Tuesday, January 16, 2018

What to Know About Kim Jong Un's Favorite All-Female Pop Group Moranbong - TIME

What to Know About Kim Jong Un's Favorite All-Female Pop Group Moranbong
By ELI MEIXLER - 16/1/2018
During inter-Korean talks on Monday, North Korea agreed to send a 140-member orchestra troupe along with its athletic delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea next month. The historic foes agreed that the North Korean orchestra would perform in Seoul and Gangneung, near the site of the Winter Games, in the hopes of “[contributing] to improving relations and recovering the cultural homogeneity” of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
News of the official North Korean delegation, which the North said will also include its famous cheerleading squad and a press corp, has raised speculation that the orchestra will be accompanied by another cadre of performers: Moranbong, North Korea’s all-star pop group. It hasn’t been confirmed whether or not Moranbong will attend the Games, but here’s what you should know about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favorite band:
Who are Moranbong?
The all-female group, also known as the Moran Hill Orchestra, was founded by Kim Jong Un in 2012. The North Korean leader reportedly handpicked the members himself, as part of a “grandiose” cultural modernization effort, according to Korean state media. They’re known for their military uniform-style costumes, extravagant stage shows, and synthesizer-backed anthems that reveal a certain degree of Western cultural adoption in the pariah state. They have performed in sequin-covered mini-dresses with Disney-themed backdrops and have even performed string-heavy instrumental covers of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and the theme to the Rocky films.
Most of their repertoire, however, appears to be focused on one subject: the young North Korean leader himself. “How can he be so kind,” the lyrics to one ballad go. “His smile is so warm and sweet. I have no choice but to be taken by him and his warm heart.”
Why are they significant?
The troupe has performed at high-profile events in North Korea. More significantly, the regime has used them as a soft diplomacy tool, bringing out the band to perform for a Cuban delegation in Sept. 2015. Moranbong’s first international tour, a three-concert calendar planned for Beijing in December 2015, was canceled after Chinese authorities objected to “anti-American” lyrics out of fear of escalating tensions, Reuters reported. The band resurfaced in February 2016 with a performance to celebrate a recent missile test.
Speculation has swirled that Moranbong could attend the PyeongChang Winter Games since former bandleader Hyon Song Wol, who was reportedly promoted to the party’s Central Committee in October and is a prominent public figure, was present at the inter-Korean talks in the truce village of Panmunjom on Monday.
What’s the controversy?
Moranbong’s songbook leans heavily on nationalism and revolutionary rhetoric, including songs called “Advance of Socialism” and “We Love the Party Flag,” which could risk falling foul of South Korea’s security laws, according to the Guardian. Performances including rocket imagery or praising North Korea’s weapons program would also likely rankle attendees, particularly following a year of threatening rhetoric between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.
Other facts about Moranbong
There is some confusion over how many members there are in the band, with some sources saying 10, and others up to 20. There has also been a high turnover of members. But each performer holds an official senior military position — Hyon Song Wol is reportedly a colonel in the Korean People’s Army of the North. They also play their own instruments. In 2013, they were put on a regimented diet to standardize their waistlines, according to North Korea watchers Sino-NK.
Amid a prolonged public absence in 2015, there was speculation that the band had been purged or replaced by the Chongbong Band, a seven-member singing group that North Korea’s state news agency praised as a “promising revolutionary art troupe,” according to the BBC. The band reappeared shortly after. Rumors about Hyon Song Wol have also romantically linked her to Kim Jong Un, and she was thought to have been executed with a group of former performers in a sex-tinged scandal before reappearing on Korean television in 2014. Kim is married to Ri Sol Ju, who is also believed to be a former performer with North Korea’s Unhasu Orchestra.

