Trump's legacy: Big policy changes that often got lost amid the din and scandal

President Donald Trump waves to his supporters from Air Force One after his arrival in Harlingen, Texas at Valley International Airport Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Picture: Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP

President Donald Trump may be best remembered for his use of Twitter as a bully pulpit to stoke controversy or browbeat opponents, but the noise his tweets generated often distracted from the big policy changes he made over his four-year term.

During his rollercoaster presidency, the focus was often on what Trump was saying and not on what he was doing as he careened from one self-induced crisis to another. But a review of his policies shows that he had a real effect on people’s lives in the areas of energy and environment, immigration, the judiciary, business and the economy, trade, and foreign policy, among others.