100 days of Trump, 1361 left to go

President Donald Trump’s second term has affected every inch of the globe, with almost every country hanging on his every word. This is exactly what Trump wants. 

Among his Republican base in Congress, Trump has been repeatedly heralded as a saviour for the party. He is the only man that many trusted to surf the rising tide of discontent with the Democratic Party into office in 2024. 

This has meant almost no Republicans in Congress have felt an inherent need to oppose him. Since doing so could cost them re-election.  

However, the latest national poll shows Trump’s approval hovering around 40%. This is the lowest  across any president in the past seven decades. Less rising star and more falling comet, it looks like Trump’s shine is starting to wear off with Americans, who are about to feel the consequences of 100 days of chaos-driven government. 

Inside Government

Within government, the effects of the president’s actions are most potent. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), designed to cut waste in the federal bureaucracy, has brought a gun to a fist fight, killing off several bodies that establish American soft power and provide leadership on social welfare. USAID, FEMA, and the EPA have all been caught in Elon Musk’s crosshairs.  

It has taken two men just 100 days to completely upheave the federal bureaucracy of the past 50 years. However, in the name of ‘government efficiency’, this may just be the beginning

Collectively, these groups facilitate global humanitarian aid, oversee natural emergency relief, and aim to curb the global climate crisis. These are all things that most Americans would surely be in favour of, never mind the reality of these sweeping cuts coming from an unelected official. 

It has taken two men just 100 days to completely upheave the federal bureaucracy of the past 50 years. However, in the name of ‘government efficiency’, this may just be the beginning. 

Outside Government 

In the first fortnight of Trump’s presidency, it looked like DOGE would be the headline of his first 100 days in office. It has quickly become clear that in the whirlwind of presidential action, DOGE was a prelude to something much bigger. 

The most prominent aspect of Trump’s domestic policy has been economic. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump said that ‘tariff’ was “one of the most beautiful words” in the English language. As a candidate, he found a way to weave it into nearly every conversation he had about the economy. 

So, just like checking the expiration date on the milk, this article sets out to get people to review their purchase. If it is going to spoil, it may be time to throw it out. 

At the start of Trump’s presidency, foreign policy decision-making seemed largely performative, whether it was renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ or claiming the US should own the coastal real estate of war-torn Gaza

Those Americans who thought Trump was joking about the global tariffs of ‘Liberation Day’ certainly were not laughing on 2 April. A day after April Fool’s, Trump imposed tariffs on 57 world powers, all of whom were US trading partners. The tariff rates ranged from 50% on the African nation of Lesotho to 10% on the lowest end for countries including the United Kingdom. 

The biggest outcome of Liberation Day has ironically been the instigation of a trade war. Fought between the world’s two leading economies, the United States and China. After dialling back tariffs to just 10%, the US has implemented a tit-for-tat policy that escalated tariffs on China to an unprecedented rate of 145%. Last year, the US imported $439.8 billion worth of goods from China. It may very well be the case that the US needs China more than China needs the US. 

On the World Stage 

At the start of Trump’s presidency, foreign policy decision-making seemed largely performative, whether it was renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ or claiming the US should own the coastal real estate of war-torn Gaza, branding it the “riviera of the Middle East”. 

Despite repeatedly saying in his campaign that he could “end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours”, war is still being bitterly fought. In another unprecedented episode from the administration, the resident and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of a press pool of dozens of the nation’s leading journalists. 

By disengaging the country from broader global struggles, Trump hopes to turn focus inward

Trump has removed equity from the situation by failing to hold Russia, the aggressor of the conflict, accountable. Foreign policy under the administration is reminiscent of domestic policy. It is designed to upset conventions that have been built over decades and to challenge America’s role in supporting international conflicts. 

By disengaging the country from broader global struggles, Trump hopes to turn focus inward. In the same breath, the president has focused on rewriting national borders. Rhetoric that he would like to make Canada the country’s 51st state and annex Greenland for strategic purposes has quickly led to public challenges from the Danish and Canadian premiers. 

Two months ago, Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump’s policy of increasing the tariff rate “a very dumb thing to do”. Current Prime Minister Mark Carney of the Liberal party, who was elected after a virulent anti-populist movement against Trump, stated clearly: “Canada will never be America’s 51st state.”  

The Next 1361 Days 

With the ‘honeymoon phase’ of the administration over, the road to getting what he wants is going to be harder for Trump, not easier. So far, the administration’s response to setbacks has been to point the blame directly at President Joe Biden. However, the electorate is beginning to see through this. The administration knows this, and cracks are starting to show. Trump will have to take responsibility for a US economy that he upended, international relations that he damaged, and a government that may be too weak to adequately address the needs of its citizens. 

And yet, according to the man himself, it has been the “most successful 100 days of any administration”.