Published: June 1, 2025 | 10:45 AM
Tags: Trump, First Term, MAGA, 2017–2021, #Chaos, Neoliberalism, WordPress Series

Before we spend June chronicling the catastrophic failures of Donald J. Trump’s first term (2017–2021), let’s take a moment to list what his supporters called “accomplishments.” These are the policies and decisions that were trotted out to justify another four years of national whiplash in 2024.

Each of these was used to justify four more years in 2024. But none of them erase the June, Trump’s Birthday, catalog of #Chaos we’ve laid out.

📉 Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act handed trillions to corporations and the ultra-rich. Middle-class crumbs came at the cost of ballooning the federal deficit.

💼 Judicial Appointments

Over 200 lifetime federal judges and three Supreme Court Justices (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett) were confirmed, reshaping the judiciary for decades.

📦 Deregulation Blitz

Hundreds of Obama-era regulations were rolled back, especially in energy, environmental protection, and consumer finance. CEOs cheered. The planet didn’t.

🌾 USMCA Trade Deal

NAFTA was repackaged as the USMCA. Changes were largely cosmetic, but Trump sold it like a revolution.

🛢️ Energy Exports

Public lands were opened to drilling, fracking accelerated, and fossil fuel production hit record highs. So did wildfires and pipeline leaks.

📉 First Step Act (Criminal Justice Reform)

A rare bipartisan move, the First Step Act modestly reformed federal sentencing laws. Trump took full credit for work Congress carried.

🇮🇱 Middle East Normalization

Brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states—countries not at war. Still, it was treated as a peace triumph.

💣 Defeat of ISIS Caliphate

ISIS lost its territorial hold under Trump’s term, thanks to U.S.-led coalition forces. The ideological threat? Still global.

📊 Stock Market Highs

Wall Street soared during Trump’s pre-COVID years. But it was riding a bull run that began under Obama, aided by tax breaks and deregulation.

👷 Pre-COVID Jobs Growth

Unemployment hit record lows by 2019, continuing a decade-long recovery. Trump took credit; the Fed and previous policies did the heavy lifting.

🪖 VA Choice Expansion

Trump claimed he “fixed” the VA, but the VA MISSION Act was a continuation of Obama-era policy. Still, it expanded private healthcare access for veterans.

Let this list serve as context—not justification—for what follows. Starting June 1, we’ll document 30 days of dysfunction from Trump’s 2017–2021 administration. Because while MAGA voters may have tried to own the libs in 2024, they might just end up owning the consequences.

Next up at 11:00 AM: Trump’s $1.5 trillion “big, beautiful” infrastructure plan—poof, gone. #Chaos