Donald Trump’s Mid-Year Grade
Author: Greg Valliere
August 22, 2025
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: From Iran to the streets of Washington, Donald Trump has exceeded goals. Love him or hate him, Trump gets a shaky B for his first half year in this term.
BEFORE LOOKING AT SPECIFIC ISSUES, one important caveat: Trump has been exceptionally erratic and fickle. But the results count.
HERE’S OUR SCORECARD as autumn fast approaches: A grade of A for his handling of Iran, which perhaps will need years to fully recover from U.S. bombing.
A VIRTUAL END OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, WHICH also gets an A. Trump pledged to end the surge of immigration, and he did.
A DRAMATIC DROP IN URBAN CRIME, which stunned the urban left and perhaps was the biggest surprise of the first half. Inconveniently, crime was down in most cities, of course.
A SURPRISINGLY SOLID ECONOMY — give him a B-plus — with moderate inflation, decent GDP growth and a record stock market. On the other hand, Trump’s outrageous treatment of Jerome Powell drove Trump’s grade down to B on the economy.
POWELL SPOKE OUT and by spring Trump was widely criticized for erratic policies on trade, which seemed to change daily.
TRUMP ALSO WAS ERRATIC in his handling of the Gaza War, along with his inability to curb Banjamin Netanyahu and the key players in the horrific Ukraine War.
A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE by Trump was his ability to change the subject and change the key players. Got an embarrassing story? Shift to Jeffrey Epstein. No one changes the narrative more adroitly than Trump.
WHAT WILL THE SECOND HALF LOOK LIKE? More tax cuts, perhaps. More negotiations with Ukraine. And we’ll wager a new Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
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