To the Editors:
I’ve noted with mirth that recent Trump rallies sport signs saying “Promises made / promises kept.”
Well, that’s half right. From announcing his candidacy in June 2015 up to the November 2016 election, Donald Trump did make some key promises:
He promised a border wall paid, specifically for by Mexico. Mexico, of course, will never willingly pay for the wall, and there is no way to force them to do so. If a wall is ever built and paid for by U.S. taxpayers – you and me – that is a broken promise.
He kept criticizing the Affordable Care Act by derisively sneering at the horrible “Obamacare” law. Trump promised a health care plan that would cover more Americans for less money.
But that was only campaign bluster; he had no health care proposal. The Republican establishment in the House passed a bill which Trump first celebrated than called it “mean.” And remember his infamous statement about how “no one” (meaning only him in his blissful ignorance) knew healthcare policy was so difficult.
He promised to reform taxes with a solution that would raise his own taxes. Again, he had no tax reform proposal. And again, a tax bill was constructed by the Republican establishment in the Senate and House – essentially a McConnell/Ryan bill.
Trump still took credit for it as if it were all his idea. This bill gave us middle class folks a modest tax decrease, but after a few years, even that is phased out. It also lowers the taxes of the wealthy, including Donald J Trump. Oops! And the bill lowers corporate taxes permanently without the phase-out.
Speaking of taxes, he promised to release his income tax returns following his election. A year and a half later, nothing. What is he hiding?
He promised to appoint the very best people to executive positions. Uh-oh, two words: Jared Kushner. Two more words: Scott Pruitt.
I will admit there is one campaign promise he did fulfill, which is that he would act bigoted. And that has brought us to a moral low point, the exact opposite of making America “great”
Stan Perrin
Crystal Lake
