A new MS NOW analysis offers a candid assessment of President Donald Trump’s sweeping campaign pledges – and the growing list of promises that remain broken or only partially fulfilled nearly a year into his second term.
Trump returned to the White House in January, vowing to end wars, dismantle federal agencies, gut diversity initiatives, and make the economy “great again.” But as MS NOW reporter Julianne McShane noted Friday, many of those commitments have fallen flat under the weight of reality.
Chief among them is Trump’s repeated promises to end Russia’s war on Ukraine “within 24 hours.” But eleven months later, the conflict continues to rage on.
“When a reporter confronted him in June about that timeline, Trump claimed he was being ‘sarcastic’ and conceded, ‘it’s more difficult than people would have any idea,’” according to MS NOW’s deep dive published Friday.
Trump also pledged to end the weaponization of the Justice Department.
“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents — something I know something about,” Trump declared at his inauguration. Yet his MAGA administration has pursued prosecutions of prominent critics, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James – a move White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles privately conceded in a magazine article “might be retribution,” the analysis pointed out.
On the economy, while Trump promised tariffs would generate wealth for average Americans, “the reality has been more complicated,” McShane wrote.
“While the Trump administration has estimated that the new tariffs have brought in an additional $200 billion in revenue this year, they are ultimately paid by U.S. importers and consumers,” the analysis said.
Other pledges – abolishing the Department of Education, expanding IVF access, limiting deportations to the “worst of the worst” – have also fallen short. The department still exists, IVF reforms remain modest, and ICE data shows most detainees lack criminal records.