Trump's going to Davos where 'America First' will be his buzzword - CNBC News

15/1/2018
Trump's going to Davos where 'America First' will be his buzzword
Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt Published 21 Hours Ago
CNBC.com
All eyes will be on President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, this month with analysts predicting he will use the meeting as a chance to show off his economic and policy successes so far in office.
Trump's attendance at the 2018 Forum, announced in early January, raised eyebrows at the time as the president has roundly criticized elites such as the rich and powerful that attend Davos. His former advisor Steve Bannon said during Trump's election campaign that working people were "tired of being dictated to by what we call the party of Davos."
Trump will be the first sitting present to visit the meeting in the Alps since Bill Clinton in 2000. Recent presidents have avoided the meeting, perhaps to avoid giving the wrong impression to voters by rubbing shoulders with the elite.
John Raines, head of political risk at IHS Markit, told CNBC ahead of the Forum that Trump's decision to attend Davos was "interesting", given his criticism of the meeting.
"Here's a guy who has really complained about the Davos set for quite some time, (and) during (his election) campaign," Raines said. "He's come out and said that he disagrees with the agenda, he disagrees with globalization, free trade and here he is going right into the vortex."
Trump preps for Davos as concerns loom over welfare reform and infrastructure projects
"But it kind of goes with his personality in which he gets to have this shindig with the corporate elite and he also gets to point to some of his economic and policy successes," he added.
'America First'
Davos' theme this year is "creating a shared future in a fractured world."
The Forum's organizers hope that the 2,500 or so attendees — ranging from heads of state to CEOs, business leaders and policymakers — can discuss and agree ways to resolve some of the world's most pressing problems such as inequality, climate change and poverty — not subjects that Trump has put top of his agenda while in power.
Rather, Trump's first year in office has been characterized by shock and awe, although not always in a good way.
Yet, while he has caused controversy over his policy pronouncements over Muslims and immigrants, and U-turns in foreign policy (such as the embassy relocation in Israel and backtrack over the nuclear deal for Iran), he has also garnered praise among the Republican party for an overhaul of the U.S. tax system and among his supporters for implementing an "America First" manifesto.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves to members of the media before boarding Marine One following his first medical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Besthesda, Maryland, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.
Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Bloomberg
U.S. President Donald Trump waves to members of the media before boarding Marine One following his first medical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Besthesda, Maryland, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has already signaled that Trump will use his attendance at Davos "to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," according to a statement, that added: "At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries, and American workers."
IHS Market's Raines believed that Trump would make the most of Davos to trumpet his achievements: "He can say the stock market is hitting new highs on a daily basis, and on top of that the U.S. growth rate's continuing to pick up so I think he gets to go there and defend his policies while he gets to hang out with the people he likes," he said.
"I don't think he's going to go into Davos saying, 'Look there's a social contract we need to uphold.' I think he goes in saying, 'Hey listen, follow me, I have a recipe for success and you guys need to follow suit.'"
What will Davos make of Trump?
It will be interesting to see how Trump is received in Davos. While U.S. businesses have largely lauded his overhaul of the taxation system because it lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, policy makers — even those to the right of the political spectrum — have been surprised by some of Trump's more controversial moves.
These include acts such as a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries and trying to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded children brought to the United States illegally by their parents from being deported.
In Europe too, Trump's brash leadership style and policies have not found favor with the continent's more conciliatory and collaborative approach to politics and trade policies.
Carl Weinberg, chief economist and managing director at High Frequency Economics, told CNBC ahead of the meeting that Trump could prompt European leaders to continue to pivot away from the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
"Let's look at what the reaction might be to the president to Davos," Weinberg said. "So he comes and lays out this American agenda — well, the last time he came to Europe (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel stepped up and said, 'Well, we don't really like what we're hearing from the U.S. so it's time for us to pivot our relationships perhaps away from the U.S. towards China and Asia'."
However, Weinberg noted that Davos 2018 could be Trump's chance to refute the notion that the U.S. was turning its back on the world. "This could be his chance to come out with his core view which is 'We don't object to globalism but we want it to be on an equal playing field.'"
One year of Trump
The WEF meeting comes as the one-year anniversary of Trump in power with his unorthodox style of government and communication having made waves the world over. This year's WEF is predicated on the idea that the world is "fractured" and its audience will be looking back at Trump's first year in office and what effect he has had on the world so far.
Speaking to CNBC ahead of Davos, John Studzinski, vice-chairman of Blackstone, said Trump's presidency had so far been like "a tale of two cities."
"You have to think of domestic Trump and you have to think of international or foreign policy Trump," he told CNBC in December ahead of Davos 2018.
"On domestic Trump, the stock market has continued to be robust, his laissez-faire attitude with respect to regulation has been seen as a very positive indicator and markets have responded very well to that.
"On the other hand, he inherited a global shift in the hegemony of America as the center of the world order. That is shifting and, with President Xi Jinping's speech in Davos 2017, has really shifted to China as potentially a greater source of stability in the world."
It would be hard to be indifferent to Trump's first year in office, with the president polarizing his supporters and detractors at a domestic and global level even further.
Trump's most controversial decisions so far have been perhaps the move to ban citizens from certain Muslim countries from being able to travel to the U.S., a move which met with protests, as well as his response to the violencein Charlottesville, North Carolina.
In terms of the U.S.' diplomatic relations, while the president has sought closer ties with countries like China, Israel and Saudi Arabia, others — notably Iran and North Korea — have felt the cold shoulder of the U.S.' new direction in terms of foreign policy.
All that without mention of an investigation rumbling on in the background probing allegations of collusion between Trump's team and Russia in a bid to influence the U.S. election.
World 'more dangerous' since Trump?
Mark Malloch Brown, former United Nations deputy secretary-general, told CNBC ahead of Davos 2018 that the world was a more dangerous place now because of Trump, especially with regards to his interventions in North Korea and the Middle East.
"Trump the disruptor was welcome because there had been no solution in the Middle East or North Korea for years. But Trump the guy that just has no policy depth, the recklessness, the temper on him and unpredictability … So net-net, he's making the world a more dangerous place," Malloch Brown said.
Despite Trump's fraught forays into foreign relations, he has made some progress in terms of his election pledges at home, notable having just implemented an overhaul of the U.S. tax system that, although it's set to cost $1.5 trillion in terms of increasing the deficit, could — over the long-term — boost growth.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits at his desk while signing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., Dec. 22, 2017.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump sits at his desk while signing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., Dec. 22, 2017.
Malloch Brown told CNBC that Trump's policies had not yet helped his core group of supporters and that they could de-polarize the U.S.
"Some tokenist things like re-opening a coal mine or the promise to cut immigration — these are acts of theater intended to appeal to that constituency, but they're not enduring economic solutions to that group's problems," he said.
"It's unlikely that the current division in the U.S. will end and it will, like the Davos title, likely remain fractured. But, if anything, those fractures will deepen precisely because the Trump presidency won't likely deliver solutions."
As such, Malloch Brown believed that "clouds were gathering" for Trump.
"Tax reform is a potential great win for him even if there are many economists who doubt its long-term effectiveness given the widening deficit," he said. "But clouds are gathering for him beyond that in terms of the continued disruptive and rather unpredictable foreign policy… activities which leave the world in a sense of great uncertainty."

