PromisePromise Broken

Promise: Approve the Keystone XL project and reap the profits

Record date: January 15, 2021

Donald Trump promised to approve the Keystone XL project and reap the profits.

The commitment

Approve the Keystone XL project and reap the profits.

Published tracker status: Promise Broken

The tracker concluded that the promised outcome was not achieved.

PolitiFact’s update summarized the result this way: “Keystone XL pipeline: Unbuilt, opposed by Biden, mired in lawsuits”

What would satisfy the promise?

The relevant test is the outcome described in the commitment—not merely an announcement, executive order, proposal or attempt. A final assessment should identify the action taken, whether it remained in force, who was affected and whether the promised result was delivered at the scale stated.

Why this belongs in the record

Campaign promises are forward-looking claims. Preserving the original commitment beside the later result makes it possible to distinguish action from completion and partial movement from the outcome voters were offered.

Source and attribution

This entry indexes an external promise rating published by PolitiFact. The status is attributed to that tracker and should be revisited if its underlying evidence changes. Read the complete source review.

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