Two years in office: Donald Trump in 55 superlatives

WAlmost no president of the United States speaks as much as the ruler. And it is almost always the extremes that Donald Trump announces. We will do it now too.

The greatest achievements

If you follow Trump's coverage in the United States and Europe, you may have the impression that there is almost nothing to make the unconventional president right. In reality, however, Trump has some success, although some are involuntary.

before the tax reform it was his most important success. In particular, the reduction of corporate taxes from 35 to 21 percent, but also the reduction of income tax for all represent the largest tax reform after Ronald Reagan, but there are also side effects. So the revenue deficit made a hole in the coffers of the state and blew up the debt. And Trump's tax breaks are particularly useful for people like him – the rich, in particular, benefit from it.

second Since the 2008 financial crisis, the United States is experiencing a persistent growth phase which started under Obama and continued under Trump. The president praises more for this than for his participation. Indeed, its tax credits and deregulation incentives have boosted the economy.

Data on unemployment are also approaching full employment. However, Trump now threatens to tear his buttocks away with what he has accumulated: the US stock exchanges are very nervous due to the trade war with China and continue to crash. And the arrest triggered by Trump, also a superlative, the longest in American history, threatens to stutter the economy.

third Talk to North Korea. North Korea's nuclear and missile weapons were the most difficult foreign policy problem left by Barack Obama. Trump initially triggered angry nuclear threats (verbally and via Twitter) to North Korea and its dictator Kim Jong-un. All the more surprising that the roaring tiger suddenly emerged like a gentle lamb: Trump started a historical summit with Kim, both of whom suddenly seemed to be best friends. A second summit is scheduled for the end of February.

So for now no nuclear war. The problem is however found in the small print: So Trump has received with his offensive charm until now not really substantial concessions of Pyongyang. But having prevented a war that you almost caused, something is also worth it.

4. Report on the defense of NATO. Transatlantic relations have suffered particularly during the Trump era. Permanent bankruptcies against partners are now the new normal case. However, one thing that Trump has achieved is that it scared the European NATO countries that many have effectively stepped up their defense budgets significantly to move closer to two percent of the GDP agreed. Threats and scamming have worked.

5th Insights. At least for many Western governments. As often happens in life, first you learn to appreciate what you have when suddenly in danger. This is the case, for example, of the Western community of values ​​in Trump's era. Trump's disdain for Western partnership and institutions such as NATO and the EU has made it clear to the liberal political and journalistic elites in the West how valuable the liberal world order is – and at the same time, how vulnerable it is. And how important is the role of the United States as the anchor point of this world order.

Many Western governments are realizing that they may have to do more to maintain this order, and that it has been lazy and cowardly to always rely on American leadership.

Legendary shows

It is part of the Trump Presidency phenomenon that so far has happened halfway through the time that it is difficult to remember the most important thing. A selection:

1. The inauguration speech. After Trump's election, the American media spent weeks predicting that Trump would become serious and presidential. This hope had already been destroyed by his inaugural speech. Never before had an American president set himself up in such dark colors and with so much ruin. "It was a rather strange crap," it is said that former President George W. Bush mumbled after Trump's speech.

2. Charlottesville. It had been the biggest Nazi demonstration in the United States for years, and a radical on the right had even driven his car against counter-demonstrators, killing a woman – and Trump could not spend days clearly condemning events in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump has blamed both parties for the escalation, claiming that they were "very honest people" among the right-wing people. It is rarely clear that this President is deliberately flirting with the extreme right.

3. Press conference after Putin's meeting. Already in the election campaign Trump never said a dirty word to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He took him to the extreme after his long-awaited meeting with Putin in Helsinki. He praised it in the highest terms and conveyed the impression that he believed, as regards the Russian manipulations of the American elections, Putin rather than his secret services.

4. The stable genius. Again and again the question arose if Trump was psychologically not too unstable and unpredictable for the most powerful office. After the Natogipfel in Brussels, Trump put an end to this speculation: "I am a very stable genius," he said.

5. Praise the Master. Trump has had several bizarre sessions at the White House. No one, however, was as odd as the one in which all the members of the Council of Ministers were called to express their effusive praise of the Grand President.

Worst nightmares

Trump likes to feed fears, but what is Trump really afraid of?

before The relationship of Russia. I really can not admit it.

second His keyboard. Based on reciprocity.

third The void. Gaps in the photos of his events, which should actually be participants. It is assumed that the white pages are signing. Trump is afraid of nothing. He persecutes him.

