Working up until his last day in office, on Tuesday President Trump’s administration accused China of genocide and crimes against humanity for its repression of Uighur Muslims in its Xinjiang region. While the 11th-hour determination has no immediate effects, even the incoming Biden administration agreed China is guilty of genocide.
The move caps off one of the most intense presidencies in American history with Trump becoming the third to be impeached, one of 11 unable to win a second term, and the first to be impeached twice. Although his accomplishments are panned by his critics, they have been vast.
Reshaping the courts will likely be Donald Trump’s longest-lasting legacy.
With help from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trump stocked the federal judiciary with conservatives at a record pace of 226 federal judges in just four years, including three Supreme Court justices.
Throughout his presidency, Trump pursued a pro-life agenda, becoming the first president to speak in person at the annual March for Life, pushing to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, and urging Congress to end late-term abortions, plus signing an executive order protecting religious groups objecting to the contraceptive mandate in Obamacare.
“He took such strong steps early on to protect freedom of religion. He’s the first president in history to convene a conference not once but twice on religious liberty,” said Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump earned and maintained strong support among evangelicals, with some calling him the best friend Christians have had in the White House.
He also slashed taxes, spurring economic growth that broke stock market records, made the country energy independent, and reduced unemployment to the lowest level in half-a-century while lifting median black household incomes to record levels.
When the COVID-19 pandemic threatened that economy and the country, President Trump ordered an unprecedented effort that created and produced vaccines in record-breaking time in less than a year.
He enacted reforms to make the U.S. justice system fairer for all and forged peace deals in the Middle East for the first time in generations, securing the Abraham Accords to advance peace and prosperity and kept his promise the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American embassy there.
After renegotiating trade deals, insisting they were hurting the U.S., the Trump administration labeled China as the new geopolitical threat of the 21st century.
“What they did to this country with trade and trade deals, NAFTA, we had no deal, we had no deal, it was just like easy pickings,” said President Trump.
He placed sanctions on top Chinese companies and banned Tik-Tok because of national security concerns.
How history remembers President Trump remains to be seen.
After the election, some supporters worried about his legacy as he relentlessly challenged election results.
Now they wonder if his connection with the D.C. protest on the day of the deadly storming of the Capitol this month will forever overshadow his accomplishments.