I'm going to put this up on this first day of this new western year - so that later on we can reference it and see how trump has gone with keeping his promises.
It is true that I cannot stand this loudmouth, misogynist, racist, self absorbed buffoon. I really expect the shit to hit the fan this year, so before we start my 2 big predictions about trump.
1. He will be involved in a shooting war with China.
2. He will have a big falling out with Putin.
in 2017.
Now onto the promises
Hat tip: Jenna Johnson at Washington Post via NZH
Note - there are hyperlinks to all the promises - thanks Jenna.
JOBS
1) Create at least
25 million jobs and "be the greatest jobs president that God ever created."
States that can expect a rush of jobs include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, New York and Virginia.
3) Encourage manufacturers to build or grow factories in the United States with
tax incentives.
4) Refuse to
eat another Oreo until Nabisco fully moves production back to the United States from Mexico.
5) Tell Ford's president that unless he cancels plans to build a massive plant in Mexico, the auto company will face a 35 per cent tax on cars imported back into the United States. Trump is confident he can get this done before taking office. (Trump has
twice incorrectly said this has already happened.)
7) Call the executives at the parent company of Carrier, an air-conditioning manufacturer that is
closing a plant in Indiana and moving to Mexico, and threaten to impose a 35 percent tariff on air-conditioners imported back into the United States. Trump predicts the company will say: "Sir, we've decided to stay in the United States."
13) Raise the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour, as
$7.25 is too low and "the minimum wage has to go up."
APPROACH TO THE PRESIDENCY
22) "I promise
I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you." (Trump has criticised Secretary of State John Kerry, who was injured while riding a bicycle amid the Iran negotiations.)
23) "In negotiation, you
must be willing to walk. . . . When the other side knows you're not going to walk, it becomes absolutely impossible to win."
25) "I don't
settle cases. I don't do it." (This month Trump settled a fraud lawsuit against Trump University for $25 million.)
26) Fully focus on the presidency and put his three oldest children - Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump - in charge of running his company. (Trump has yet to take steps to fully
isolate himself from his business, and his three oldest children have played a major role in his transition team. In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump noted that he could
legally continue running his business.)
TAXES
27) Release his
tax returns as soon as an Internal Revenue Service audit is complete.
28) Pass the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act, which will reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to four and lower income taxes for all. The highest earners would pay a 25 per cent tax. Individuals earning less than $25,000 per year or couples earning less than $50,000 would not be charged income tax, although they will have to file a one-page form with the IRS that states: "I win."
29) Lower the
corporate tax rate to 15 per cent and get rid of most corporate tax loopholes or incentives. Allow corporations a one-time window to transfer money being held overseas, charging a much-reduced 10 per cent tax.
30) Eliminate the
carried interest loophole for Wall Street, the federal estate tax, the alternative minimum tax and the so-called marriage penalty that affects some high-income earners. Continue to allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest and charitable donations from their taxes.
TRADE
32) Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or withdraw from the deal under
Article 2205.
34) Negotiate trade deals with
individual countries instead of regions. Trump would gather together the "smartest negotiators in the world" and assign them each a country. Billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn would be in charge of trade negotiations with China and Japan.
35) Identify all
foreign trading abuses that affect American workers and "use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately." This would include cracking down on "sweatshops in Mexico that undercut US workers."
36) Impose
new taxes on imports into the country from companies that used to be based in the United States. Trump's most frequently cited number is 35 per cent.
ECONOMY AND FEDERAL BUDGET
38) "We will
double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world." Grow the nation's economy by at least 4 per cent per year, although Trump has also suggested he will boost growth to at least 6 per cent per year - if not much higher.
39) Eliminate the
$19 trillion national debt within eight years by "vigorously eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, ending redundant government programs and growing the economy to increase tax revenues."
41) Cut the budget by
20 per cent by simply negotiating better prices or renegotiating existing deals.
42) Implement the "
Penny Plan," which each year would reduce net spending by 1 per cent of the previous year's total. Over 10 years, Trump says, this would reduce spending by almost $1 trillion. Defense and public safety spending would be exempt.
43) Immediately institute a
hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the workforce through attrition. There will be exceptions for those in the military, public safety and public health.
44) Order every federal government department head to "
provide a list of wasteful spending projects that we can eliminate in my first 100 days." Review each agency and then decrease the size of the "bloated government," making it "leaner and more responsive to the public."
45) Stop spending money on
space exploration until the United States can fix its potholes. Encourage private space-exploration companies to expand.
46) Stop so-called
zombie spending, in which the government funds programs that have had their congressional authorization lapse. By
cutting 5 per cent of this spending, Trump estimates he could save almost $200 billion over 10 years.
