Trump Confronts Uncomfortable Reality 100 Days into Office, Despite Aspirations of Becoming America’s King | US News
David Axelrod, who was Barack Obama’s chief strategist, attempted to minimize the significance of the president’s initial “100 days”.
He referred to it as merely a “hallmark holiday”, insinuating that the date holds little importance for those who tend to remember milestones, such as greeting card companies.
Nonetheless, a hesitant Obama found himself assessing his accomplishments in the early stages of his presidency alongside the media.
In early 2009, he focused on revitalizing the American economy post-credit crunch and championing social issues like equal pay, children’s healthcare, and gender rights. He also initiated plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
However, “Gitmo” remained operational. Upon taking office again this year, Donald Trump ordered its expansion to accommodate migrants apprehended in the U.S.
Several of Trump’s executive orders seek to undo the spirit of initiatives put forth by Obama and his Democratic successor, Joe Biden.
Instead of a simple greeting card, evaluating the first hundred days has evolved into a crucial report card for U.S. presidents.
This is why Sky News continues with the TRUMP100 podcast produced by its U.S. correspondents, and why I was dispatched to cover Barack Obama’s first hundred days in 2008/09 as he became America’s first black president.
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Donald Trump is eager to commemorate his first 14 and a half weeks back in office.
He is set to hold his inaugural MAGA rally since the election in one of the crucial swing states that contributed to his victory.
“President Trump is thrilled to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” his press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared enthusiastically on social media.
The number 100 holds a certain enchantment—10 x 10, the first in three figures. Politically, the term “100 days” has taken on a mystical significance, denoting both fortune and misfortune for those it pertains to.
The expression originated in French in 1815, coined by Comte de Chabrol de Volvic as a courteous euphemism welcoming Louis XVIII’s return after Napoleon Bonaparte’s attempt to regain power.
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Les Cents Jours, or Hundred Days, referred to the time frame from Napoleon’s return to Paris after escaping exile on Elba, through the military campaign that ended with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, to the King’s restoration to the capital on July 8.
This period has inspired many literary works titled The Hundred Days, often symbolizing illusory heroism.
Novelist Patrick O’Brien used this concept in one of his “Master and Commander” novels, spotlighting British Navy Captain Jack Aubrey’s activities during Napoleon’s final campaign.
Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, who led the Falkland Islands Task Force in 1982, titled his memoirs One Hundred Days.
In American politics, the tradition of evaluating presidents’ first hundred days began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. The Democrat FDR hit the ground running, similar to Obama, striving to address the economic crisis.
In one of his pioneering “fireside chats” broadcasted on the radio, he reflected on “the bustling events of the hundred days which were dedicated to initiating the New Deal”.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a ‘fireside chat’ on 12 November, 1937. Pic: AP
Ninety years later, British cabinet minister James Purnell introduced Leading A Government Department – the First 100 Days, a report co-authored for the Institute for Government, referencing presidential historian Godfrey Hodgson’s insights on FDR’s commencement.
“These were the renowned ‘hundred days’, during which Roosevelt salvaged American capitalism and, as some argue, American democracy,” he noted.
“This period set a benchmark against which the competency and efficacy of future presidents would be evaluated.”
By the standards of democracy and the economy, the 47th President of the United States faces a challenging assessment 100 days into his tenure.
The S&P 500 stock index has fallen more than 15% under Trump, while the IMF has downgraded global growth forecasts as a result of his tariff strategies.
Critics assert that Trump has eroded the democratic foundations of the nation.
He has exploited his office for personal gain, directed federal justice to pursue his adversaries, pardoned participants of the January 6th Capitol riots, empowered unaffiliated figures like Elon Musk to dismantle federal agencies via his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, and launched the “Trump 2028” campaign for a third presidential term, contrary to the U.S. Constitution.
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Trump resumed the presidency with determination not to be constrained as he was during his first term.
He began signing executive orders within hours of his inauguration. He has already issued 124 orders, exceeding half of the 220 he accomplished throughout his entire first term from 2017 to 2021.
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Some of these orders might face legal challenges. However, Trump has also benefitted from a compliant U.S. Congress, where his Republican Party controls both chambers. This contrasts sharply with the pushback that Obama faced from his very first day.
Doug Sosnik, who served as President Clinton’s policy director, recently wrote in the New York Times: “It is safe to assert that the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency will rank among the most consequential in modern history.”
“Since taking office, Mr. Trump has amassed extraordinary power within the executive branch, dismantled significant portions of the federal government, unravelled military and economic alliances forged after World War II, and disrupted the longstanding policy consensus on global trade.”
Trump’s notable shortcomings have emerged in foreign relations. He did not establish peace in Ukraine on “day one”. Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza persists.
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Threats to turn Canada “the 51st State” have transformed anti-Trump Liberal Mark Carney into the favorite in this weekend’s election. His ambition to “acquire Greenland one way or another” has alienated Greenland, Denmark, and their allies, yielding no positive results.
Trump is expected to outline his achievements and future aspirations at his 100-day rally in Michigan. Simultaneously, his representatives are working diligently to pressure Ukraine into a peace “agreement” before that event.
Obama, after several months, remarked that “the first hundred days will be significant, but ultimately the first thousand days will determine the real impact.”
Next Tuesday, Trump will still have 1,360 days to serve, despite his ambitions of establishing a lifelong kingship over America.
