SPECIAL REPORT: PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS: BROKEN PROMISES TO THE MIDDLE CLASS

In President Trump’s first 100 days, he has not only failed to improve life for America’s working families; he has made things worse. He campaigned like an anti-establishment populist, but he has governed from the hard-right, giving sweetheart deals to the special interests and making the middle class—and those trying to get there—pay for it. President Trump has broken his promises on the economy, on health care, on draining the swamp, and has proposed a budget that fundamentally breaks his promise to improve the lives of millions of Americans. Combined with his administration’s many blunders, President Trump has spent his first 100 days hurting families across the country.
 
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Unfortunately for America’s middle class and those struggling to get there, President Trump’s first one hundred days have been a series of broken promises. So far he’s failed to be the champion for America’s workers that he promised he would be – backtracking from being tough on China when it comes to trade and failing to follow through on his promise to Buy American and Hire American. He’s failed to deliver on his promise to cover everybody for lower costs when it comes to health care, and he’s failed to keep his promise to drain the swamp. For the sake of the country, we hope the President will change course and truly be a President for America’s working class, and work with Democrats to improve the lives of the American people.”
 
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “President Trump’s first 100 days have been a disastrous parade of broken promises to working people, handouts to wealthy special interests, and deep damage to the health and economic security of America’s families.  Where are the jobs?  Instead of working to create jobs, Republicans’ first priority was to try to raise Americans’ health costs in order to hand hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans.  Under the Trump Administration’s swirl of lobbyists and ties to Russia, special interests receive special treatment and hard-working American families are left behind.”
 
DNC Chair Tom Perez said, “The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s administration have been full of chaos and carnage at the expense of American families.  Just hours after taking office, Donald Trump made it harder for families to buy a home and since then he has attempted to take away health insurance from 24 million people, has made it harder to save for retirement, and is targeting immigrants and tearing apart families.  But while January 20th was an important day, January 21st and those that followed have been far more important.  The American people hit the streets and airports to make their voices heard, called their elected leaders, and are holding Trump accountable. We have stopped Trump time and again and we won’t stop now.”
 
DONALD TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
 
As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to improve the lives of millions of Americans. He promised that he would fight for them, not for the special interests. But in his first 100 days, President Trump has broken promise after promise to the American people.
 
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES: THE ECONOMY
 
President Trump campaigned on keeping jobs here at home, creating more jobs, buying and hiring American, and holding countries like China accountable for their unfair trade practices. In his first 100 days, President Trump has not only broken these promises—he has made things worse for Americans looking for work or the peace of mind that their jobs won’t be shipped overseas.
 
PROMISE: HOLD CHINA ACCOUNTABLE BY LABELING THEM A CURRENCY MANIPULATOR
 
Then-Candidate Donald Trump: “On day one of a Trump administration, the U.S. Treasury Department will designate China a currency manipulator.” [WSJ Op-Ed, 11/9/15]
 
BROKEN: AS PRESIDENT, TRUMP REFUSES TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS PROMISE
 
President Donald Trump: Mr. Trump, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, also said his administration won’t label China a currency manipulator in a report due this week. … “They’re not currency manipulators,” Mr. Trump said. [WSJ, 4/12/17]
 
PROMISE: TRUMP SAID HIS POLICY IS BUY AMERICAN AND HIRE AMERICAN
 
President Donald Trump: “We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.” [Inaugural Address, 1/20/17]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP ALLOWS BIG OIL TO BUILD PIPELINES WITH FOREIGN STEEL
 
AP: “The Keystone XL oil pipeline won’t use American steel in its construction, despite what President Donald Trump says.” [AP, 3/4/17]
 
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES: HEALTH CARE
 
President Trump promised “far less expensive” health care, “insurance for everybody,” and to increase the quality of health care. In his first 100 days, he has taken actions to increase Americans’ health care costs and worsen marketplaces. He supported a bill that would make Americans pay more for less care, and he has and continues to undermine our current health care system to the detriment of families’ pocketbooks.
 
