President-elect Donald Trump is already retreating from several key campaign promises, raising questions about the feasibility of his ambitious commitments. According to HuffPost political reporter Jennifer Bendery, Trump’s pledges on Ukraine, inflation, Jan. 6 pardons, and slashing government spending are proving to be more rhetoric than reality.
“But in the weeks since he won the election, Trump and his transition team have been quietly walking back some of his most significant commitments — a reflection of how unrealistic they were to begin with,” Bendery wrote.
Among Trump’s campaign promises were lofty goals such as ending the war in Ukraine before his inauguration, reducing inflation and grocery prices, granting pardons to Jan. 6 rioters, and enlisting tech billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.
However, cracks in these promises are already showing. On Wednesday, advisers told Reuters that Trump’s vow to resolve the Ukraine war on “day one” is unrealistic. They reportedly described his pledge as “campaign bluster” and noted that resolving such a complex conflict would take months or even years, especially as a new administration assembles its team.
Bendery also cited a Time Magazine article that challenges Trump’s claims to curb inflation quickly. “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up,” Trump admitted to Time in November. “You know, it’s very hard.”
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has also appeared to temper Trump’s promise of blanket pardons for Jan. 6 participants. Speaking to Fox News, Vance stated, “If you protested peacefully on Jan. 6 … you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” Acknowledging “a little bit of a gray area,” Vance’s comments suggest a more selective approach.
Even Trump’s proposed $2 trillion budget cut is facing early skepticism. Last week, Musk admitted that achieving even half of that goal would be challenging. “If the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was able to cut $2 trillion from the budget, that would be the ‘best-case outcome,’” Musk said, conceding that $1 trillion might be a more realistic target.
As Trump prepares to assume office, these early walkbacks highlight the difficulty of translating campaign rhetoric into actionable policy. While his promises captivated voters, the reality of governing appears to be forcing a reassessment of what can be achieved.