Donald Trump on current president, Barack Obama:
Interesting...
Here is a SHORT LIST, a bit of light reading if you will, of the progress Obama has made in his eight years in office, much to Trump's ignorance.
Since Obama came to office, he has...
1 . Progressed equality and social opportunity for WOMEN.
Barack Obama has a long record of standing up for women. Remember in 2014 when he shattered another glass ceiling by appointing Janet Yellen to chair of the Federal Reserve? He also restored basic protection against pay discrimination for women and other workers by implementing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He expanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act.
And P.S. Obama’s sweeping healthcare reform in the form of the Affordable Care Act successfully ended discriminatory practices by insurance companies (ultimately increasing coverage to 8.7 million more women and expanding their access to preventative services).
2 . Advanced treatment of SOLDIERS and VETERANS.
3. Protected and furthered rights for LGBTQ PEOPLE.
President Obama has signed the only signature pieces of LGBTQ-inclusive legislation to be passed by Congress: The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the first-ever LGBTQ-inclusive Violence Against Women Act re-authorization. He broadened benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, publicly expressed his support for same-sex marriage and banned all federal contractors from discriminating against gay workers. His progress for the LGBTQ community is unmatched in history.
In September 2015, the Obama Administration nominated the first openly gay Secretary of the U.S. Army, Eric Fanning. In March 2016, the Obama Administration appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan to Associate Director for Public Engagement, making Raffi the first transgender White House LGBTQ Liaison.
4. Improved the ECONOMY.
Obama came into office during a severe crisis, and has had to deal with a radically obstructionist Congress. At the end of his first year in the White house, Obama's economic plans created and sustained 2.1 million jobs. Obama deserves significant credit for some shrewd and politically difficult moves early on his presidency, economists say, including the stimulus and the automobile and Wall Street bailouts. Even conservative economists have a hard time debating Obama's $80 billion auto-bailout, which led to the increase in hundreds of thousands of jobs.
5. Stimulated standards for HEALTH.
The Affordable Care Act was designed to strengthen the Medicare program and ensure that it will continue to provide health security to our seniors for many years to come. More than 16 million Americans obtained health insurance coverage within the first five years of the ACA. People with pre-existing health conditions can no longer be denied coverage, more screenings are covered and prescription drug costs have lowered, saving $15 billion within the first five years of Obamacare.
6. Expanded and promoted DIVERSITY.
Obama has presided over the most demographically diverse administration in history. The majority of top policy appointments within the executive branch are held by women and minorities for the first time in history. Meanwhile, since his first day in office, President Obama has been working to secure the future prosperity of the African- American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian-American Community through increasing access to health care, creating jobs, revitalizing schools and the development of targeted job creating investments in underserved communities.7. Recuperated America's world REPUTATION.
Don't believe me? He was the first US president to visit Cuba in more than 80 years. In fact, in just his first six months in office, he visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president. He was also the first U.S. President to visit Jamaica in more than 30 years, working to restore relations with the country and signing a natural gas distribution agreement. He created a Rapid Response fund to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them. Calling on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence, he offered $400 million to the people living in Gaza.
He passed the Iran Sanctions Act, preventing war and encouraging the Iranian government to give up their nuclear program. He worked to keep our withdrawal from Afghanistan on track, despite GOP opposition.
Although he was blocked by Congress, which seems to happen quite often, he ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. On his second day in office, he banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies and put the U.S. in full compliance with the Geneva Convention.
8. Enhanced ENVIRONMENTAL resources.
The Obama Administration has taken responsible steps to combat climate change, increase access to clean energy technologies and reduce the United States dependence on oil. He required states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption. He also created tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid and electric vehicles.
To top it all off: Obama became the first President to simply say “Climate Change is a fact,” and set up the first federal government protocols for dealing with the impacts of climate change.