47) Collect
unpaid taxes, which Trump says could be as much as $385 billion per year.
49) Dismantle the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which aims to prevent the excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis and was signed into law by Obama in 2010.
REGULATION
HEALTH CARE
52) "Completely repeal" the
Affordable Care Act and replace it with something "terrific" that is "so much better, so much better, so much better." Americans will have "
great health care at a fraction of the cost." Trump plans to call Congress into a special session to do this, which will likely be unnecessary.
53) Eliminate the
individual mandate, as "no person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to."
55) Knock down the
regulatory walls between states for health insurance, making plans available nationally instead of regionally. "Insurance costs will go down and consumer satisfaction will go up."
56) Expand use of
Health Savings Accounts, which allow workers to save money for medical expenses without having to pay federal income tax on those funds. These payments will be allowed to accumulate and can be passed on to heirs. These funds can be used by any member of a family.
57) Encourage states to establish
high-risk pools to cover individuals who have not maintained continuous coverage.
59) Reduce the number of
individuals on Medicaid and or using the Children's Health Insurance Program. Trump would also cut any health care offered to undocumented immigrants.
63) Require
price transparency from health care providers so patients can shop for the best prices.
BORDER SECURITY
65) Fully fund the construction of an "
impenetrable physical wall" along the southern border with Mexico. The wall will be one foot taller than the Great Wall of China and "artistically beautiful," constructed of hardened concrete, rebar and steel. The wall might only cover about 1,000 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border because of natural barriers, and Trump is open to using fencing in some places.
66) Make Mexico pay for the wall, "
100 per cent." If
Mexico refuses, then the United States will impound remittance payments taken from the wages of undocumented immigrants, cut foreign aid, institute tariffs, cancel visas for Mexican business leaders and diplomats, and increase fees for visas, border-crossing cards and port use.
69)
Supplement the wall with "above-and below-ground sensors, towers, aerial surveillance and manpower." Hire an additional
5000 Border Patrol agents and expand the number of Border Patrol stations.
70) End "
catch-and-release." Anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are removed from the country.
IMMIGRATION
75) Immediately deport undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime, are a member of a gang or pose a security threat. Trump estimates this is 2 to 3 million people, although experts say the
number is much lower.
76) Deport the millions of undocumented immigrants who are in the United States
on an expired visa.
78) Issue detainers for undocumented immigrants who are
arrested for any crime and immediately begin removal proceedings.
79) Do not grant amnesty to immigrants who are in the country illegally. "Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is
subject to deportation," and those wanting legal status will have to return to their home country and apply for re-entry.
80) Restore the
Secure Communities deportation program, which was ended by the Obama administration in 2014. The program was a partnership among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that worked together to identify and deport undocumented immigrants.
82) On the first day in office, ask Congress to pass "
Kate's Law" - named for Kate Steinle, who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in San Francisco last summer - to "ensure that criminal aliens convicted of illegal reentry face receive strong mandatory minimum sentences."
83) Introduce legislation named for Michael Davis Jr. and Danny Oliver, law enforcement officers in California who were killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2014. Such legislation would hasten the removal of "criminal immigrants and terrorists." (Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama introduced the
Davis-Oliver Act in June 2015, but it did not go anywhere.)
85) Allow "
tremendous numbers" of legal immigrants based on a "merit system," selecting immigrants who will help grow the country's economy.
87)
Expand the number of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers so that more of the "talented people" who graduate from Ivy League institutions can stay in the United States and work in Silicon Valley.
88) Get rid of the H-1B visa program because it's "
very, very bad" for American workers.
89) Continue to allow lowly paid foreign workers to come to the United States on temporary work visas
to pick grapes and work in seasonal resorts.
94) Strengthen and expand the use of
E-Verify, which allows employers to check an employee's eligibility to work.
95)
Urge assimilation because "our system of government, and our American culture, is the best in the world and will produce the best outcomes for all who adopt it."
96) Accomplish more immigration reforms in a few months than politicians have accomplished in the past 50 years. With these reforms, Trump promises: "
Crime will go down, border crossings will plummet, gangs will disappear, and welfare use will decrease."
NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY
100) Find great generals - like the next
Gen. George Patton or Gen. Douglas MacArthur - and do not allow them to go on television news shows to explain their military strategy. Trump prefers generals who are rough, foul-mouthed and beloved by their troops.
108) Grow the Marine Corps to 36 battalions, growing the active-duty force from its current target of
182,000 to 200,000.
109) Involve
all 50 states in rebuilding the military and developing new technologies. Create thousands of jobs building these new ships in Philadelphia, Portsmouth, N.H., and Hampton Roads, Va. North Carolina's Research Triangle will also play a key role.
