As President Donald Trump on April 29 marked the first 100 days of his second term in office, the political landscape in the United States continues to evolve. With a Republican-led House, a narrowly divided Senate, and a host of domestic and global challenges, Trump has moved quickly to reassert his core agenda, with mixed results and highly divided responses.
The southern border
Trump made several promises concerning the country’s southern border including implementing a mass deportation initiative, continuing the construction and expansion of a border wall, terminating birthright citizenship, reinstating restrictive immigration policies and deploying military resources at the border.
Perhaps his administration’s greatest success to date is in decreasing migrant encounters at the southern border.
In the first week of Trump’s presidency there was a massive 60-percent decrease in encounters, and, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), by the end of January such incidents had fallen by 85 percent.
As of his first 100 days in office, there has been a 95-percent drop in encounters.
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He achieved this by declaring a national emergency, ordering the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of seeking asylum, terminating the CBP One app and reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
However, his immigration policies have not all been successful or have gone unchallenged.
Trump tried to curtail birthright citizenship, which is protected by constitutional amendment, but was blocked by federal judges. His invocation of the Alien Enemies Act was, and remains, in murky legal waters, and deportations continue to lag behind figures under the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, cases of wrongful or controversial deportations have aroused public ire. A Japanese PhD student researching AI in Utah has been ordered back to his home country for speeding tickets, while a pair of German teens looking forward to a backpacking trip in Hawaii were detained overnight on suspicions that they intended to do remote work while in the U.S., before being deported. Several cases of infants born in the U.S. but having illegal alien parents being sent back to those countries or placed in foster care — including a four-year-old receiving treatment for cancer who was deported with his mother to Honduras — have further cast shade on the administration.
Tariffs and economics
Another slew of promises during Trump’s campaign concerned the cost-of-living crisis gripping the United States and much of the world. His proposals focused on energy prices, taxation, trade policies, and housing affordability.
Trump says that his blocking of all unfinalized Biden-era rules will save the average American family of four upwards of $2,100 over the next decade.
He signed a total of 142 executive orders, many aimed at reducing federal regulations to lower living costs and stimulate business investment.
Trump also promised significant tax reforms, including no tax on tips and overtime pay, though to date these proposals have not become law.
Meanwhile, Trump has said that he would use the gains from tariffs for tax cuts, largely applying to households making less than $200,000 a year.
Perhaps the most impactful action his administration has taken in this vein was to reimagine the world economy and the role tariffs play in it, but, to date, the fruits of this labor remain elusive and Trump’s perceived flip-flopping on the issue has both irked trading partners and provided Democrats with ammo to attack his administration.
Due to Trump’s tariff policies, particularly those on America’s main geopolitical and ideological rival, communist China, Americans may see prices on many consumer items go up before they start to come down, if they ever do.
Trump’s worldwide tariffs, announced on April 2 but paused a week later as many countries came forth to negotiate, have shocked stock markets around the globe and stoked fears of a recession stateside. Businesses that rely on imports are nervous, some even failing, as consumer confidence drops.
Some have also questioned the president’s rationale for proposing high tariff rates on U.S. allies, such as those in Europe and Asia, while faulting them for not purchasing American products that have no natural market in those areas, such as large personal vehicles or genetically modified food.
Trump has also faced criticism for unnecessarily provoking Canada, referring to the country as a potential “51st state” — a remark that sparked backlash from both sides of the border.
Ukraine and Gaza
One of Trump’s top priorities upon entering office was to bring swift resolutions, through negotiation, to the military conflicts in both Ukraine and Gaza.
“They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” Trump promised.
While there has been more movement towards peace in Ukraine during Trump’s first 100 days in office compared to most of Biden’s term, peace remains elusive.
So far the Trump administration has proposed a peace plan that involves freezing the current frontlines and recognizing Russian control over Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. In exchange, Ukraine would receive security guarantees from European nations and financial aid for reconstruction.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected any plan that concedes Ukrainian territory, something that Russian leaders demand as part of their conditions for ending the war. In addition, the Russians say they will not accept a Ukraine that is part of NATO or hosts U.S. or European troops.
Internationally, Trump’s proposal has been met with mixed reactions. Some view it as part of a pragmatic overall foreign policy, while others criticize it for potentially rewarding Moscow’s aggression and undermining international law.
The Kremlin, while welcoming talks in the abstract and offering brief ceasefires, has been largely noncommital as Russian forces continue to gain ground. In late April, the Russian army, with reinforcements from North Korea, retook all of its territory in the Kursk region that had been subject to a Ukrainian counter-invasion starting last year. They also continue to advance in key areas in Ukraine itself.
Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, Trump expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
However, he urged Israel to conclude its military operation swiftly, and warned that a prolonged conflict could erode international support. In an interview with Israel Hayom, Trump said, “You have to finish up your war… you’re losing a lot of support.”
While Trump’s campaign rhetoric emphasized swift resolutions to these conflicts, the complexities on the ground have posed significant challenges to achieving these goals.
Government reform
Another eye-catching move Trump made during his first 100 days in office was the implementation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
According to the official DOGE website, to date, the department has managed to save Americans $160 billion, or roughly $993.79 per taxpayer.
Despite these gains, the results are still well below the goal of saving at least $2 trillion, a goal Musk has since walked back.
While Musk approached the task with enthusiasm and vigor, things became chaotic, and there were many missteps including removing critical employees from their posts in error.
Musk’s involvement has also sent stock in Tesla Inc into a tailspin, and ignited a flurry of protests across the nation, including many people attacking Tesla dealerships, vehicles, and sometimes their owners.
DEI, the transgender issue, and Jan. 6
Several of Trump’s early executive orders dealt with stripping diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the federal government, a move that was celebrated on the right and led to uproar from the left.
He has threatened colleges, universities and law firms with punitive action if they fail to rid themselves of DEI practices.
Trump has also taken significant action concerning transgender issues, banning trans people from serving in the military, restricting access to gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19 and banning biological males from participating in female sports competitions.
His administration has made it policy within the government that there are only two genders, while threatening to cut off federal funds to colleges and universities that promote transgender causes.
And, in one of Trump’s more controversial moves, he provided full pardons to around 1,500 people involved in the pro-Trump riots at the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In conversation with Sean Hannity of Fox News, Trump defended his decision, stating that the actions of those involved were “very minor incidents” and that they had been subjected to unfairly harsh prison conditions.