When Picking Cryptocurrency Winners, Don't Think Long Term - Bloomberg

When Picking Cryptocurrency Winners, Don't Think Long Term
Will governments smash digital currencies, or will digital currencies smash government monopolies on money? Neither extreme is likely.
By Aaron Brown
January 16, 2018, 6:00 PM GMT+11
Cryptocurrencies are not going anywhere. Photograph: Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon retreated last week from his contention that bitcoin is a fraud. Still, he told the Fox Business network that “Bitcoin to me was always what the governments are going to feel about bitcoin as it gets really big.” 1 Will governments smash cryptocurrencies, or will cryptocurrencies smash government monopolies on money? Neither extreme is likely. Thinking about intermediate outcomes helps choose which cryptocurrencies to back today.
The last major money innovation was paper money. 2 Paper is cheaper to produce, transport and store than precious metals, and can incorporate security features 3 and contractual terms. 4 Crucially, paper could sidestep usury prohibitions and cross-border restrictions. Initially, paper was a payment mechanism for gold-settled transactions. Over time the link to gold became more theoretical, often severed in stress times. In 1971, it was cut for good. Money was paper and gold was just another commodity.
Electronic money is to paper what paper is to gold -- cheaper to produce, transport and store; more secure; able to embed smart contracts and to flow around regulatory obstacles. But an electronic payment mechanism could settle in dollars. The essential innovation of cryptocurrencies is not the specifics of the protocol, but making the exchange network the foundation of value. Dollars have value because people accept them. This is not just habit; it requires an expensive system of regulation, law, banking and processing. Although paper money was created in the private sector, in part to avoid regulations, today the system is largely controlled by the government.
There are many potential exchange networks that would have large value. 5 PayPal, eBay and business-to-business intermediated exchanges would not have happened without the internet. These and other companies raised money for development and operations, and grew networks by burning cash to attract and induce users. Satoshi Nakamoto designed 6 a self-sufficient network. Developers and processors were paid in the network currency. Early adopters were not subsidized, but hoped for currency appreciation: the larger the network, the more currency value. The hope is this will evolve into a stable equilibrium with a valuable exchange network created out of nothing, owned by its users.
As with paper money, the first response of governments has been to try to fit crypto into existing regulatory categories and address problems it creates. 7 Stage two with paper money began when governments realized they could use it to monetize debt, 8 raise money by taxing the network and selling permissions, and engage in more complex transactions than gold would support. Eventually, governments took over the system.
People who have only known government-monopoly money may assume nothing else is possible. In that world, they believe governments will either exterminate or take over crypto. While one of those may be the end state, I think stage two comes first. Cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Cardano and Stellar are relatively easy for governments to exploit. 9 But governments may decide to create their own cryptocurrencies rather than regulating and taxing existing ones.
At the other extreme are dark web cryptocurrencies such as Zcash, Monero and Dash that governments will never embrace. 10 These could thrive if governments screw up cooperation with more mainstream cryptocurrencies, especially if they mismanage their fiscal and monetary policies as well. These can also do well in weak government scenarios either due to political dysfunction or rising libertarianism. On the other hand, these could fail if authorized cryptocurrencies thrive, or if strong and competent governments smash them.
In the middle are cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum that governments could tolerate but never love. 11 (Full disclosure: I own bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.) I think these have value in any likely government scenario. Governments may or may not encourage regulated cryptocurrencies, and they may or may not act aggressively to stamp out dark cryptocurrencies, but I can’t see them being successful enough at either one to remove the need for independent cryptocurrencies or to extinguish all cryptocurrencies. 12
Dimon is correct that crypto investors should think about “what the governments are going to feel.” That’s important for valuation of any asset, including cryptocurrencies. But there are lots of potential feelings and lots of governments. 13 Specific resolutions favor some cryptocurrencies over others. But any plausible resolution leaves significant value for at least some cryptocurrencies.

