Inside Donald Trump’s chaotic first 100 days back in the White House
The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s administration give insight into how the President plans to execute his agenda over the next four years.
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It’s been almost 100 days since Donald Trump returned to the White House in what is proving to be one of the most disruptive and consequential starts to any US presidency in history, sending shockwaves across the United States and the world.
Despite threatening to run for an unprecedented and unconstitutional third term, the second-time commander in chief has treated the first months of his new presidency like they’re his last.
Domestically he has waged war on immigrants, waste, anti-Semitism, political adversaries, “wokeness”, and even plastic straws and poor shower pressure.
Globally, he has alienated once-close allies, sparked an unprecedented trade war, worked toward ending the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts, and set his sights on acquiring the Panama Canal and Greenland – by force if necessary.
“Trump’s first 100 days in his second term have been unlike anything I think most of us have seen in our lifetimes,” George Washington University historian and professor of political management Matthew Dallek said.
“It has been a remarkable three plus months and the United States I think is in a different place from what it was when he started his second term in mid January.”
Mr Trump has signed more than 120 executive orders on a range of issues from delaying a TikTok shutdown, making DC “safe and beautiful”, imposing tariffs on trading partners and pardoning January 6 rioters.
By comparison, his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden signed 162 orders in his entire four-year term.
Conversely, the Trump administration has only signed five bills into law, the lowest number of any President in decades.
“I think this 100 Days of Trump is far different from really any other kind of first 100 days of a presidency, including his own first term,” Prof Dallek said of Wednesday’s 100-day milestone.
“Trump clearly feels emboldened, he just survived, not just an assassination attempt, but multiple scores of criminal indictments, he won the popular vote …. and he wants to take revenge.
“He views his powers as basically unlimited.”
Almost 200 lawsuits have been filed against the government which is testing the bounds of the judicial branch’s authority.
Most notably in the case of Maryland man Kilmar Armando Abrego who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador amid sweeping immigration raids last month.
The Supreme Court ordered the administration must facilitate his return to the US but the government has indicated it will not comply, prompting warnings of contempt proceedings.
Among the most significant actions taken by the administration so far are the mass sackings of tens of thousands of Federal employees and slashing of billions in funding and aid programs, led by the Department of Government Efficiency helmed by Elon Musk.
Prof Dallek said the impacts of those decisions would likely be felt for many years to come and would be difficult for future administrations to reverse.
Prof Dallek said Mr Trump’s trade tariffs would also leave a lasting impression globally.
“I think those have raised really fundamental questions about America’s economy and America’s place in the global economy, and then the global economic order itself and in America’s relationship to its allies,” he said.
“It’s too early to know but, but I think a lot of what he is doing, even though he’s not doing it legislatively, will still have lasting ramifications on the United States, on our economy, and on our role in the world.”
Recent YouGov polling showed 36 per cent of Americans thought the country was on the right track and 53 per cent said it was on the wrong track.
Mr Trump’s approval rating has slipped since taking office, now at 42 per cent, and 43 per cent of voters said they believed the President did “not care at all” about their needs and those of people like them.
Since his inauguration on January 20, Mr Trump has set about reshaping the country in fulfilment of a long list of election promises to the delight of his supporters and dismay of opponents.
Among those happy with his performance is Wisconsin nursery owner Leo Bordeleau, a lifelong Republican voter who said he was pleased the President was following through on his commitments.
“I think he’s in the process of addressing almost everything that he had stated he would,” Mr Bordeleau said.
“His goal is to make America great again, obviously, and that’s not so easy to do,
but if somebody doesn’t try we would be in big trouble.”
He said understanding whether decisions like implementing tariffs were the right call wouldn’t be clear for some time, but said he was strongly in favour of other policies like the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as the defence of Israel and of Christian values.
“The strength of the tariffs were kind of extreme and that’s probably an issue that’s debatable but how do we know at this point?,” Mr Bordeleau said.
“I think it’s just going to take some time to see how effective he can be.”
Mr Bordeleau said he was impressed with Mr Trump’s Cabinet picks.
He described the merits of Elon Musk’s role in the administration as “debatable”, noting it “has caused a lot of controversy”, but said he was in support of DOGE’s mission of cutting waste.
Florida man Loring Crepeau also voted for Mr Trump and said his first 100 days had been ambitious.
“He is jumping into every realm instantaneously, it’s all these simultaneous operations of trying to resolve and remedy things that he perceives as issues with America right now, and I am incredibly pleased with it,” he said.
“I’m surprised at how much he’s trying to do at once, but I think that he’s been pretty darn successful, given that his cabinet is so well aligned with him and his mission, in contrast to the last term he served, where there was a lot of discord and dissent, that I think did kind of diminish his effectiveness in the job.”
Mr Crepeau said he was concerned tariffs could impact his cost of living expenses.
“However, I think that this is a shrewd, strategic move whose long term consequences are going to benefit America in ways that are probably unimaginable,” he said.
“And again, I don’t want to sound like a politician, but you know when you see what he’s doing now for us and using the tariffs as leverage, not necessarily putting any of them in place permanently, but just as leverage where they’ve never been used that way before. I’m heartily encouraged.”
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Originally published as Inside Donald Trump’s chaotic first 100 days back in the White House
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