Has Trump Achieved a Lot Less Than It Seems?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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As long as it may have felt, we are one year into Donald Trump's second term as president. To follow the Trump administration in the news is to be exposed to the full muzzle velocity of this presidency, the overwhelming procession of news stories, wild statements, like spectacular, outrageous, sometimes terrifying events. It feels like so much more is happening. than the human mind, than the entire media, than the country can absorb. But how much has actually changed? How much has Trump actually gotten done? How many of these stories that were so spectacular when they began have followed through into durable difference in how the government works or what it does or how we live? About a year ago, just a few weeks into Trump's second term, I had Yuval Levin on the show.
Levin is one of the smartest thinkers on the right, a real conservative who thinks deeply about institutions and the nature of the presidency and how these things work in the constitutional order. And at that time, he was in some ways a very measured voice. This was the moment of Doge and Musk and executive orders, and he was skeptical that as much was actually happening as seemed to be happening. So now after this truly wild year, a truly historic year in American politics and life, I want to have him back on to see what he thinks has happened and how his analysis of Trump has or has not changed. As always, my email, Ezra Clancho at NYTimes.com.
Yuval Levin, welcome back to the show.
Thank you very much for having me, Ezra.
So we talked, at least on the show last year, right after Trump took office. And this was in the sort of early chaos. It was Doge and executive orders and this feeling that the entire presidency was being reshaped, they could do anything. You were a little less alarmist and were skeptical that they were going to accomplish as much as it felt like they might at that moment. Right. We're a year into this long second term. Where are you now?
Well, yeah, it has been a long year in a lot of ways, and there's been a lot of action, I would say. But I think that on the whole, the view that they were not well set up to accomplish an enormous amount of durable policy change is still more or less my view. I think that a year in, you're hearing two kinds of stories – One story says there are a lot of accomplishments. The southern border is much more secure than it was a year ago. Woke left-wing radicalism in a lot of institutions is back on its heels now. The Iranian nuclear program has been set back a lot. The war in Gaza is over and the surviving Israeli hostages are home. The big, beautiful bill is law. Unemployment's low. The economy is strong.
It's a year of achievements. On the other hand, you can tell the story from the point of view of a Trump critic that says federal law enforcement has been contorted in the service of the president's grudges and priorities. The administration has intimidated all kinds of institutions throughout American life in this year. There are squads of masked agents pursuing immigrants around the country. Federal scientific research funding is in disarray. Tariffs have increased prices. These stories are both true at the same time. But the common denominator of these stories is that they're both stories about a lot of action. And I actually think that's not quite right and that there's an important story to tell about the absence of action in the past year or two, the absence of traditional uses of presidential power and authority in our system.
There's been very little legislation.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–5:44
2
What has Trump accomplished in his second term?
5:44–13:28
3
How does Yuval Levin assess Trump's presidency?
13:28–19:36
4
What stories highlight Trump's administration's actions?
19:36–27:18
5
How has Trump's approach affected federal law enforcement?
27:18–31:22
6
How does Trump's governing style differ from traditional presidents?
31:22–46:35
7
What impact have tariffs and immigration policies had under Trump?
46:35–1:02:37