By Mathieu Leonard
January 2026 marks one year since President Donald Trump’s return to office—a storyline that has been heralded as one of the most impressive political comebacks in modern history. Six years ago, Trump failed to win a second consecutive term, as Joseph Biden won the presidency with 306 electoral votes compared to his 232.
Trump fractured his public image after calling the election rigged and receiving multiple felony charges; however, despite these obstacles, he secured a victory in the 2024 presidential election over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. He won with 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. This made him only the second American president to serve two nonconsecutive terms, along with Grover Cleveland. His return to office represented not only a personal political revival, but also a broader signal of voter dissatisfaction with recent governance.
Throughout his campaign, Trump remained committed to his populist persona that has defined his political identity since 2016. Slogans such as “Make America Great Again” and “America First” pushed an agenda that was in direct opposition to the multilateral, liberal approach of Democrats.
In hindsight, sticking to his core principles may have been the smartest move made by Trump and his campaign team. As mentioned, the results signified voter dissatisfaction toward Biden’s government, which led to the best results Trump has ever seen in his political career.
But what specific promises did Trump make that resulted in such a monumental win?
For starters, Trump addressed our economic struggles, confidently saying that he would rebuild the greatest economy in history—a statement that enticed the American people. His goal was to “Make America Affordable Again.” He repeatedly vowed to end inflation and immediately bring prices down. He also promised to “drill baby drill,” with the goal being to increase the United States’ natural resources in an attempt to lower both gas and energy prices. Trump saw this as an opportunity for the United States to free itself from the foothold of foreign countries and international treaties. He was also able to expand on that with an aggressive trade approach, pledging to expand tariffs and use economic pressure as a hard power tool to protect American industries and workers, particularly focusing his rhetoric on China.
Beyond that, Trump took a firm stance on immigration, claiming that he would work hard at fixing the border crisis that occurred under the Biden Administration. This time, Trump went further than simply promising to keep them out. Trump stated he would secure our borders and reclaim our national sovereignty by conducting a clean sweep of illegal aliens, specifically calling for the deportation of criminals and violent gang members. Trump’s campaign website states that “the onslaught of illegal aliens invading our wide-open borders threatens public safety, drains the treasury, undermines U.S. workers, and burdens schools and hospitals.” He vowed to end catch-and-release once again and eliminate asylum fraud. He also said he planned to deliver a new, merit-based immigration system that would protect American jobs and our labor force.
On the foreign policy front, Trump campaigned for a renewed commitment to his “America First” doctrine, arguing that U.S. power should be used to advance national interests rather than uphold global standards that he viewed as ineffective and unfair. He promised to end America’s involvement in what he described as “endless wars,” even stating that he could negotiate a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine War before he would be inaugurated. He argued that prolonged conflicts were being sustained by excessive U.S. foreign aid, criticizing organizations such as USAID for providing levels of support that, in his view, extended wars beyond what served American interests.
These campaign promises, combined with Trump’s unwavering populist persona, proved to be effective enough to propel him past Harris. His message clearly resonated well, as he was able to sweep up all seven battleground states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona), flipping six of them from blue to red. It was also revealed by Al Jazeera that the Republican Party won a larger share of votes in every state in 2024 compared to 2020.
The Pew Research Center provided data to prove that Trump gained the voters he needed. For one, Trump improved his percentage of minority voters. Trump saw the Hispanic vote reach near parity (51% Harris; 48% Trump) after he had lost this voter group to Joe Biden by a margin of 35%. He also won 8% more of the Black vote and saw a 10% increase in Asian voters. Beyond that, Trump did better at managing and maintaining his voters. 85% of Trump’s 2020 supporters stuck with him in 2024. 3% went to the left, and 11% decided not to vote. On the other hand, Harris only had 79% of Biden’s voters’ support, while 5% voted for the right and 15% decided to stay at home. Trump’s ability to frame the election as a referendum against the status quo allowed him to consolidate enough support to reclaim the presidency in a decisive fashion.
