Trump Turns: A YEAR INTO DONALD TRUMP'S PRESIDENCY, HOW ARE THINGS GOING?

• Author: Slade, Stephanie

THE 45TH PRESIDENT does not tend to elicit measured evaluations. Since even before his formal entry into national politics in 2015, Trump has acted as a powerful magnet on the body politic--attracting and repelling onlookers with equal force.

A year ago, as we prepared to see a former reality television star sworn into the highest office on Earth, predictions abounded regarding the effects he was about to have on the country and the world. On one side were confident assertions that he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, bring back manufacturing jobs, and end political correctness once and for all. On the other were fears that he was a racist and a dimwit who would certainly abuse the powers of his station and might well start a nuclear war.

On the Trump presidency's first birthday, the reality is less extreme than either set of prognosticators envisioned. The Republican Party under his leadership managed one major legislative accomplishment-tax reform that cut the corporate rate and is projected to add nearly $1.5 trillion to the debt--and failed after months of wrangling to enact an Obamacare replacement. Tensions with foreign governments from Iran to Russia to North Korea continue to...