US election 2020: Donald Trump’s highs and lows in the White House
When Donald Trump descended on Trump Tower to announce his candidacy in 2015, it was a turning point for America. This is how it’s changed.
World
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From the moment Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy in 2015, America would never be the same.
After decades of sex scandals playing out across New York’s tabloids, controversial business deals and a record setting reality show, the billionaire property developer and Miss Universe owner was now taking aim at the White House.
Sometimes crude, often shocking, Mr Trump set the tone for his edgy presidency with his opening speech.
Looking back now, it laid-out a path to which he would stick surprisingly close to.
He started by accusing his fellow candidates of having “sweated like dogs” because “they didn’t know the airconditioner didn’t work”.
“How are they going to beat ISIS? I don’t think it’s gonna happen,” the man who would go on to defeat ISIS said.
“Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time,” the president who would reset China’s relationship with the west said.
“When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically,” he said three years before he struck a new trade deal with America’s southern and northern neighbours.
“They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.
“The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.”
Impeachment, the assassination of terrorists, allegations of Russia interference in the 2016 election, an angry phone call with the (then) Australian Prime Minister, multiple fights with Congress, sackings galore of key staff.
Let alone COVID-19 and 230,000 dead Americans. Washington DC has never seen anything like it.
After a couple of false starts in 1999 and 2012, Mr Trump finally took a genuine run at the presidency in 2015, lining up in a field of 17 Republican candidates – the biggest in history.
He was initially not taken seriously, but his brash brand of populism, championing of “America First” and level of celebrity off the back of The Apprentice gave him the nomination.
Mr Trump’s presidency was dogged by Democrat allegations of election interference by Russia which led to a high-profile investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
While Mueller eventually found Mr Trump had no case to answer, the ongoing headlines – blasting allegations of wrongdoing day after day for many months – drained the White House of oxygen and infuriated the president.
“I think Robert Mueller did a horrible job, both today and with respect to the investigation,” Mr Trump said after the special counsel fronted Congress.
“Obviously he did very poorly today. I don’t think there’s anybody — even among the fakers — I don’t think there’s anybody that would say he did well.”
There were soaring highs in his first term, including tax cuts for the middle class that fuelled the economic growth which brought unemployment rates to half-century lows.
Democrats cried that the new prosperity was a legacy of the Obama administration. Trump and his army of supporters called that nonsense.
His pledge to “build the wall” along the border with Mexico will probably be his most famous promise.
Mr Trump claims to have built over 400 miles (about 700km) of “beautiful wall” in his term of office.
Hills were blasted and bulldozed in sometimes sensitive habitats as 10m high fences were installed with environmental reviews often waived to help speed up the construction timeline, especially in 2020.
Despite Mr Trump asserting Mexico would pay for the wall, American taxpayers have handed over about $A22 billion to fund the work.
Everyday Americans rarely talk about foreign relations, but this was a surprising strength of Mr Trump, although of course there were bumps along the way.
He up-ended traditional protocols, reaching out – ultimately unsuccessfully – directly to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, pulling the US out of the Paris climate accord, achieving historic peace agreements in the Middle East, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, and demanded America’s NATO partners cough up more money for global defence.
And of course, there was that infamous phone call with failed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, where he berated the Aussie leader over a refugee-swap deal that had been cut with Barack Obama.
The unique rhythm of his first term was probably best summed up by events in October 2019, when Mr Trump proudly announced that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had killed himself during an operation by US Special Forces.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration. Last night was a great night for the United States and the world,” he said.
Indeed, it was a great night for Trump.
But at the same time, Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat-controlled House of Representatives was steaming forward to impeach Mr Trump over his infamous phone call with the Ukraine President, leading to him being accused of withholding American aid unless Ukraine launched an investigation into the business dealings of Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Ultimately, the impeachment turned out to be both a low and a high point.
When he was formally cleared of the charges by the Republican-controlled Senate in February 2020, it seemed Mr Trump finally had clear air as he looked towards the election in November 2020.
But then came the “China plague”.
He remarked in March: “It goes away …. It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.”
And then, on April 23, he made perhaps his most infamous remark of all:
“I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
Even Donald Trump struggled to top that one.