Though, after one year unto his second term, it is worth comparing how Trump promised during the campaign he would act once in office with how he has acted while in office.
Even though the Trump Administration has emphasized deregulation, tariff enforcement, fraud, and expanded domestic energy production as tools to reduce costs, its pledges have yet to be entirely fulfilled. According to The Hill, data from November 2025 showed prices growing at a slower rate than many economists had predicted earlier in the year. Along with that, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.3% in the final quarter of the year. However, that same report saw an increase in food prices, spotting a 4.7% uptick in meat, fish, poultry, and egg prices. Besides that, energy output has increased, making gas prices fluctuate downward at times; however, the average cost of gas prices as of December 2024 was only about 20 cents lower than the year prior. His tariff plan was also announced on April 2 and put into place three days later. The Washington Post called his “Liberation Day” a bust. They highlighted the mixed results, but noted that it has not created the manufacturing boom that was promised. Trump tends to be dismissive about affordability concerns, but many Americans still feel the same economic burden they felt under the Biden Administration, especially now with rising concerns over housing and healthcare costs.
On immigration, Trump has cracked down on the border and acted more decisively toward these campaign commitments. Border enforcement has tightened, and deportations have increased with the help of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security reported in December 2025 that the Trump Administration had deported more than 605,000 people from the U.S. since he took office last January. Beyond that, the DHS also stated that 1.9 million people voluntarily self-deported during that time frame. Their data also proved that border crossings have plummeted over the past year. In 2024, under Biden, agents had 96,000 enforcement encounters at the southern border compared to the 12,000 that occurred during Trump’s first nine months. Trump has also acted to limit who can enter the nation as well. The refugee cap is at the lowest it’s ever been, allowing the U.S to admit only 7,500 refugees. That cap was set at 125,000 under Biden. He imposed a travel ban on dozens of countries as well, which has limited asylum-seekers. Although there has been a steady drop in crime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a steep decline in 2025, specifically among violent and property offenses. Critics argue that the actions taken to enforce these policies are done against humanitarian and legal measures—highlighting situations such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia; however, that does take away from the fact that Trump has lived up to his word.
When it comes to foreign policy, Trump has largely followed through with his “America First” agenda by reducing foreign aid and questioning long-standing alliances. This approach pushes a more unilateral stance regarding foreign affairs, a staunch difference from the more recent multilateral position. Overall, Trump has projected the image of an anti-war, peacemaker president during his first year back in office. He played a role in conducting ceasefires between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Rwanda and Congo, and Israel and Hamas. However, problems remain, and the war he pledged to end in Ukraine and Russia is still ongoing. It has been almost four years since Putin first invaded in February 2022. His assertion that he could end this conflict quickly has proven to be more aspirational than practical. On top of that, he has authorized military strikes in various countries, including Iran, Somalia, and Yemen, and has bombed Venezuela and kidnapped their president.
Besides those campaign proposals, Trump also addressed a variety of other issues at the top of his to-do list. On the culture front, his government challenged diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and reformed Title IX to prohibit transgender women from participating in women’s sports at the NCAA level. He also continued his fight on abortion, maintaining his promise to keep this as a state-level issue.
While the Trump Administration has acted decisively on many campaign promises, American public opinion doesn’t seem to represent that. Approval ratings have steadily declined under Trump’s second term. He came into the Oval Office with a respectable 47% approval rating. As of December 2025, it stands at 36%. That is now the lowest approval rating from any president after their first twelve months, only behind Trump’s 39% in 2017. Current issues that were not mentioned continue to plague these scores. These concerns consist of the everyday cost-of-living, healthcare concerns, the housing crisis, the government shutdown, and recent actions toward Venezuela and Greenland. Still, with Republicans retaining a majority in Congress, Trump can advance most of his agenda. That said, the 2026 midterm elections loom as a critical test that will determine whether voters ultimately view Trump’s second term as a successful fulfillment of his campaign promises.