111) Leave troops in Afghanistan because it's such "
a mess."
116) "I will not hesitate to
deploy military force when there is no alternative. But if America fights, it must fight to win."
CYBERSECURITY
117) Assemble a "
cyber review team" of the best military, civilian and private sector cybersecurity experts to comprehensively review all systems and technology, starting with the most sensitive ones. The team will also remain current on new methods of attack and set up protocols for each agency and government officials.
118) Establish a
training program for government employees to make certain they understand what defenses are available and utilise them. Punish those who violate classification rules, holding them responsible to the fullest extent of the law.
119) Solicit
recommendations from the secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff for strengthening and augmenting the country's Cyber Command.
120) Order the Department of Justice to create
joint task forces to coordinate responses to cyberthreats. (The FBI already runs "cyber task forces" in each one of its 56 field offices.)
VETERANS AFFAIRS
123) Dramatically reform the agency. Fire "
the corrupt and incompetent" leaders and make it easier for the secretary to fire people. Trump promises to protect and promote "honest employees" who highlight wrongdoing. These employees will also receive bonuses.
124) Create a
commission to investigate "all the fraud, cover-ups and wrongdoing that has taken place in the VA." Present these findings to Congress to spur legislative reform.
125) Create a
White House hotline that is active 24-hours-a-day and is answered by a real person who will handle veterans' complaints of wrongdoing at the VA and "ensure no complaints fall through the cracks."
126) Allow veterans to take their military identification card to any medical facility that accepts Medicaid patients to receive care. Veterans can also seek care "at a private service provider of their own choice." Trump promises that: "Under a Trump administration,
no veteran will die waiting for service. These days are over starting January 2017."
127) Embed
satellite VA clinics in rural hospitals and underserved areas, and ensure that every VA hospital is permanently staffed with obstetrics and gynecology doctors.
130) Veterans who apply for a job at a VA facility will have
five points added to their qualifying scores. For all jobs across the country, employers should consider veterans ahead of immigrants.
131) Invest more heavily in programs that help
military veterans transition back to civilian life, including job training and placement services.
FOREIGN POLICY
133) "A Trump administration will never ever put the interest of a foreign country before the interest of our country. From now on, it's going to be
America first."
134) Force other NATO countries to pay for more of their defense, and only come to the aid of other countries if those nations have "
fulfilled their obligations to us." In particular, Trump expects Germany, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia to pay more for the security the United States provides.
135) Call a
summit with NATO allies and a separate summit with Asian allies to discuss "a rebalancing of financial commitments" and adopting new strategies, such as upgrading "NATO's outdated mission and structure."
136) Get along with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I hope that we
get along great with Putin because it would be great to have Russia with a good relationship." Trump would also look into lifting the
sanctions imposed on Russia after its annexation of Crimea.
137) Communicate with North Korea's Kim Jong Un about his nuclear program, which would mark a major shift in US policy toward the isolated nation. "
I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him."
138) Stay out of the
Syrian civil war. Although Trump considers Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "bad," he has said the United States has higher priorities. Around the world, Trump has said, he prefers stability over regime changes.
139) Reverse Obama's executive orders and "
concessions towards Cuba until freedoms are restored." Trump has pledged to "demand political and religious freedom for the people of Cuba."
141) Help Haiti and its "incredible people"
rebuild their country.
142) Be a "
true friend to Israel." Trump says the United States will "be working with Israel very closely, very, very closely."
143) Do not throw a lavish state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Obama did last year, and instead buy Jinping a "
double-size Big Mac" and tell him "we gotta get down to work."
145) "It is time to shake the rust off of America's foreign policy. It's time to invite new voices and new visions into the fold." Trump wants to "establish a foreign policy that will
endure for several generations."
IRAN
146) Tear up the
Iran deal and then "totally" renegotiate the whole thing.
147) Negotiate the release of all US prisoners held in Iran before taking office. (Five Americans were released during the campaign, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian; Trump has
claimed some credit for this.)
CHINA
150) "We can't continue to allow China to
rape our country, and that's what they're doing."
152) Instruct the US trade representative to bring
trade cases against China, both here and at the World Trade Organisation. If necessary, apply tariffs against China consistent with Section 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
153) Adopt a "
zero tolerance policy" for Chinese hackers and those who steal American intellectual property and ideas.
FIGHTING THE ISLAMIC STATE
159) Work with allies to cut off funding to the Islamic State, expand intelligence sharing and use cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting. Work closely with NATO and "
our Arab allies and friends in the Middle East." Partner with Israel, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi and "all others who recognise this ideology of death that must be extinguished."
