April 29 marked 100 days in office for President Donald Trump.
His second term in office has moved at a dizzying pace, with Trump enacting executive orders and policies with a fury.
Intent on remaking the Executive Branch, he empowered Elon Musk to push aside civil servants and strike fear in the federal workforce.
He launched the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
He imposed — then postponed — tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
RELATED: Analyzing President Trump’s 1st 100 Days of his 2nd term
He imposed tariffs on China. There were worries about a Global Trade War and the economic impact. It all sparked talk of a recession.
He eliminated foreign aid programs, retaliated against perceived enemies and purged the Department of Justice.
And that’s just the beginning.
A bit of history: The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and it’s considered a benchmark for performance, measuring the early success of a presidency.
The weeks since Trump returned to office have been a whirlwind of activity to show Americans that his administration is relentlessly pursuing his promises.
Congress has been compliant. He has had a free hand to begin overhauling the government and upending foreign policy. His imprint is everywhere. But the long-term impact is often unclear.
Trump’s goals occasionally conflict with each other. He promised both to lower the cost of living and to impose tariffs on foreign goods, which will most likely increase prices.
Some of the Republican president’s executive orders are statements of intent or groundwork to achieve what has yet to be done.
On Day 1, for example, he declared an energy emergency to spur production. But he’s not promising a payoff until next year, when he told voters to count on a big drop in their utility bills.
Other issues are languishing. Still unsettled: Whether Trump has run up his scorecard lawfully. He has faced lawsuits over some of his actions, meaning much of what he’s done could be undone as cases play out.
Inflation has been falling since a peak of 9.1% in 2022. It was at 3% in January, the month Trump was inaugurated, and 2.4% in March.
“We already solved inflation,” Trump boasted.
But the Federal Reserve warned that the president’s tariff plans will most likely lead to higher prices by taxing imports.
He’s cracked down on illegal immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is arresting large numbers of people across the country. Many who assert their innocence have been deported without due process.
The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is one of those hanging in the balance. He was deported to a Salvadoran prison despite having no criminal record and no hearing into whether he’s a gang member, as alleged by the administration.
There are also questions about whether constitutional rights are being violated in the process of the immigration crackdown.
Trump failed to end a war as promised. At rally after rally last summer, Trump promised peace between Russia and Ukraine merely by winning the election.
“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” he told a National Guard Association conference in Detroit in August.
By then, he’d been making the same vow at least since May. It did not happen. In fact, at times, he said he could end the war in one day. It has yet to happen.
He promised ambitious tax cuts. Trump has tested the limits of what he can do by decree, but he’ll need Congress to achieve his promised tax cuts.
He pledged to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security payments and said he will make permanent the expiring tax cuts he enacted during his first term. None of this has happened.
He is working with Congress and the Republicans to push through legislation, but it could prove difficult to pass what he calls that “big, beautiful bill.”
Musk pitched the idea for a Department of Government Efficiency. It’s become known as DOGE. Charged with the downsizing of government bureaucracy, the results were more hands-on than anyone imagined.
And they were mixed, to say the least. Musk lowered his targeted savings in the cost of government to $150 billion after originally promising at least $1 trillion. Questions remain if he’ll even hit the lower target.
He went after pillars of education and culture.
I’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the revenge he exacted on his enemies and the measures he took on the DOJ and Department of Defense.
Let’s discuss Americans’ perceptions of the president’s performance. Several polls show significant warning signs on signature issues like the economy and cutting the size of government.
For instance, among adults polled for the NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, 45% approve of Trump’s job performance, compared with 55% who disapprove. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Other polls show similar results…. And he’s below where previous presidents were at a similar point when having taken office. A warning sign for the president.
I should point out, and this is no surprise, Trump takes issue with the polls and wants an investigation into the pollsters as his approval ratings sink.
On his social media platform, he wrote: “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.”
The president added, “These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the Fox News Pollster while you’re at it.”
He went on to describe the pollsters (and presumably the news organizations that commissioned the polls) as “Negative Criminals,” who should be seen as “SICK.”
There is no conspiracy here. Political analysts say the president’s programs are failing, and the public is taking notice.
News4JAX political analyst and head of the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute Rick Mullaney joins me for this week’s episode of “Politics & Power” to break down all the issues in the president’s first 100 days.
Watch at 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. Tuesday on News4JAX+ or any time on demand on News4JAX.com, News4JAX+ or our YouTube channel.
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