4. blood. He must have frightened him to death when the presenter Mika Brzezinski, heavily bleeding for his face-lift, has harassed him. Fox News director Megyn Kelly also saw "the blood come out of the eyes". The fact that he imagined both testifies only to the strength of the phobia.

5. Sweden. You never know what happened in Sweden last night. Never.

The most critical

Trump's era is a testament to American democracy and institutional fabric. And because the president offers so much space for attack, it is also a high point of political criticism.

before The CIA is proud of its impartiality and does not want to be involved in the political trench war in Washington. That's why that former CIA chief is so extraordinary John Brennan he became one of Trump's noisiest critics. Brennan has violently attacked both the proximity of Trump to Russia and the erosion of democratic norms. Trump then lets Brennan escape the security clearance.

second There are only conservative conservatives who criticize Trump harder – one of the most important among them is the historian and foreign policy expert Max boat In his columns on the Washington Post, Boot attacks Trump and has since left the Republican Party, accusing him of complicity with Trump. More recently, Boat has settled into a book with the non-religious traditions of the Republican party.

third The neocon invoice Kristol he was for a long time the main Republican thinker and, like other conservative intellectuals, he helplessly witnessed his party moving away from what Trump had represented for Trump. The bizarre and funny tweets of Kristol of Trump were among the most witty in the American debate.

4th The lawyer of Stormy Daniel Michael Avenatti It's a nuisance, and his private life continues to make news. But seeing Trump on Twitter and on TV is a great show. It takes almost as much pleasure as the president. A remarkable opponent.

5th The democratic member Maxine Waters from California he is one of Trump's harshest critics in the United States Congress. That's why it became the goal of a Trump fan who sent tube bombs.

bands

Trump likes art. Art does not like Trump. This does not stop Trump. Here are his favorite artists.

1. Andy Thomas. This is the man who created the painting on which Trump drinks with former Republican presidents. Hang in the White House!

2. Van Gogh. He wished the "Paysage enneigé" to beautify his offices at the Guggenheim Museum. The chief curator offered him a golden toilet instead. In some ways even silly.

3. Renoir. An alleged original hanging on the wall of his Boeing 727.

4. Andy Warhol. He even ordered Trump Towers photos from him. When he saw the pictures, he said: "I hate them!" And he did not want to pay. In turn, Warhol hated him forever.

5. Havi Schanz. He made himself portrayed by him and then bought the portrait for $ 10,000.

False bizarre claims

More than 7,000 times, according to the Washington Post, Trump would have made false or misleading accusations – it's about ten a day. Here are some highlights:

1. The masses took office. His first big lie as president was sitting. That's what most people still remember. Trump had said that never so many people had attended an inauguration ceremony as in his. Despite the clear photographic comparisons.

2. Electoral manipulation. Trump was never hurt, even though he won by suffrage, Hillary Clinton got nearly three million more votes than him. He claimed that between three and five million votes had been cast illegally. He instituted a commission to investigate – and after a while tacitly dissolved.

3. Obama let Trump listen – or were they English? In the first few weeks shortly after taking office, Trump accused his predecessor Barack Obama of intercepting his telephone connection in the Trump Tower. Not a small thing He never presented evidence. Later, Trump claimed that the British had intercepted him on behalf of Obama, which caused fierce denials from London.

4. Russia's investigations are an invention and a witch hunt. Trump repeats like a chorus. However, the longer the investigations of the FBI continue, the more violations of the law have found the special investigator Robert Mueller, then legal action has been initiated against at least five former members of the Trump campaign team and several close collaborators. they collaborate with the investigators. Trump's legal advisor, Rudy Giuliani, also indirectly admitted that there was a collusion between Russia and Trump's election campaign.

5. Border regime. The systematic separation of children and parents in illegal border crossings in the southern United States caused a storm of indignation due to the coldness of this policy. Trump said that a US Congress law leaves him no choice or that Obama has followed the same policy. As Trump says about the border, this was not true either.

Scary remote diagnostics

Ok, of course, you can not diagnose someone psychiatrically without knowing him. But it continues to do everything.

1. Narcissistic personality disorder! Total megalomania! Of course, the obvious first. But …

2. … could also be one disturbance of the dissocial personality to be.

3. Some experts talk about it paranoid personality disorder (Contempt of social norms) …

4th … and many of them "Toxic mixture" from the first three points.

5. Or is it already demented? For a while everyone was on fire for this diagnosis, the symptoms seemed clear: greatly reduced vocabulary, faulty memories, constant typos. But honestly, he thinks he's been too good for too long.

