By Ann McFeatters

It's strange how six months can feel like six exhausting years when they've produced nothing but a string of nonsensical superlatives.

As Donald Trump celebrates the first eighth of his ridiculous "amazing, stupendous, unsurpassed" presidency, we mere mortals are left to ponder what we have learned. Well, here are some takeaways:

-Trump not only failed to drain the swamp, he deepened and widened it. He has filled top posts with Wall Streeters and business cronies, doling out jobs like mints to loyal minions. After he promised not to touch Medicaid, which serves the disabled, poor and elderly in nursing homes, we were introduced to a Trumpcare plan that called for disqualifying 75 million and taking another 22 million off health insurance.

-He is a costly public servant. He is on track in his first year to spend more taxpayer money on personal travel than President Barack Obama did in eight. We also pay for security at Trump Tower, his hotels and his golf courses. His re-election committee (of course he wants four more years after 2020) has raised millions to pay legal fees and rent for office space in Trump Tower.

-Trump does not care that he has the lowest approval rating of any new president since polling started (about 70 years). His base loves him despite that. Is it any wonder that 34 percent of Americans do not believe in scientific evolution, according to the Pew Research Center? Is it surprising that a majority of Republicans believe that colleges and universities are a negative influence on the country? (Pew again.)

-Trump has set the precedent that a president's conflicts of interest do not matter. Refusing to divest himself of his holdings, he has put his son Junior (the one who loves meeting with Kremlin operatives) in charge. His wealthy daughter and son-in-law have offices in the White House. His hotels draw foreign leaders who want to curry favor. Fees at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort have doubled to $200,000.

-Getting rid of excessive and overlapping regulations is one thing. Gutting environmental protection and consumer protection regulations as Trump is doing is another. The administration has taken an astonishing number of actions to further the interests of big business to the detriment of Americans who love their parks, want to breathe clean air, drink clean water and buy products that won't hurt their children.

-The artful dealmaker has not managed to make any good deals. Even with a GOP-controlled House and Senate, he could not repeal Obamacare. Instead he sabotages it by eliminating advertising, shortening the enrollment period and not enforcing the mandate to buy insurance or pay a tax to keep premiums low. Wages are not increasing. Exporters of American goods and services will be hurt by the lack of free trade he is engineering. No wall. No tax reform. No infrastructure plan.

-The United States is no longer the leader of the free world and fighter for human rights in the eyes of our once closest allies. After seeing Trump up close and personal at international meetings, some say openly they may never again trust us.

-Trump's misogyny, hedonism, lack of discipline, coarse language, bullying and refusal to read briefing papers or attempt to learn what he doesn't know diminish us. The man parlayed celebrity into the White House, but the applause is fading. Only 12 percent liked his disgraceful health care plan. It died.

Ann McFeatters (amcfeatters@nationalpress.com) is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service.

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My Turn: Ann McFeatters: Lessons from Trump's 6 months - The Providence Journal