Difference between Donald Trump and Barack Obama

The 2016 U.S. Presidential elections marked the transition from a government led by the Democrat Barack Obama to a government headed by former businessman and TV-star, Republican Donald Trump. The candidacy – and subsequent victory – of Mr. Trump shocked many Americans and non-Americans, and his debates against the Democrat Hillary Clinton were followed by the entire world.

However, despite the world’s surprise for Trump’s victory, his election fits a well-known pattern in the U.S. politics. In fact, as representative of the party out of power – the Republicans, he only needed to highlight the Democrat’s – and Obama’s – flaws and un-kept promises to gain the voters’ trust. Donald Trump is the un-Obama – and the un-Clinton. For many, he represents the opposite of the American establishment, he denounced the corrupt and ineffective ruling powers and people believed he could be the leader who “gets things done.” Following years of political scandals and after eight years of Obama administration, Americans were tired of politicians and governments that could not solve problems. For many, Obama did not succeed in:

• Decreasing unemployment rates;
• Eliminating the threat of violent extremism and terrorism;
• Halting illegal immigration;
• Prioritizing America’s needs; and
• Showing decisiveness.

In a context of uncertainty, economic hardships and general dissatisfaction, Trump’s anti-establishment policies were what Americans needed.

Donald Trump: resisting Obama

If we analyze Trump’s political proposals, we can easily see how his candidacy is mainly a resistance movement. Donald Trump is opposing:

• Obama and all its policies;
• The Democratic Party:
• The establishment:
• The conventional political career;
• The Republican Party establishment; and
• The traditional conservative principles.

Trump’s resistance to Obama was translated into a fierce opposition of all Hillary Clinton’s proposals and pledges:

• Clinton wanted to increase taxes for the wealthiest and Trump promised to cut taxes for everyone;
• Clinton was openly in favor of abortion rights and Trump insisted on the needs of controlling and limiting abortion;
• Clinton wanted to maintain (and perfect) the Obamacare and Trump openly opposed Obamacare;
• Clinton wanted to ease the immigration process and Trump promised he would build a wall with Mexico – and have Mexico pay for it;
• Clinton prioritized multilateral trade deals and Trump was in favor of bilateral trade agreements; and
• Clinton had the endorsement of Barack Obama while Trump fiercely opposed Obama and all its policies.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Trump immediately obtain the support of the marginalized, of the voters who felt left out. At the beginning of the Presidential campaign, Trump’s supporters were mainly:

• White people with no high school diploma;
• People living in areas with little (or no) ethnic and religious minorities;
• People who felt marginalized;
• People who did not benefit from the economic recovery;
• People who believed that immigration was the cause of terrorism;
• People who believed that immigrants wanted to steal Americans’ jobs; and
• People who were tired of the weak and corrupt ruling class.

Trump’s anti-establishment ways and ideas gained the trust of voters who believed that the new, strong candidate could “make America great again,” and who were not scared by Trump’s radical proposals.

Barack Obama vs Donald Trump: ideologies, economy and domestic policies

Donald Trump and Barack Obama have different views and beliefs on almost every issue, including individual rights, domestic policies, foreign policies, immigration and economy. Furthermore, the two are candidates of the two historically opposing parties: Obama is a Democrat while Trump is a Republican. Therefore, Obama is (and was) moderately liberal while Trump is slightly more conservative (very conservative in some cases).

Individual rights and domestic policy:

• Obama believed that “abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right” while Trump does not;
• Both support same-sex marriage;
• Obama strongly supported women’s rights while Trump does not;
• Trump is in favor of gun ownership while Obama wanted to limit the right to gun ownership;
• Obama promoted the Obamacare while Trump wants to repeal it;
• Obama strongly prioritized green energy as opposed to fossil fuels while Trump does not believe in climate change, supports the use of fossil fuels and withdrew from the Paris Agreements;
• Obama appeared to be open to immigration – even though he deported 3 million people while he was president – while Trump strongly opposes illegal immigration, advocates for stronger borders, supports tougher immigration policies, and promised to build a wall on the Mexican border;
• Trump wants to privatize social security while Obama opposed the privatization;
• Obama proposed a pathway for citizenship for illegal aliens while Trump wants to deport (and prevent the entrance of) all illegal aliens;
• Obama promoted higher taxes for wealthy people while Trump promised the biggest tax cut in the history of the United States for everyone; and
• Both agreed with maintaining God (religion) in the public sphere.