Trump trade barriers are one of the ‘biggest risks’ in 2018, analyst says -CNBC News

15/1/2018
Trump trade barriers are one of the ‘biggest risks’ in 2018, analyst says
U.S. lawmakers told the wireless carrier AT&T to put an end to its commercial ties with the Chinese phone maker Huawei, Reuters reported Tuesday citing sources
The U.S. has taken a more protectionist approach since President Trump took office
President Trump has criticized China for running a surplus against many international partners but he seems to be running out of arguments, a strategist said
Silvia Amaro | @Silvia_Amaro
CNBC.com
The protectionist stance of U.S. President Donald Trump is one of the "biggest" risks in 2018, an analyst told CNBC on Tuesday morning.
"I think in 2018 one the biggest risks we face is the Trump administration moving from rhetoric into real policy, a real protectionist policy," Patrick Armstrong, chief information officer at Plurimi Investment Managers told CNBC.
"I don't think it's clear they are going to move in that way but it's definitely a risk," he noted.
Armstrong's comments come after U.S. lawmakers told the wireless carrier AT&T to put an end to its commercial ties with the Chinese phone maker Huawei, Reuters reported Tuesday citing sources. The same report added that the U.S. is against Huawei raising its market participation in the U.S. due to security concerns.
U.S. authorities have also prevented some deals between Chinese and American firms, citing national security concerns, including the blocking of MoneyGram's sale to Chinese payments firm Ant Financial.
China needs to liberalize its currency if it wants it to be used more for trade: Haitong
The U.S. has taken a more protectionist approach since President Trump took office, citing international partners as a reason for its trade deficit. Data released last week showed that China's surplus with the U.S. hit a record high in 2017 of $275.81 billion. The previous record surplus took place in 2015, hitting $260.8 billion.
President Trump, who takes an "America First" approach when it comes to trade and foreign policy, has criticized China for running a surplus against many international partners. It has also blamed Beijing for keeping its currency undervalue on purpose. However, according to Miranda Carr, China macro strategist at Haitong, the U.S. is running out of arguments.
"Every time they (the U.S.) try to attack China on something like, say the currency, they say 'well your currency, you've kept it undervalue,' then they (China) will go, 'well it's rising now,' so that cuts that argument off," Carr told CNBC.
Why China's commodity prices are rising, according to one Haitong strategist
"Then with steel, the fact that (Chinese) exports have gone down 30 percent that cuts that argument off; so they (the U.S.) are now struggling. If you look at how the negotiations go, then they are now moving to aluminum, which is still a problem, but of course China is cutting back on aluminum production, cutting back on exports, so therefore it's taking some of those pressures away."
"If the U.S. keeps attacking China on certain areas then China goes 'well we've sorted it now, you don't need to take those actions.'"
President Trump is due to receive the results of two inquiries by the U.S. Commerce department on steel and aluminum shipments, which could ultimately prompt the president to issue sanctions against China.