160) "
Bomb the s--- out of ISIS" and "knock them out." Also bomb oil fields controlled by the Islamic State, then seize the oil and give the profits to military veterans who were wounded while fighting.
161) Target and
kill the relatives of suspected terrorists, a violation of international law.
162) Shut down
parts of the Internet so that Islamic State terrorists cannot use it to recruit American children.
163) Bring back waterboarding, which is widely considered torture, and use interrogation techniques that are "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding." Even if such tactics don't work, Trump says, suspected terrorists "
deserve it anyway, for what they're doing." (Trump
suggested after the election, however, that he was reconsidering his position because of a conversation with a general who opposed the tactic.)
164) Establish a
Commission on Radical Islam that will include "reformist voices in the Muslim community" and will identify the warning signs of radicalization, educate the American public and develop protocol for police officers, federal investigators and immigration screeners.
165) Temporarily
ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Trump would allow exceptions for dignitaries, business people, athletes and others who have "proven" themselves. Although Trump's aides, surrogates and running mate insist he no longer wants this so-called Muslim ban, Trump himself has yet to fully disavow the idea and it is still posted on his campaign website.
166) Temporarily suspend "immigration from some of the
most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism." Order the Department of State, Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to develop a list of regions and countries to include. The list will likely include Syria and Libya.
167) Create an
ideological screening test for all immigration applicants with the goal of keeping "radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country." For example, immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan would be asked for their views on honor killings and Sharia law, along with their opinions of women, gays and minorities.
168) Heavily surveil mosques in the United States. Trump has said he would "
strongly consider" closing some mosques.
170) Deport those "who are guests in our country that are
preaching hate."
172) "Our administration will be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers in the Middle East, and will
amplify their voices. This includes speaking out against the horrible practice of honor killings."
173) "If and when the
Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened."
REFUGEES
174) Bar Syrian refugees from entering the country and kick out any who are already living here, as they might be "
the ultimate Trojan horse."
175) Create a database of Syrian refugees. Trump has also seemed open to the idea of creating
a database of Muslims in the country, although his aides say that is not true.
176) Set up
safe zones in Syria and then force wealthy Persian Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia to pick up the bill. "They're gonna put up all the money. We're not gonna put up money. We're gonna lead it and we'll do a great a job. But we're gonna get the Gulf states to put up the money."
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
178) Gut, if not eliminate, the Environmental Protection Agency, which Trump has called a "
disgrace."
180) Eliminate
"intrusive" regulations, along with "any regulation that is outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers, or contrary to the national interest." Eliminate duplication in regulations, deferring to local officials and residents. Remove the "draconian barriers" to allow energy infrastructure projects and development to proceed.
181) Eliminate the Clean Water Rule that defines the "
waters of the United States" and gives added protection to tributaries that impact the health of downstream waters.
182) Scrap the
Clean Power Plan, which reduces the amount of carbon pollution from power plants. Trump says this could save the country $7.2 billion per year.
183) Oppose a
carbon tax on fossil fuels use that could be used to reverse damage to the environment caused by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
184) Revoke restrictions on
new drilling technologies and support "safe hydraulic fracturing" to create "millions of jobs." Lease more federal land for drilling, including "vast areas of our offshore energy resources."
185) Ease federal regulations on coal mining to revive the industry. Eliminate Obama's
moratorium on new leases for coal mined from federal lands.
186) Treat climate change like the "
hoax" that Trump has said it is. (In a recent interview with the
New York Times, Trump
seemed to soften that position.)
187) Cancel all funding for domestic and international climate change programs, which he estimates would
total $100 billion over two terms. Trump would instead spend that money on domestic infrastructure projects.
188) Pull out of the
Paris Agreement, which was recently signed by 196 countries pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
189) Become the
world's dominant leader in energy production. Attain "complete American energy independence" so that the United States is no longer dependent on foreign oil.
191) Ask TransCanada to renew its permit application for the
Keystone XL pipeline so that it can be approved.
192) "Unleash
an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country." Create at least a half million jobs a year, prompting a more than $30 billion increase in annual wages over seven years. This will increase the GDP by more than $100 billion annually. Use the revenue from energy production to rebuild roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure.
193) Restore and protect the
Florida Everglades, even though it's a "rough-looking sight down there."
INFRASTRUCTURE
195) Spur the spending of
$1 trillion in public and private dollars on infrastructure projects over 10 years. Invest in "transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs" without adding to the national debt.
196) Negotiate rates for these projects that are one-third of what the United States is currently paying. "
Cut wasteful spending on boondoggles" by streamlining the permit and approval processes.
