rolled back Obama-era fuel economy rules?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump finalized changes to Obama-era automobile emission rules. Whereas automakers were to increase fuel economy by an average of 5% per year through 2026, it was changed to 1.5%. The Trump administration noted that the change would be the equivalent of 2 billion additional barrels of oil consumed and nearly a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Verge – Trump rolls back Obama fuel economy rule, increasing emissions during a climate crisis
Reuters – Trump finalizes rollback of Obama-era vehicle fuel efficiency standards
The Hill – The pandemic hasn’t stopped Trump’s rollback of Clean Car Standards

didn’t know about Pearl Harbor?

According to the book A Very Stable Genius, during a private tour of the Pearl Harbor memorial, Trump asked his Chief of Staff John Kelly, “Hey, John, what’s this all about? What’s this a tour of?”

The authors explain that Trump didn’t grasp the site’s significance, as he’d “heard the phrase ‘Pearl Harbor’ and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle…he did not seem to know much else.”

In a tweet the same day of his visit, Trump repeated a common misquote of Franklin Roosevelt’s description of the Pearl Harbor attack, “a date that will live in infamy.”

His wife Melania also wrongly placed the date of the Pearl Harbor attacks in a deleted tweet.

Deleted tweet / The Washington Post

A year prior, Trump attacked Obama for not bringing up Pearl Harbor during an official visit to Japan.

The Washington Post – ‘A Very Stable Genius’ portrays Trump as erratic, ‘at times dangerously uninformed
The Washington Post – Melania Trump tweets, then quickly deletes, wrong Pearl Harbor date
Business Insider – ‘What’s this a tour of?’: Trump barely understood the significance of an iconic Pearl Harbor memorial during a private tour, new book says
The Week – Trump reportedly doesn’t know what happened at Pearl Harbor
Politico – White House misremembers historical details on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

said, “we need a president who isn’t the laughing stock of the world”?

Trump repeatedly derided Obama during his two terms, often pointing to his frequently golf trips and perpetuating the birther conspiracy.

During his second year in office, Trump drew laughter from the United Nations General Assembly when he claimed that his administration “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.” He has also had a Comedy Central Roast and was targeted at the 2011 Correspondents Dinner.

rolled back offshore drilling regulations?

Obama tightened offshore drilling regulations after a the 2010 Deepwater Horizons oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which resulted in 11 dead and 200 million gallons of oil being released.

Since taking office, Trump steadily undid various regulations on offshore drilling. The changes included relaxed testing requirements on equipment, decreased frequency of visits by inspectors, and eased safety requirements during active production of oil or gas.

Trump also disparaged renewable energy sources, including claiming that windmills cause cancer. His administration has rolled back several other regulations, including for endangered species and coal pollution.

NPR – Trump Administration Moves To Roll Back Offshore Drilling Safety Regulations
Time – The Trump Administration Is Rolling Back Offshore-Drilling Regulations
The Hill – Trump officials ease offshore safety rule
The Hill – Trump administration eases Obama-era offshore drilling safety rules

attacked Obama repeatedly for playing too much golf?

Trump tweeted over two dozen times deriding Obama’s for playing golf. Nonetheless, by his third year, Trump had spent 1 in 5 days in office playing golf, accumulating over $100 million in travel costs, nearly as much as Obama spent for all travel costs over both terms.

Despite all the tweets attacking Obama, there was one oddly friendly one:

Trump Twitter Archive

promised healthcare that would provide “insurance for everybody”?

Trump’s promise included “lower numbers, much lower deductibles,” and that “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” but he never elaborated on the plan. Less than two months later, Trump said, “nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.”

Ultimately, Republicans tried to push through a “skinny repeal” of Obamacare without any alternative. The repeal failed due to the final vote cast by John McCain, for which he was heavily criticized by Trump.

The New York Times – Trump Promises ‘Insurance for Everybody’ as Health Law Replacement
Reuters – Trump vows ‘insurance for everybody’ in replacing Obamacare

attacked John McCain repeatedly for voting against Obamacare repeal?

Trump railed against Senator John McCain for being the deciding vote against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Even after McCain’s death, Trump called his behavior “disgraceful,” among other remarks:

We needed 60 votes, and we had 51 votes. And sometimes, you know, we had a little hard time with a couple of them, right? Fortunately, they’re gone now. They’ve gone on to greener pastures—or perhaps far less green pastures. But they’re gone. They’re gone, Bill. I’m very happy they’re gone.

Trump and McCain had a long and mutual animosity. Trump infamously said he didn’t consider the former Vietnam pilot and Viet Cong prisoner a war hero because he was captured.

After the failure to repeal Obamacare without any Republican alternative, Trump remarked that “nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.” He later claimed that he “saved Pre-Existing Conditions,” even though that was a landmark provision of the legislation that he sought to repeal.

The Hill – Trump attacks John McCain over Obamacare repeal
USA Today – President Donald Trump on the late Sen. John McCain: ‘He did the nation a tremendous disservice’
The New York Times – Trump Again Attacks a Dead Senator: ‘I Never Will Be’ a Fan of John McCain

claimed that he “saved Pre-Existing Conditions”?

Since the Affordable Care Act was instituted, also known as Obamacare, insurance companies have been prohibited from refusing coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. Trump has railed against Obamacare since his campaign, and has tried to weaken its provisions since taking office. He repeatedly attacked John McCain for being the deciding vote in preventing the repeal of the ACA. Despite this, Trump tried to claim via tweet that he was the person who saved the pre-existing conditions provision, and promised to protect it.

Trump’s confusion regarding healthcare is not a new phenomenon, as he had previously remarked how “nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.”

Politico – Why McCain screwed the GOP on Obamacare repeal — again
The New York Times – To the Contrary, Trump Has Tried to Weaken Protections for Pre-existing Conditions
US News & World Report – AP FACT CHECK: No, Trump Didn’t Save Preexisting Conditions
Newsweek – TRUMP CLAIMS HE ‘SAVED’ PRE-EXISTING HEALTH CARE CONDITIONS, BUT HIS ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO KILL THEM

withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal?

The Iran Nuclear Deal was an agreement reached between the United States, Iran, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China. It strictly limited the amount of enriched uranium and enrichment equipment Iran could have for a period of 15 years. In exchange, sanctions on Iran were to be lifted, and Iranian funds frozen after the 1979 revolution were to be returned.

Trump described the Obama administration’s “embarrassing” treaty with Iran to be “decaying and rotten.” He withdrew the United States from the deal unilaterally in 2018 and restored prior sanctions. The European Union sought to maintain the agreement, and passed a blocking statute to ban all EU citizens and business with complying with US sanctions on Iran. Iran continued to take part in the agreement until January of 2020, when a US drone strike killed a senior Iranian official.

Before becoming President, Trump said multiple times that Obama would provoke Iran into conflict to secure re-election.

BBC News – Iran nuclear deal: Trump pulls US out in break with Europe allies
The New York Times – Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned
Business Insider – Here’s what’s in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that the country withdrew from amid heightened tensions with the US
Reuters – EU aims to block U.S. sanctions on Iran
Wikipedia – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

repeatedly said Obama would start a war with Iran?

The various tweets in which Trump predicted that Obama would attack Iran to secure the Presidency never came to pass. Instead, the Obama administration negotiated the Iran Nuclear Deal, which Trump withdrew the US from. Trump also later ordered a drone strike on a senior Iranian official and threatened to bomb Iranian cultural sites, prompting outcry and threats of retaliation.

 

 

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