Short answer: it depends on what outcomes you value and which time period you mean.
If you mean his first term (2017–2021), here are commonly cited impacts, with evidence pointing in different directions:
•Economy and jobs
•Supporters note very low unemployment (3.5% in late 2019), rising wages—especially for lower-wage workers in 2018–2019—and strong markets before COVID-19.
•Critics note larger federal deficits even before the pandemic, mixed results for manufacturing, and research showing tariffs raised costs for consumers and many firms.
•Taxes and business climate
•The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered corporate taxes and cut many individual tax rates (most individual provisions expire after 2025). Backers say this boosted investment and take-home pay.
•Independent analyses found the largest dollar benefits went to higher-income households and that the law reduced federal revenue, adding to deficits.
•Healthcare
•The ACA mandate penalty was reduced to $0 and short‑term plans expanded, which some saw as increasing choice.
•The uninsured rate rose modestly from 2016 to 2019, and critics argue access and protections weakened for some.
•Regulation
•Significant deregulation across energy, environment, and finance; supporters cite reduced compliance costs and faster permitting.
•Critics argue many rollbacks imposed long‑run environmental and public‑health costs.
•Trade and foreign policy
•Renegotiated NAFTA into USMCA and pursued tariffs on China; supporters say this confronted unfair trade.
•Studies generally find tariffs were largely passed through to U.S. buyers, raising prices; farm and some manufacturing sectors needed federal aid.
•Criminal justice and veterans
•First Step Act (2018) reduced some sentences and funded reentry programs; VA MISSION Act expanded veteran care. These drew broad bipartisan praise.
•Courts
•Three Supreme Court appointments shifted the Court rightward, leading to major rulings (for example, abortion access now determined by states). Whether this “improves lives” depends on personal values and where you live.
•COVID-19
•Operation Warp Speed helped speed vaccine development; large bipartisan relief (CARES Act) cushioned the shock.
•The public‑health response and messaging drew strong criticism; the 2020 recession produced sharp job losses before a partial rebound.
If you mean now (post‑2024), I don’t have real‑time data beyond late 2024. To judge whether he is improving lives today, look at:
•Real wages and employment (BLS)
•Inflation and consumer sentiment (BLS, University of Michigan)
•Poverty and uninsured rates (Census, HHS)
•Federal deficit/debt (Treasury, CBO)
•Border encounters and legal immigration trends (DHS, State)
•Energy prices and emissions (EIA, EPA)
Bottom line: reasonable people reach different conclusions because they weigh trade‑offs differently—growth vs. deficits, deregulation vs. environmental/health protections, border enforcement vs. humanitarian and labor‑market effects, and the downstream effects of court decisions.
If you tell me the policy areas or outcomes you care about most (for example, wages, healthcare costs, immigration, abortion access, small‑business conditions), I can give a more targeted, evidence‑based summary.