500 days in, what has America gained under Trump?

President Donald Trump marked his 500th day in office this week with a celebratory message on Twitter pointing to a long list of achievements accomplished since he was inaugurated in January last year. If you haven’t noticed, Trump’s tweets have been fewer and fewer and focused now primarily on policy and accomplishments–much to the relief of both his fans and detractors. But he still can’t resist a little bragging when he feels the media is ignoring good news.

“This is my 500th day in Office and we have accomplished a lot—many believe more than any President in his first 500 days,” Trump wrote on Twitter before listing out some of his key accomplishments.

Although a direct comparison to other presidents is not feasible, love him or hate him one cannot deny that Trump did accomplish a significant amount despite unprecedented opposition from Democrats and many entrenched Republicans in Congress, judges around the country, the corporate world, and, the media.

Undaunted, the president delivered on an impressive list of signature promises he made on the campaign trail. At the one-year mark in January, the White House detailed a list of 81 major and 100 minor achievements.

Since then, the president has maintained his pace. Chief among the more recent achievements are several legislative victories, including the passage of the Right to Try Act on May 30. The president also signed a measure to combat online sex trafficking, which has already resulted in the shutdown of major websites known to facilitate trafficking.

On the international stage, Trump made unprecedented progress in relations with North Korea. On June 1, the president met with a top Pyongyang official at the White House and announced that the Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un is back on for June 12, after showing a willingness to walk away from the highly anticipated summit following a diplomatic flap by Pyongyang.

The Economy

The U.S. economy created 3 million jobs since the president took office, including 304,000 manufacturing jobs and 337,000 construction jobs. This compares to a net loss of over 300,000 manufacturing jobs during the entirety of the eight years under Obama. Employment in both manufacturing and construction now stands at the highest level in a decade, according to the White House.

The Trump administration also celebrated the best jobs report on June 1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment has dropped to 3.8 percent, a level not seen in over 18 years. Meanwhile, a record-high 6.6 million job openings were reported.

Positive sentiment among Americans about the jobs market is surging. Sixty-seven percent of Americans now believe that it is a good time to find a job. In the 17 years Gallup conducted the survey, the ratio of positive responses never breached 50 percent before Trump took office.

Optimism among manufacturers and small businesses is also at record highs. Consumer confidence is at a 17-year high, according to the Conference Board.

Economists attribute the good news largely to Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation. The president spearheaded a tax cut package that reduced consumer tax debt by $3.2 million for families and lowered the business tax rate from 35 to 21 percent.

Hundreds of companies, including Apple, Jet Blue, and Disney, responded to the tax cuts with a historic wave of cash bonuses and other benefits to employees as well as significant investments in their U.S. operations. To date, 4 million employees have received bonuses and other benefits as a result of the business tax cuts, according to Americans for Tax Reform.

The Trump administration is also making it easier to do business by cutting regulations. The president signed an executive order directing agencies to slash two regulations for each one created. This has resulted in an unprecedented regulatory reduction. In 2017, 22 regulations were killed for each one created, according to the White House.

Achievements on the World Stage

Trump scored several unprecedented achievements on the world stage.

Last month, the United States became the first nation to open an embassy in Jerusalem, a move promised but undelivered by several presidents.

Trump’s hands-off approach with generals waging war on ISIS resulted in a near total defeat of the terrorist group. The president also withdrew from the Iran deal and reimposed tough sanctions shortly after Israeli intelligence exposed that the Iranian regime had not given up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

The president’s crowning achievement has been the progress he achieved with North Korea. Though far from complete, Trump combined novel rhetoric and tough sanctions to force Pyongyang to the negotiating table. Kim Jong Un has already made several concessions ahead of the planned summit with Trump on June 12.

Meanwhile, Trump has been firm in responding to dictators around the globe. The Trump administration imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuela’s socialist regime. The president also ordered strikes against Syria after chemical attacks were reported in 2017 and 2018.

Protecting America

Trump promised to “make America safe again” on the campaign trail and has been making progress on several fronts.

The president’s work to secure the border has resulted in more than 110,000 illegal alien arrests in fiscal year 2017. Of those captured, 92 percent had a prior criminal conviction, pending criminal charges, or were a known fugitive from immigration enforcement authorities.

Tough border enforcement is resulting in more drug seizures. Border patrol has already seized 284 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2018, up from 181 pounds in all of last year.

Trump is also delivering on his vow to eradicate the brutal MS-13 transnational gang. Last year, prosecutors filed charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.

–From wire services and international news press