PROMISE: “INSURANCE FOR EVERYBODY” UNDER TRUMPCARE
 
Then President-Elect Donald Trump: “’We’re going to have insurance for everybody,’ Trump said. ‘There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.’” [Washington Post, 1/15/17]
 
BROKEN: TRUMPCARE WOULD RESULT IN 24 MILLION MORE UNINSURED AMERICANS
 
Daily Beast: “The Trump-endorsed American Health Care Act authored by House Speaker Paul Ryan will lead to millions more Americans being uninsured, according to a formal estimate released Monday by the Congressional Budget Office. The grisly assessment will further imperil legislation that is already being heavily criticized by other Republicans. The CBO found that by next year, 14 million more people would be uninsured, rising to 24 million in 2026.” [Daily Beast, 3/13/17]
 
PROMISE: BETTER HEALTH CARE THAT IS “FAR LESS EXPENSIVE,” WITH “MUCH LOWER DEDUCTIBLES”

Then Candidate Donald Trump:  “[We will undertake] repealing Obamacare and replacing it with something far better for the people, and far less expensive both for the people and the country.”  [Iowa Freedom Summit, 1/24/2015]
 
BROKEN:  AVERAGE OUT-OF-POCKET HEALTH COSTS — INCLUDING  PREMIUMS, DEDUCTIBLES, AND CO-PAYS — WOULD INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER TRUMPCARE 
 
NY Times: “According to the C.B.O. report, the bill would make health insurance so unaffordable for many older Americans that they would simply leave the market and join the ranks of the uninsured.” [NY Times, 3/14/17]
 
Center for American Progress: “We estimate that the House bill would increase costs for the average enrollee by $3,174 in 2020, when the new program would go into effect.  The impact would be particularly severe for older individuals age 55 to 64, whose costs would increase by $8,329.  Individuals with income below 250 percent of poverty would see their costs increase by $4,815.” [Center for American Progress, 3/16/17]
 
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES: DRAIN THE SWAMP
 
President Trump, as a candidate, promised time and time again to “drain the swamp.” In his first 100 days, he has done the opposite. He filled his administration with lobbyists, is issuing waivers to his so-called lobbying ban in secret, and the Trump administration announced it will not release the White House visitors’ logs. He is not only filling the swamp; he’s getting rid of transparency. He has continually refused to release his tax returns, so it is impossible to know the extent of his potential conflicts, including any possible ties to Russia.
 
PROMISE: IMPOSE FIVE YEAR LOBBYING BAN
 
Then-Candidate Donald Trump: “And I say it again, when it comes to Washington, D.C., it is time to drain the damn swamp. That's why I'm proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again. First, I'm going to institute a five- year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government after they leave government service.” [Remarks at Campaign Event, 10/18/16]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP RULES FALL SHORT OF CAMPAIGN PLEDGE
 
Washington Post: “The new rules appear to fall short of Trump’s campaign pledge to institute ‘a five-year ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service.’ Congressional officials are not covered by the order, and the five-year ban applies only to lobbying one’s former agency — not becoming a lobbyist.” [Washington Post, 1/28/17]
 
PROMISE: “PHASE OUT” LOBBYISTS
 
Then-President-Elect Donald Trump:
TRUMP:
 We’re doing a lot of things to clean up the system. But everybody that works for government, they then leave government and they become a lobbyist, essentially. I mean, the whole place is one big lobbyist.
STAHL: But you’re, but you’re basically saying you have to rely on them, even though you want to get rid of them?
TRUMP: I’m saying that they know the system right now, but we’re going to phase that out. You have to phase it out. [CBS 60 Minutes, 11/13/16]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP HAS FILLED ADMINISTRATION WITH “SMALL ARMY OF FORMER LOBBYISTS”
 
