In most circumstances, grading a president’s performance after only one week in office would be premature: The sample size is simply too small. But through a flurry of frenetic activity, President Donald Trump has given a clear indication of the direction his administration will take on several key policy issues. Thus, while many of his initiatives will have to be tested by time (and in some cases, courts), he has done enough in one week to earn a preliminary report card on his work.
My standard of review is the totality of Catholic moral teaching, as articulated through the four pillars of the Church’s social doctrine: the dignity of the human person, solidarity of all mankind, subsidiarity of social structures, and the common good. Taken as a single body of doctrine, these principles provide a comprehensive rule for measuring the president’s actions and rhetoric. This is not an evaluation of the president’s character, which I continue to believe is problematic. Rather, my purpose is to examine several key policy pronouncements and measures. Any positive evaluation is despite, not because of, the president’s character.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — Grade: A-
As I have suggested previously, the proliferation of DEI programs over the past several years has been an abject failure. Rather than address past wrongs in a reasonable and fair manner, they have been used as racist and trans-ideological tools to implement an extreme leftist agenda.
Their effects have been corrosive of efficiency and civic friendship in schools, government offices and businesses. As an ideology, DEI is an affront to the principles of both equal dignity and the common good. Thus, President Trump’s sweeping executive order dismantling DEI programs in the federal government is a good — indeed, necessary — step toward a rational policy of hiring, retention and promotion in businesses, and away from harmful indoctrination in schools.
I give the president an A-, however, because doing away with DEI programs does not alleviate legitimate concerns about the legacy of past political and legal structures that have privileged some people and disadvantaged others. It is possible both to dismantle current racist, sexist and misogynist DEI programs, and to address residual effects of prior structures. It does not seem that the Trump administration has taken the latter into consideration. This failure of nuance by the new administration is a recurring theme, as the next grade reflects.
Immigration and Repatriation — Grade: C+
Catholic social doctrine firmly holds two principles related to immigration. First, people have a legal right to immigrate. Second, nation-states have a legal right to regulate immigration. These principles are not contradictory. Rather, they form a two-step analytical tool for implementing and evaluating immigration and repatriation policy. But the order of their consideration is important. A nation-state’s right to regulate its borders should be at the service of a person’s right to immigrate, not the other way around. We begin with the dignity of the human person and fashion national policy that is consistent with that dignity and the common good.
President Trump gets only a C+ on this question because he has the order reversed. He is to be commended for his aggressive directives to deport people who have immigrated illegally and have committed violent crimes. There’s no reasonable argument otherwise. But it does not seem that the president has considered either the dignity of some persons being deported nor the common good of the United States. He is using a chainsaw to address an issue that requires a scalpel. It is early, of course. But the direction of the Trump immigration and repatriation policy needs correction. No, the United States cannot be a shelter for career expatriate criminals. But it should be a haven for political and religious refugees. Until the Trump administration makes this distinction, it will not raise its grade.
Transgender Ideology — Grade: A+
On day one of the new administration, the president issued a sophisticated, sweeping executive order boldly and unequivocally announcing that the United States is putting an end to the lunacy of transgender ideology. It is the policy of the United States, the EO declares, that there are two and only two sexes. These are defined by the two gamete-producing organs and are immutable. A man cannot become a woman, and a woman cannot become a man. As such, the EO issues broad instructions to every federal institution that it shall henceforth cease any policy or program not consistent with this irrefutable truth. Two key implications follow.
First, federal funds shall be withheld from any public institution — federal, state, county or municipal — that does not eliminate trans ideology from its programs. This will have an immediate impact on the use and misuse of federal tax dollars. Other than federal offices, the administration has little direct policy control over state and local governments. But it can influence policies in the non-federal realm by the power of the purse. The transgender EO does this very effectively.
Second, the transgender EO provides strict instructions to protect girls’ and women’s private spaces, reversing the misogynist policies of the Biden administration. Restrooms, locker rooms, abuse shelters, shower facilities, prisons and athletic teams will be distinguished by genetic sex, not gender “identity.” Consistent with these new policies and procedures, the Trump administration revoked no fewer than 12 EOs or policy directives from the toxic Biden years.
Abortion and Life Issues — Grade: Incomplete
From Jan. 20 to 25, the Trump White House had said or done little or nothing about protecting unborn life. But in conjunction with the March for Life in Washington, D.C., the silence ended.
First, the president issued a recorded message of support for the marchers, commending their moral commitment to protecting unborn life. Second, Vice President JD Vance appeared personally to address the march and gave a powerful speech in support of unborn life, young children and families. Third, President Trump issued a complete pardon to 23 pro-life activists who had been convicted under the malevolent FACE Act. (His next step should be to introduce legislation repealing this noxious law.) Fourth, late Friday afternoon, President Trump reinstated the “Mexico City policy,” which forbids federal tax dollars from funding NGOs and other international organizations that perform or support abortion. These are all encouraging steps.
The grade is incomplete, however, because there were no clear signals that remedial measures are in the works. For example, the president might have issued an EO declaring that no federal funds shall be used to fund Planned Parenthood or similar abortion mills. Even if such an EO might face legal scrutiny, it would have sent a clear signal that the days of taxpayer-funded abortion are coming to an end. If, indeed, they are. On this, the president must make an unequivocal declaration and propose legislation consistent with it.
Cumulative Grade: B
It’s difficult to arrive at a cumulative grade, especially because there are many more matters to consider. But as applied to these four issues, the administration deserves commendation and encouragement to stay the course. It is a very good start for the new presidency, notwithstanding my continuing reservations about the man who holds the office.
