The first 100 days of a new U.S. administration are typically thought of as a honeymoon period for the president. It’s a time when the new team makes big promises, tries to accomplish as much as possible before the Washington gridlock kicks back in and sets the overall narrative.
President Donald Trump’s second administration is no different. One day before he took the oath of office for a second time, Trump vowed boldness and greatness right out of the gate. “The American people have given us our trust, and in return, we’re going to give them the best first day, the biggest first week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency,” Trump boasted to his supporters.
Whether one believes Trump has reached the bar he set is in the eye of the beholder. According to a bevy of public opinion polls released this weekend, most Americans don’t think he’s doing a particularly good job. What is indisputable, however, is that Trump relishes busting norms, expanding presidential power and signing dozens upon dozens of executive orders. If his first administration was often at war with itself, the second is unified and action-prone, even if those actions—such as deporting a man to El Salvador despite a court order preventing that—tie up the court system.
Trump promised big things, not only on the home front but internationally as well. While the president’s “I’ll solve the war in Ukraine in a day” shtick was never a serious proposition, it nonetheless demonstrated a sense of urgency on Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Trump wanted it solved, quickly, and claimed he was the only person on earth who could do it. He said much the same about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which has turned the coastal enclave into an inhospitable wasteland. On trade, Trump vowed to push countries that were taking advantage of the United States into new deals. Adversaries would learn to fear America again, and allies would learn to respect it as a superpower rather than a dupe.
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