Foreign policy:

• Obama supported and favored the expansion of free trade while Trump prioritizes bilateral agreements rather than multilateral trade deals;
• Obama did not want to expand the military while Trump wants to boost the investments in the security sector to strengthen the U.S. military;
• Obama opposed U.S. interventionism – although he was involved in several wars and was responsible for many military operations – while Trump believes that the United States should use their military power (if necessary) to prove America’s supremacy; and
• According to Trump and his voters, Obama did not do enough to eradicate terrorism and violent extremism while Trump signed two different executive orders to prevent people from seven (later six) Muslim majority countries from entering the United States.

Barack Obama vs Donald Trump: first 100 days

The first 100 days in office of a newly elected president are a critical period of adjustment. Barack Obama and Donald Trump spent their first 100 days doing very different things.

• Number of laws signed: Trump signed 29 laws (for a total of 133 pages) while Obama signed 14 laws (for a total of 1,602 pages);
• Number of executive orders signed: Trump signed 30 executive orders (including the two Travel Bans) while Obama signed 19 executive orders;
• Number of foreign countries visited: focused on domestic issues rather than on foreign policies, Trump did not visit any foreign country while Obama visited 9 countries during his first 100 days;
• Approval rating: after 100 days in office, Obama’s approval rate was around 65% while Trump’s was around 42%;
• Unemployment rates: after Obama’s first 100 days, unemployment was at 8.7% – although he inherited the worst economic crisis of the last decades – while after Trump’s first 100 days unemployment rates were at 4.5%;
• Private life: Barack and Michelle Obama were a close, loving couple – they loved to spend time together and Michelle was a pioneer of women’s rights. Conversely, Donald and Melania Trump do not appear to have a close relationship and the first lady did not live in the White House during the first 100 days of her husband’s mandate; and
• Number of golf outings: in his first 100 days, Barack Obama played golf once (although some sources say he never played in this period) while Donald Trump played 19 times.

Summary

The election of Donald Trump as 45^th President of the United States shocked many Americans and non-Americans. Mr. Trump is not the conventional politician. He was – and is – a successful businessman, an entrepreneur and a TV star but, most of all, he is the un-Obama. In fact, the 44^th and 45^th Presidents of the United States have completely opposed and contrasting perspectives on almost all issues, including:

• Immigration (openness vs closed border and stricter vetting process);
• Domestic policies;
• Foreign policies;
• Individual rights;
• Economy;
• Foreign trade;
• Diplomacy;
• Taxes;
• Investments; and
• Security

During his campaign, Donald Trump strongly opposed all ideas and programs put forward by the Democrat Hillary Clinton. Even though Mr. Trump often failed to propose constructive alternatives to her opponent’s proposals, his resistance to the American establishment and his unique personality allowed him to gain the trust of the voters. During his Presidential campaign, Donald Trump led a resistance movement: he opposed Barack Obama and all his policies; he rejected the traditional political discourse; he took advantage of the needs and beliefs of those who felt marginalized; he proposed drastic changes, and he ensured to the entire population that he would “Make America Great Again.”

Not only do Donald Trump and Barack Obama differ in their political views and political strategies but they also have very different lifestyles. The Obama family was – and is – the model of a modern happy family, while Trump’s sexist comments on women as well as his public behaviors cast doubts on the relationship between the President and his wife. After eight years of Obama administration, Americans needed and wanted change – it is not surprisingly, then, that the anti-Obama won the elections and became the 45^th – and probably the most controversial – President of the United States.

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