Christians into positions of influence: rather than marginalizing evangelical Christians (as was the practice of the Obama administration), President Trump has appointed a remarkably large number of evangelicals to high government offices. These include Vice President Mike Pence, Ben Carson (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development), Betsy DeVos (Secretary of Education), Rick Perry (former secretary of energy), Scott Pruitt (former administrator of Environmental Protection Agency), Dan Coats (former director of national intelligence), Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State), Russ Vought (Director of Office of Management and Budget) and others.

In addition, he has frequently welcomed evangelical pastors and other leaders to the White House, for both public and private conversations.58