Trump’s signature issues

Mr. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has not been a defining issue of his presidency for long, but how his administration has responded is likely to be critical not only to his legacy, but also to how some swing voters who are open to both him and Joseph R. Biden Jr. make their decision in November.

Before the coronavirus crisis consumed his White House, his 2016 rallying cry of “build the wall” still echoed in his re-election campaign. Construction of a wall along the country’s southern border, intended to halt the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country, has been slow going, but an immigration crackdown has remained one of the policy issues that enlivens his base. Mr. Trump has even tried to use immigration as a way to change the subject from criticism of his administration’s handling of the pandemic.

Mr. Trump has also made eliminating federal regulations a priority, with a focus on dismantling Obama-era environmental regulations. So far, he has failed to achieve his top legislative priority when he came into office: repealing the Affordable Care Act. But he has pleased Republicans, in particular, with his commitment to appointing conservative judges to the federal bench at a record-setting pace.

Mr. Trump touts two trade deals as his signature policies, even as they mark a break from Republican free-trade orthodoxy in favor of a populist approach: an initial trade agreement with China, and his revised accord with Mexico and Canada. His foreign policy doctrine can be summed up by the phrase “America First,” a banner under which Mr. Trump has over the years questioned the founding tenets of alliances like NATO, and demonstrated a reluctance to engage in overseas military operations.