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Three things Donald Trump deserves more credit for than critics give him
David Pendery says the US president’s ideas on immigration restrictions, cross-strait relations and health care reform do not deserve the criticism they receive. He is more in touch with public sentiment than he gets credit for
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Why you can trust SCMP
US President Donald Trump has come under a lot of fire since assuming office. He has been subject to withering criticism, and his approval ratings have reached an “all-time low” according to a recent Gallup poll.
Does Trump deserve this? Not that this writer is a big Trump fan, but perhaps his approach and policies are more credible than he is given credit for. Let’s examine some of his plans.
One of Trump’s most controversial policies was his banning of visitors from Muslim-majority countries (after several revisions, six Muslim countries are affected, alongside Venezuela and North Korea). When the policy was first announced, many Americans rose in anger against it, and pointed out how decent, law-abiding Muslims were being restricted from visiting their families in America.
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Former US presidents Bush and Obama denounce bigotry and ‘politics of division’ in speeches aimed at Trump
The US courts largely ruled against the different versions of the ban. But what should we think of this policy? Well, in fact, a Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 60 per cent of US citizens support the ban, while only 28 per cent oppose it. So it appears that this policy did not go against voter sentiment.
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And with nations like Iran and North Korea, two countries on the current list, presenting clear threats to the United States, Trump’s get-tough policies seem valid.
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