At a town hall in September with undecided voters, President Trump defended his record on racial income inequality by asking the audience to look back to 2019. “Before the plague, we were doing very well,” he said.
Were we? Guess Trump’s record on different topics by dragging the circles on the charts below.
1. How did the share of Americans who are uninsured change under Mr. Trump?
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2. How did the amount of student loan debt change under Mr. Trump?
Note: As of the second quarter of each year.
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Source: Federal Reserve
3. How did the number of drug overdose deaths change under Mr. Trump?
Note:
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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4. How did the unemployment rate change under Mr. Trump?
Note: Values are for the second quarter of each year, seasonally adjusted.
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Source: Federal Reserve
5. How did the national debt as a share of the gross domestic product change under Mr. Trump?
Note: The value for 2020 is a projection.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office
6. How did the trade deficit with China change under Mr. Trump?
Note: Deficit includes goods and services.
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Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
7. How did net greenhouse gas emissions change under Mr. Trump?
Note: In million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The value for 2020 is a projection.
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Source: Rhodium Group
Some of the positive trends that began under Mr. Obama continued under the Trump administration. But in other areas, progress slowed or even reversed.
Racial income inequality, which Mr. Trump was asked about during the town hall, has gotten worse. The gap between the median income of Black and white households grew by about $3,000 between 2016 and 2019.
Granted, the president is not solely responsible for the backsliding and stagnation of the past four years. But he has done little to break the deadlock that has prevented Congress, Americans’ other major lever of change, from passing laws that would move the country forward.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