ProPublica: “President Trump has stocked his administration with a small army of former lobbyists and corporate consultants who are now in the vanguard of the effort to roll back government regulations at the agencies they once sought to influence, according to an analysis of government records by the New York Times in collaboration with ProPublica.” [Pro Publica, 4/15/17]
 
PROMISE: TELL WALL STREET “YOU’RE FIRED”
 
Then-Candidate Donald Trump: “When you cast that ballot, just picture a Wall Street boardroom filled with the special interests who have been bleeding your country and your city and every place else, and imagine the look on their faces when you tell them you're fired. Fired.” [Remarks at a Campaign Event, 9/30/16]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP HAS FILLED HIS ADMINISTRATION WITH WALL STREET EXECUTIVES
 
Washington Post: “As a candidate, Donald Trump lumped Wall Street in with Washington as part of a ‘corrupt’ system he pledged to fight against on behalf of everyday Americans. But as president, he has plucked Wall Street executives for top administration jobs and launched a rollback of regulations considered onerous by the industry.” [Washington Post, 2/22/17]
 
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES: THE TRUMP BUDGET
 
As a candidate, President Trump made a lot of promises to make life better for working- and middle-class Americans. But when he proposed his first budget, it was clear his priorities are making life better for the wealthiest special interests, not everyday Americans.
 
PROMISE: FIX OUR BROKEN INFRASTRUCTURE
 
President Donald Trump: “Infrastructure — we're going to start spending on infrastructure big. Not like we have a choice. It's not like, oh gee, let's hold it off.” [CNBC, 2/27/17]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP BUDGET WOULD FORCE MASSIVE CUTS ON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
The Hill: “The Department of Transportation (DOT) faces a $2.4 billion cut under President Trump's proposed federal budget blueprint — a surprising figure given Trump's pledges to improve U.S. infrastructure.” [The Hill, 3/16/17]
 
PROMISE: FIX OUR INNER CITIES
 
Then-Candidate Donald Trump: “We're also going to fix our inner cities, which have been failed and it's disgraceful what Democrats have done to destroy our inner cities.” [Remarks at Campaign Event,10/18/16]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP BUDGET WOULD SLASH PROGRAMS FOR LOW-INCOME AMERICANS, INCLUDING JOB TRAINING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
 
Washington Post: “Trump has unveiled a budget that would slash or abolish programs that have provided low-income Americans with help on virtually all fronts, including affordable housing, banking, weatherizing homes, job training, paying home heating oil bills, and obtaining legal counsel in civil matters.” [Washington Post, 3/16/17]
 
PROMISE: “FREE THE EARTH FROM THE MISERIES OF DISEASE”
 
President Donald Trump: “We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.” [Inaugural Address, 1/20/17]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP BUDGET COULD DECIMATE NIH BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
 
STAT News: “President Trump’s proposed budget chops $6 billion, about a fifth of the total budget, from the National Institutes of Health, a move that could decimate biomedical research in a number of areas and stagger academic institutions around the country that depend on NIH grant money to keep their scientific research programs afloat.” [STAT News, 3/16/17]
 
PROMISE: CLEAN AIR AND WATER
 
Then-Candidate Donald Trump: “I want to make sure we have clean air and we have clean water. That's what I want to make sure.” [MSNBC Morning Joe, 11/30/15]
 
BROKEN: TRUMP BUDGET WOULD DEVASTATE CLEAN WATER & AIR INITIATIVES
 
The Guardian: “Funding for the clean-up of hazardous substances would be reduced by $330m, while enforcement of the EPA’s clean air and water laws, already considered overstretched by staff, would lose $129m – around a fifth of its budget.” [The Guardian, 3/16/17]
 
Reuters: “Trump has proposed slashing the USDA's discretionary budget by $4.7 billion to $17.9 billion by halting funding for rural clean water initiatives and rural business services, reducing some USDA statistical services and cutting county-level staff.” [Reuters, 3/16/17]