Dr. Martin Luther King's daughter: "We desperately need my father's voice" - CNN

15/1/2018
MLK's daughter: "We desperately need my father's voice"
The daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice King, honored her father today, saying his voice was needed "in light of the current state of affairs in the US."
“We cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our President as a reflection of the true spirit of America,” she told the crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. “We are one people. We are one nation. We are one humanity. One blood. One destiny and as already been said all of civilization and humanity originated from the soils of Africa."
She continued: "Now I think you would agree that in light of the current state of affairs in this nation and in this world, we desperately need my father's voice, his teachings and his love for humanity."

Trump's campaign promises - has he delivered on them? - BBC News

Trump's campaign promises - has he delivered on them?
20 December 2017
Donald Trump made a number of promises on his road to the White House
Donald Trump made a string of promises during his long campaign to be the 45th president of the United States.
Many of them made headlines - from banning all Muslims entering the US, to building a wall along the border with Mexico.
So how is he doing?
Tax cuts
Before election: Trump promised to lower the corporate tax rate and huge tax cuts for working Americans.
After: The Republican tax plan finally passed in December, and it largely ticks the box for the president although its merits are hotly disputed. He has had to compromise on his pledge to bring corporation tax down from 35% to 15% (it will be 21% instead). And the tax cuts for individuals will expire, although Republicans say future governments will simply renew them. But wealthy Americans are expected to benefit more than poorer ones.
What is in Republican tax plan?
Paris climate deal
Before: As a candidate, Mr Trump derided climate change as a hoax concocted by China, and the regulations of Paris as stifling to American growth.
After: After three months of prevarications behind the closed doors of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the president came down decisively on the side near the exits. Quitting the Paris deal, signed by nearly 200 countries, will take a few years but this is unequivocally a promise kept.
Reaction to Trump Paris deal decision
Supreme Court nominee
Before: "I am looking for judges and have actually picked 20 of them. They'll respect the Second Amendment and what it stands for and what it represents."
After: He vowed to appoint a conservative justice and he has - Neil Gorsuch. It took a procedural change to Senate rules, but it's a victory nonetheless.n
Gorsuch sailed through his nomination hearing
Bombing IS
Before: During a speech in Iowa in November 2015, Mr Trump warned that he would, using an expletive, bomb so-called Islamic State into obliteration.
After: The president dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal on an IS-stronghold in Afghanistan. He also takes credit for accelerating progress in driving IS out of parts of Iraq and Syria.
At the site of the Mother of All Bombs
Iraq declares war with IS is over
Trade deals
Before: Mr Trump called Nafta "a disaster" and warned that the TPP "is going to be worse, so we will stop it."
After: Mr Trump pledged to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). He did in his first few days.
He also vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Association (Nafta) and, after threatening to pull out, the White House has said that Canada and the US have agreed to talks.
Ban on Muslims
Before: Mr Trump initially promised to ban all Muslims entering the US - a "total and complete" shutdown should remain until the US authorities "can figure out what's going on".
But he switched to "extreme vetting" after he became the party's presidential candidate.
After: As president, he introduced two travel bans which become ensnarled in the courts but the third had more luck. The US Supreme Court ruled President Trump's ban on six mainly Muslim countries can go into full effect, pending legal challenges.
The decision is a boost for Mr Trump's policy against travellers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Trump travel ban: What happens next?
Cuba thaw no more
Before: Mr Trump said in September 2016 that he would reverse the deal President Barack Obama had struck to reopen diplomatic relations and improve trade.
After: As president, he told an audience in Miami that he was "cancelling the Obama administration's one-sided deal." But in reality, he has only rolled back certain parts, placing restrictions on travel and business.
Obamacare
Before: One of Mr Trump's trademark rally pledges was to repeal and replace Obamacare - his predecessor's attempt to extend healthcare to the estimated 15% of the country who are not covered.
It is widely hated by Republicans, who say the law imposes too many costs on business, with many describing it as a "job killer" and decrying the reforms - officially the Affordable Care Act - as an unwarranted intrusion into the affairs of private businesses and individuals.
After: The Republican healthcare plan has been unable to pass the Senate, and has been mauled by doctors' groups, hospitals and other parts of the medical industry, mainly because of its deep cuts to Medicaid, the health programme for the poor, and fears that millions would lose insurance.
But Mr Trump has been able to dismantle parts of the law - the fine for people who did not get health insurance has been eliminated as part of the tax plan. Some fear that may have a spiralling effect on premiums as healthy people choose not to get insured.
Trump's battles with Obamacare - in his own words
Exit player
Trump's battles with Obamacare - in his own words
Moving Israel embassy
Before: Mr Trump pledged during his campaign to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a divided city which both Israelis and Palestinians claim.
