Trump ‘Most Successful President After Six Months’ Since FDR: AI Reveals
The first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term have been the most “successful” of any American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to a Newsweek study utilizing artificial intelligence.
The approach measures success in terms of legislative accomplishments, taking into account the degree of influence each president’s party had over Congress during the relevant period. One political scientist told Newsweek that Trump’s legislative triumphs, such as his centerpiece One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a tax and spending package, are “reflective of the partisan support in Congress.”
Trump was inaugurated as president for the second time on January 20 after winning the 2024 presidential election on promises to curb illegal immigration, combat “woke” culture, and reduce taxes.
According to the model, Trump has been successful in enacting many of his policies, thanks in large part to Republicans’ majority in both chambers of Congress and the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.
Newsweek asked ChatGPT to rate the accomplishments of 20th and 21st-century US presidents in their first six months, taking into account the degree of support they received in Congress.
The model awarded Trump a “very high” total score, citing laws such as the One Big Beautiful Bill and the Laken Riley Act.
On July 4, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, which had narrowly passed both the House and the Senate. The measure reduced taxes, including extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, lifted the US debt ceiling, increased military and border control expenditure, and reduced money for Medicare and other welfare programs. According to a Congressional Budget Office study, the plan will increase the federal debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade.
On January 29, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which is named after a Georgia college student who was slain by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant in February 2024. Noncitizens charged or convicted of a variety of felonies, including theft and assault on a police officer, must be kept without bond, according to the legislation. It also expands states’ ability to sue the Department of Homeland Security over immigration enforcement.
The AI research found that the first six months of Trump’s second term were the most productive since Roosevelt’s first term in 1933. In his first 100 days, Roosevelt signed 15 New Deal laws, including the Emergency Banking Act.
Third in the AI’s assessment was Biden’s first 100 days, which included the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to counteract the economic consequences of the coronavirus, as well as the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and a measure establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
This deal was enacted despite the Democrats and Republicans being tied in terms of 50 affiliated Senators each, with then-Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaking vote.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the AI assigned the poorest score for the first six months to Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901, claiming that he passed “no major statue before March 1902.”
Bill Clinton was similarly ranked low, with the AI claiming that his sole substantial legislative reform during his first six months was the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act.
Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., told Newsweek: “While Donald Trump has achieved some legislative successes, they are more reflective of the partisan support in Congress. Not every president in the modern era has had such a one-dimensional party to support his legislative agenda. The Democratic Party has long been a coalition of diverse voices, making it difficult to appease every member of Congress. Both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama found this out during their first term in office.
“Until the George W. Bush era, Republicans failed to hold both House and Senate majorities in the modern era, apart from two years in the first Eisenhower administration. Even during the Bush years, control of the Senate shifted back and forth on several occasions, making legislative efforts difficult, if not impossible,” Townley said.
“Reagan’s ability to bridge the partisan divide and work with congressional Democrats on specific bills, such as Social Security reform and immigration policies, suggests a White House capable of achieving ideological success despite congressional barriers. The same applies to Richard Nixon, who gained considerable legislative success despite having a Democrat-controlled House and Senate when he entered office,” Townley added.
