President Trump's 'accomplished nothing' in first year - expert

Donald Trump has achieved nothing in the year since he was elected President except claiming the success of previous Presidents as his own, an international affairs expert believes.

Dr Stephen Hoadley, an associate professor in politics and international affairs at the University of Auckland, says while Mr Trump has succeeded in challenging what is acceptable political discourse, he has done practically nothing else.

He told The AM Show on Wednesday morning the only things President Trump has created himself during his tenure have been destructive.

"I think those of us who were pessimistic about Trump recognise he's done about as badly as we thought he would do," Dr Hoadley said.

"He's accomplished nothing, he's stirred up the world, he's created uncertainty - that's a lot of negatives, and very few positives."

And while the US economy is in "marvellous shape", according to The New York Times, Dr Hoadley says that has very little to do with the President's proficiency in the business world.

"Who gets the credit for that? I would say Obama set mechanisms in place, he created a trend and Trump is benefitting from it through no effort of his own," he explained.

"He's hasn't passed any major legislation, he's got no budget, he's got no policies. All the projects that he projected are not yet in place. How can Trump take credit for that?"

Dr Hoadley has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump's since he took office, and despite earlier saying he expected him to be impeached at some point in his first term, he's now changed his mind.

"He's innocent until proven guilty. As President, people would be very reluctant to indict him," he said.

"It's very unlikely at this point [that he'd be impeached]. All the experts say it's too complicated and there's no evidence."

Despite that, he said Mr Trump should be worried that Republicans are losing faith in him - and urged Mr Trump's supporters to take what the media says about him into account, rather than simply brushing it off as "fake news".

"We are getting a balanced picture [from the media]. The fact-checkers are busy and showing that a lot of the things he is saying are untrue. I have no reason to doubt the fact-checkers," he said.

"I think the real doubt should be about the President's impulsiveness, his tweets, his policy on the hoof. The media are doing a very responsible job in reporting."

When asked what Mr Trump's legacy would be if his tenure as President was to end today, Dr Hoadley had just two words: "You're fired."

"The people he's appointed have been mediocre, many of them have departed - they've quit or he's fired them," he said.

"The only people of substance are the three generals and the Exxon Mobil executive. These four guys are pretty much holding the government together at a cabinet level."

Dr Hoadley believes the US would be in much better shape if Hillary Clinton were in the White House.

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