After: In December, he said he formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and approved moving the US embassy although that would not happen for several years.
Troops in Afghanistan
Before: Long before he ran for president, Mr Trump posted a number of tweets calling for an end to US involvement in Afghanistan. They were similar in tone to this one from 2013: "Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA."
But his stance changed during last year's presidential election, when he said US troops would probably have to stay in order to avoid the total collapse of the Afghan government, and to keep a check on neighbouring nuclear-armed Pakistan.
After: He has committed the US Army to the open-ended conflict, saying his approach will be based on conditions on the ground and will not have time limits. He also said he would get tough on Pakistan, who he criticised for offering "safe havens" to extremists - claims rejected by Pakistan.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Mr Trump's strategy in an announcement that the US would send 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
A border wall paid for by Mexico
Before: His vow to build a wall along the US-Mexican border was one of the most controversial of Mr Trump's campaign promises. Mr Trump also insisted that Mexico would pay for it.
After: Mexico maintains it will never pay for it, and even the president has conceded that the US will have to pay up front and then seek reimbursement in some way.
The US Congress is exploring funding options for the wall, but many Republicans will be unhappy about footing a bill which could rise to $21.5bn (£17.2bn), according to a Department of Homeland Security internal report.
There are also landowners who protest against a "government land grab" - and a lawsuit from an environmental group launched in April. Prototypes are being built but not one brick has been laid of the "big, beautiful wall".
Many Trump voters are happy with his progress
Deporting all illegal immigrants
Before: Mr Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant - of which there are 11.3 million - "have to go".
After: As polling day approached, his stance began to soften slightly, then after the election he scaled it back to some two to three million deportations of people who "are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers".
Setting aside the fact that the number of illegal immigrants with criminal records (including border crossings) is thought to be below a million, the president has failed to deliver on this promise.
In the fiscal year 2017, deportations were at 211,068 which is lower than they were in the previous year. That is despite a huge jump in arrests since Mr Trump took office. The number of removals peaked in 2012 and has been falling since.
The future of young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers hangs in the balance because Mr Trump has cancelled the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme, which allows some 800,000 people to remain in the US.
Trump voter's husband faces deportation
Ditching Nato
Before: Mr Trump repeatedly questioned the military alliance's purpose, calling it "obsolete". One issue that bugged him was whether members were pulling their weight and "paying their bills". In one New York Times interview in July 2016, he even hinted that the US would not come to the aid of a member invaded by Russia.
After: But as he hosted Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House in April, the US president said the threat of terrorism had underlined the alliance's importance. "I said it [Nato] was obsolete," Mr Trump said. "It's no longer obsolete."
China as currency manipulator
Before: Mr Trump repeatedly pledged to label Beijing a "currency manipulator" on his first day in office, during an election campaign when he also accused the Asian powerhouse of "raping" the US. China has been accused of suppressing the yuan to make its exports more competitive with US goods.
After: He told the Wall Street Journal in April that China had not been "currency manipulators" for some time and had actually been trying to prevent the yuan from further weakening.
Torture
Before: Mr Trump said he would approve waterboarding "immediately" and "make it also much worse", adding "torture works".
After: But after his inauguration, the president said he would defer to the opposing belief, espoused by Defence Secretary James Mattis and CIA director Mike Pompeo.
Mr Pompeo said during his confirmation hearing said he would "absolutely not" reinstate such methods.
Prosecuting Hillary Clinton
Before: "Lock her up" was one of the main rallying cries of Mr Trump's supporters.
They wanted to see Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in prison over the use of her private email server while secretary of state.
And Mr Trump was more than willing to back their calls for, at the very least, a fresh investigation. During the debates, he told Mrs Clinton: "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."
After: The president-elect's tone changed almost as soon as he had won, describing the woman he had said was "such a nasty woman" as someone the country owed "a debt of gratitude". Later, he said he "hadn't given [the prosecution] a lot of thought" and had other priorities.
On 22 November, Mr Trump's spokeswoman said he would not pursue a further investigation - to help Mrs Clinton "heal".
Rebuilding infrastructure
Before: The country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it", he said in his victory speech in November.
After: Has repeated his vow to spend big on the country's roads, rail and airports, but no sign yet of action.
Other policy shifts
Used to blast Janet Yellen, head of the Federal Reserve, but now says he respects her
Dismissed the Export-Import Bank while campaigning but now says it has helped small companies
On his first day, he signed a memo ordering a freeze on federal hires, but by April that was gone