The best enemies

Trump seems to live according to the motto "Much enemy, much honor". Nobody is sure of his anger.

1. Nancy Pelosi. The powerful democrat, the new leader of the majority in the House of Representatives, is one of Trump's favorite enemies. Pelosi is not a gifted speaker and therefore offers many attack surfaces. Above all, the powerful woman does not seem to adapt to Trump's female image.

2. Angela Merkel. What applies to Pelosi applies to the German chancellor: she is a powerful woman. His immigration policy and the strength of German exports are also a thorn in his side – as well as the low defense spending in Berlin. Merkel is synonymous with many things that Trump does not like.

3. Justin Trudeau, A Beau, a close friend of the left all over the world and a fiery champion of Canadian multiculturalism, there are many reasons why Trump can not stand the Canadian prime minister, who played particularly badly since the Ottawa G-7 summit.

4. Xi Jinping, The relationship with the Chinese president is like a love-hate relationship. In the beginning, Trump praised the role of the Chinese in their rapprochement with North Korea. In the meantime, there is a commercial war. The initial love story has cooled.

5. Donald TrumpThe biggest threat to his presidency is Donald Trump. That the president is joking that he fired FBI chief James Comey for investigations in Russia, tweeting the defense strategy of his lawyers, or taking his own party to despair with a constant zig-zag course – Trump he is himself the greatest enemy.

Best friends

Does Donald Trump have any real friends? Hard to say, he seems to be so busy with himself. Politically, it seeks proximity to more dubious characters.

1. Vladimir Putin. It is the most disconcerting relationship: why is Trump holding up conspicuously with the criticism of Putin? And does Putin really have something against Trump, which makes him so tame?

2. Mohammed Bin Salman. Trump set in the Middle East on the Saudis and their new strong man, the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi living in the United States has not changed the situation.

3. Kim Jong-un, From "little rocket man" to "wonderful" North Korean leader: the relationship with Kim was like a roller coaster ride. Since he met Kim for the Singapore summit, he did not come to his new friend in Pyongyang.

4. Nigel Farage, The British right wing and the Brexit starter have long been at stake with Trump. After the election, Farage was authorized to visit the President in his gold attic in the Trump Tower in New York. Trump even recommended that the British make him an ambassador to the United States.

5. Who praises Trump. In fact, Trump's sympathy seems to depend primarily on one factor: praise. Who says publicly something positive about Trump, is celebrated by him beyond measure. But the opposite is also true as soon as this person criticizes him.

The most popular tweets

On Twitter, what Trump is currently moving can be read. He has 57 million followers. His most successful tweets since taking office are, according to trumptwitterarchive.com:

before A video in which Trump beats a man with a CNN logo has been retweeted more than 333,000 times. He shared it in July 2017.

second More than 248,000 times his response to a statement was shared by the North Korean news agency, who described him as "old" (or "old man"): "Because Kim Jong-un would insult me ​​like "Old" if I never do, would you call "little fat"? Well, I'm trying so hard to be his friend – and maybe it will happen someday! "

third Trump's triumph against Kim Jong-un, with his "much bigger and more powerful" button to activate the atomic bombs, has been retweeted more than 176,000 times.

4th His strangest tweet was shared more than 126,000 times, even if he was online for only nine hours: "covfefe" despite a constant negative press.

5th A video in which celebrities say that Trump will not become president, followed by clips for the election, has been shared more than 114,000 times. Trump wrote in July 2018: "They simply did not understand, but now!"

Most spectacular personalities

"You're fired" was the trademark of Trump in his reality show. Since joining the White House, there have been 59 staff changes according to CNN. The most spectacular:

before director of the FBI James Comey he was probably better prepared for "You're fired". He had prepared minutes of his meetings with Trump and later published those details that were unpleasant for Trump. His perseverance in investigating Russia's connections with Trumps should not have pleased the president.

2. Steve Bannon, once a chief strategist, was considered the president's brain. He then fell into the back in an interview with Trump and had to go.

3. Rex Tillerson he was the prime minister to leave office under Trump. The theme of Iran and North Korea was divided.

4th Minister of Justice Jeff Sessions Trump wished all the best for the future via Twitter – that's all. The sessions should have become a problem that has kept out of the Russian investigations because of the injury.

5th The last is the Secretary of Defense James Mattis assigned. This puts an end to the army era in Trump's White House. The general disapproved of Trump's withdrawal from Syria.