Smoldering Stump Gazette

October 10, 2026

The 20 entries below identify 2024-campaign commitments for which a deadline passed, the policy was blocked, the administration reversed course, or the promised result had not been achieved. Several therefore mean “not kept as promised” rather than necessarily impossible to fulfill later.

We used the Politifact definitions of promises. PolitiFact describes a campaign promise as a prospective, verifiable action or outcome made by Trump during speeches, interviews, rallies, or social-media campaigning. PolitiFact’s MAGA-Meter evaluates promises against verifiable outcomes rather than effort or intent. Yes, we used AI to compile the list. Its ratings include “Promise Kept,” “Promise Broken,” “Compromise,” “Stalled,” and “In the Works”; consequently, this table includes both outright breaks and commitments that had plainly missed a defined deadline or remained unfulfilled at the date shown.

Kept: Summary

Details follow in expanded table.

Comprehensive list forthcoming in a couple of weeks.

Unkept: Summary

Details follow in expanded table.

End the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office
Cut energy prices by 50 percent within one year
Reduce grocery, automobile, and other consumer prices
Refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve immediately
Lower gasoline prices below $2 per gallon
End birthright citizenship
Ensure all votes are counted by election night
Require voter identification at the polls
Require documentary proof of citizenship to vote
Require paper ballots nationwide
Abolish the Department of Education
Eliminate federal incentives for K-12 teacher tenure
Create “freedom cities” on federal land
Give green cards to foreign graduates of U.S. colleges
Bar federal officials from joining firms they regulated
Create a migrant-crime victims’ fund financed by seized gang assets
Adopt a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports
Impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods
Impose a 10 to 20 percent tariff on all imported goods
Temporarily cap credit-card interest rates at 10 percent

Promises Unkept

Best viewed in landscape orientation.

No.	Promise	Stated	Unkept	Basis
1	End the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office	Repeated during the 2024 campaign; for example, rallies and interviews	January 21, 2025	The 24-hour deadline had elapsed and the war continued; PolitiFact subsequently rated the pledge “Promise Broken.”
2	Cut energy prices by 50 percent within one year	August 2024, campaign speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	January 20, 2026	The stated first-year deadline passed without a 50 percent reduction in household energy costs.
3	Reduce grocery, automobile, and other consumer prices	Repeated throughout the 2024 campaign, including rallies and interviews	January 20, 2026	After one year in office, broad consumer-price reductions promised in the campaign had not occurred.
4	Refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve immediately	2024 campaign speeches	September 4, 2026	The reserve had not been restored as promised and was reported as less full, rather than immediately refilled.
5	Lower gasoline prices below $2 per gallon	Repeated during the 2024 campaign	April 10, 2026	National gasoline prices were reported above $4 per gallon, not below $2.
6	End birthright citizenship	May 2024, campaign video and subsequent speeches	June 30, 2026	The Supreme Court ruling prevented the administration from achieving the promised nationwide result.
7	Ensure all votes are counted by election night	2024 campaign speeches	June 29, 2026	The Supreme Court upheld states’ authority to count certain ballots received after Election Day if timely postmarked.
8	Require voter identification at the polls	2024 campaign platform and speeches	August 12, 2026	The Senate rejected legislation that would have imposed a national photo-identification requirement.
9	Require documentary proof of citizenship to vote	2024 campaign platform and speeches	February 17, 2026	Legislation to impose the requirement had not passed Congress.
10	Require paper ballots nationwide	2024 campaign speeches	January 21, 2026	No nationwide paper-ballot mandate had been enacted or implemented.
11	Abolish the Department of Education	September 2023, campaign video	June 26, 2026	The department continued to operate, despite efforts to shift or reduce some functions.
12	Eliminate federal incentives for K-12 teacher tenure	2024 campaign platform	February 23, 2026	The administration had not delivered the proposed tenure-related policy.
13	Create “freedom cities” on federal land	March 3, 2023, campaign video	February 10, 2026	The promised federally backed new cities had not advanced into an operative program.
14	Give green cards to foreign graduates of U.S. colleges	June 20, 2024, All-In podcast interview	January 30, 2026	The administration was reported to have retreated from the pledge rather than implementing it.
15	Bar federal officials from joining firms they regulated	October 2024, campaign ethics pledge	February 17, 2026	The administration allowed relevant revolving-door restrictions to lapse, contrary to the commitment.
16	Create a migrant-crime victims’ fund financed by seized gang assets	2024 campaign platform	February 19, 2026	No such fund had been established.
17	Adopt a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports	2024 campaign platform	February 19, 2026	The administration had not produced the specified phaseout plan.
18	Impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods	Repeated during 2024 campaign rallies and interviews	February 20, 2026	A Supreme Court ruling restricted unilateral use of the authority needed to impose the proposed tariff as pledged.
19	Impose a 10 to 20 percent tariff on all imported goods	2024 campaign; initially described in a Fox Business interview and later at rallies	February 20, 2026	The promised across-the-board tariff had not been implemented as described, following the legal setback.
20	Temporarily cap credit-card interest rates at 10 percent	September 18, 2024, campaign rally in Uniondale, New York	January 29, 2026	No 10 percent cap was enacted; the proposed legislation had not advanced.

Item-specific references omitted for ease of reading. For a complete list send $100 and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the editor. (You wanted to go back to a time when life was simpler, so here's your chance.)

Press reports suggest that 20 unkept promises is just the tip of the iceberg. To be sure, some of these were blocked by that darned ol' leftist lib'ral Supreme Court.

Sources: Unkept

[1] Donald Trump Broken Promises Tracker - Unkept https://unkept.io/people/donald-trump
[2] A fact-checked guide to Trump's talking points and falsehoods ... - PBS https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-fact-checked-guide-to-trumps-talking-points-and-falsehoods-at-midterm-rallies
[3] Tracking Trump's Campaign Promises - AllSides https://www.allsides.com/blog/tracking-trumps-campaign-promises
[4] False or misleading statements by Donald Trump (second term) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump_(second_term)
[5] Fact Check | CNN Politics https://www.cnn.com/politics/fact-check
[6] Trump's Latest $5,000 Election Promise and a History of His Biggest ... https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-5000-payment-pledge-midterm-election-1823478
[7] [PDF] The Real State of the Union: Failures, Lies and Broken Promises https://mccollum.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/mccollum.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-sotu-fact-sheet-final_.pdf
[8] Trump's Executive Orders & Actions - The Economic Times https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/donald-trump-action-tracker
[9] Critics Hit Trump With Instant Fact-Check After 1 Massive Lie https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-promises-claim_n_6ac4ad54e4b0bc90e4018fdc
[10] MAGA-Meter: Trump's Second Term - PolitiFact https://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/maga-meter-tracking-donald-trumps-2024-promises/