The 10 best things Trump has done in Year One
As we approach the end of President Donald Trump's first year in office  the list of extraordinary things he has done â for both good and ill â is nothing short of remarkable.  Trump  inspires such deep emotions in  his  critics and supporters that many have struggled to objectively assess  his  presidency. Some are so blinded by their hatred of  Trump  that they refuse to acknowledge the good  he  has done  while others are so blinded by devotion that they overlook almost any transgression.
In my columns  Iâve tried to give  Trump  the credit  he  deserves when  he  does the right thing  while calling  him  out when  he  does the wrong thing. So  here is my list of the 10 best things  Trump  has done in  his  first 11 months. (In a subsequent column  I will give you my list of the 10 worst.)
10.  He  enforced President Barack Obamaâs red line against Syriaâs use of chemical weapons. When the regime of Bashar Assad used a toxic nerve agent on innocent men  women and children   Trump  didn't wring  his  hands.  He  acted quickly and decisively  restoring Americaâs credibility on the world stage that Obama had squandered.
9.  He  has taken a surprisingly tough line with Russia.  Trump  approved a $47 million arms package for Ukraine  sent troops to Polandâs border with Russia and imposed new sanctions on Moscow for violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
8.  He  recognized Jerusalem as Israelâs capital. Four American presidents promised to do it  but only one actually did. This is why the American people elected  Trump .  He  does what  he  promises to do  for better or for worse â in this case  definitely for the better. Even Jeb Bush tweeted his approval.
7. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. After George W. Bush pulled out of the disastrous Kyoto treaty  U.S. emissions went down faster than those in much of Europe. The same will be true for  Trump 's departure from the Paris accord. Combined with his approval of the Keystone XL pipeline  and opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration   Trump  is helping usher in a new age of American energy development.
6.  He  got NATO allies to kick in $12 billion more toward our collective security. Decades of pleading by the Bush and Obama administrations failed to get NATO allies to meet their financial commitments to the alliance  but Trumpâs tough talk and reluctance to affirm America's Article V commitment did the trick. NATO is stronger as a result.
5.  He  has virtually eliminated Islamic State's physical caliphate.  Trump  removed the constraints Obama placed on our military and let it drive the terrorists from their strongholds.
4.  He  admitted  he  was wrong on Afghanistan and reversed Obama's disastrous withdrawal. In a rare admission   Trump  declared: âMy original instinct was to pull out. ... But all my life  I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office. ... A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists.â
3.  He  enacted historic tax and regulatory reform that has unleashed economic growth.  Trump  signed the first comprehensive tax reform in three decades and removed the wet blanket of Obama-era regulations smothering our economy. We are now heading into our third consecutive quarter of above 3 percent growth.
2.  He  is installing conservative judges who will preside for decades. With  his  appointment of Neil M. Gorsuch   Trump  secured a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court  and  he  is moving at record pace to fill the federal appeals courts with young conservative judges.
1.  He   not Hillary Clinton  was inaugurated as president.  Trump  delivered the coup de grace that ended the corrupt  dishonest Clinton political machine.
There are many other significant achievements that did not make the top 10.  Trump  has taken a clear  strong stand against the narco-dictatorship in Venezuela  and  he  renamed the âAsia-Pacificâ the âIndo-Pacificâ to include India in the larger task of preventing Chinese hegemony in Asia.  Trump  has made clear that  he  is willing to use force to stop North Korea from deploying nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of destroying U.S. cities â which has prompted China to finally put real pressure on Pyongyang. Weâll see if it works.
The record of achievement suggests that  despite the noxious tweets and self-inflicted wounds emanating from the White House   Trump  has the potential to become one of the most consequential conservative presidents in modern American history. The question is: Does all this good outweigh the bad?
As we approach the end of President  [TGT] 's first year in office  the list of extraordinary things he has done â for both good and ill â is nothing short of remarkable.  Trump  inspires such deep emotions in  his  critics and supporters that many have struggled to objectively assess  his  presidency. Some are so blinded by their hatred of  Trump  that they refuse to acknowledge the good  he  has done  while others are so blinded by devotion that they overlook almost any transgression.
In my columns  Iâve tried to give  Trump  the credit  he  deserves when  he  does the right thing  while calling  him  out when  he  does the wrong thing. So  here is my list of the 10 best things  Trump  has done in  his  first 11 months. (In a subsequent column  I will give you my list of the 10 worst.)
10.  He  enforced President Barack Obamaâs red line against Syriaâs use of chemical weapons. When the regime of Bashar Assad used a toxic nerve agent on innocent men  women and children   Trump  didn't wring  his  hands.  He  acted quickly and decisively  restoring Americaâs credibility on the world stage that Obama had squandered.
9.  He  has taken a surprisingly tough line with Russia.  Trump  approved a $47 million arms package for Ukraine  sent troops to Polandâs border with Russia and imposed new sanctions on Moscow for violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
8.  He  recognized Jerusalem as Israelâs capital. Four American presidents promised to do it  but only one actually did. This is why the American people elected  Trump .  He  does what  he  promises to do  for better or for worse â in this case  definitely for the better. Even Jeb Bush tweeted his approval.
7. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. After George W. Bush pulled out of the disastrous Kyoto treaty  U.S. emissions went down faster than those in much of Europe. The same will be true for  Trump 's departure from the Paris accord. Combined with his approval of the Keystone XL pipeline  and opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration   Trump  is helping usher in a new age of American energy development.
6.  He  got NATO allies to kick in $12 billion more toward our collective security. Decades of pleading by the Bush and Obama administrations failed to get NATO allies to meet their financial commitments to the alliance  but Trumpâs tough talk and reluctance to affirm America's Article V commitment did the trick. NATO is stronger as a result.
5.  He  has virtually eliminated Islamic State's physical caliphate.  Trump  removed the constraints Obama placed on our military and let it drive the terrorists from their strongholds.
4.  He  admitted  he  was wrong on Afghanistan and reversed Obama's disastrous withdrawal. In a rare admission   Trump  declared: âMy original instinct was to pull out. ... But all my life  I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office. ... A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists.â
3.  He  enacted historic tax and regulatory reform that has unleashed economic growth.  Trump  signed the first comprehensive tax reform in three decades and removed the wet blanket of Obama-era regulations smothering our economy. We are now heading into our third consecutive quarter of above 3 percent growth.
2.  He  is installing conservative judges who will preside for decades. With  his  appointment of Neil M. Gorsuch   Trump  secured a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court  and  he  is moving at record pace to fill the federal appeals courts with young conservative judges.
1.  He   not Hillary Clinton  was inaugurated as president.  Trump  delivered the coup de grace that ended the corrupt  dishonest Clinton political machine.
There are many other significant achievements that did not make the top 10.  Trump  has taken a clear  strong stand against the narco-dictatorship in Venezuela  and  he  renamed the âAsia-Pacificâ the âIndo-Pacificâ to include India in the larger task of preventing Chinese hegemony in Asia.  Trump  has made clear that  he  is willing to use force to stop North Korea from deploying nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of destroying U.S. cities â which has prompted China to finally put real pressure on Pyongyang. Weâll see if it works.
The record of achievement suggests that  despite the noxious tweets and self-inflicted wounds emanating from the White House   Trump  has the potential to become one of the most consequential conservative presidents in modern American history. The question is: Does all this good outweigh the bad?