Assessing Trump’s First 100 Days - Gary Sasse

Assessing Trump’s First 100 Days - Gary Sasse

The first 100 days of a presidential term can serve as a benchmark to gauge a chief executive’s priorities and how he or she will navigate the challenges of governing. However, in assessing a president’s first 100 days, we are looking at a work in progress, and much can change over the next three-plus years.

 

President Trump was elected on a platform of controlling the border and limiting the flow of illegal immigration, downsizing the bloated federal government, restoring traditional cultural norms, enhancing competitiveness, replacing DEI with an opportunity agenda, and rebalancing global markets.

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In his first 100 days, achieving these goals has been impacted by confusing and inconsistent execution.  As a result, the President’s job approval has been declining. A survey conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center in April found that only 40 percent of Americans approve of how he is governing. While this finding is comparable to Trump’s first term, since 1980, the only other president who did not have majority approval after 100 days was Bill Clinton in 1993.

 

In these polarized times, Trump continues to be viewed favorably by his MAGA base, but most Americans question his major initiatives. Fifty-nine percent disagree with the way he is handling the tariffs, and 55 percent disapprove of the cuts Team Trump is making to federal agencies.

 

Pew reports that “Confidence in Trump’s handling of the economy, long a relative strength, has declined.”  Forty-five percent now believe that the economy will be worse a year from now.

On the issue of immigration, Trump’s actions are generally viewed as offsetting the previous administration's policies that made it easier for illegals to enter the country.

 

Doug Sosnik, a senior advisor to President Clinton, explained Trump’s underperformance this way: “He has fallen into the trap of not understanding the difference between the spectacle of campaigning and the work of successful governing.” Effective presidents do not overreach. They do not govern by flooding the zone. Rather, they focus on priorities and foster alliances and compromise.

 

Trump’s poor execution during the first 100 days of his second term seems to result from self-inflicted wounds rather than events beyond a president’s control. Three examples below illustrate this.

 

During President Trump’s first term, the financial markets were generally resilient. In his second term, the uncertainty evidenced by his announcement of high reciprocal tariffs, followed by a 90-day pause, has befuddled the financial markets.

 

Consumer confidence has taken a significant hit. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index has fallen for four consecutive months. It is now 30 percent lower than it was in December 2024.

 

The execution of Trump’s foreign policy has also raised concerns about America’s leadership. For example, the President continues to defend his Secretary of Defense, who is facing scrutiny about lapses in sharing military information, which arguably contained classified information.

 

President Trump bragged that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in twenty-four hours. His approach to peace leans heavily on appeasing Putin and placing the blame on Ukraine for Russian aggression. This policy has alienated our European allies and confused many Americans. It should be no surprise that only 38 percent of Americans believe that Trump’s foreign policy is putting the nation in a stronger position internationally.

 

Domestically, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appears to have over-promised and is mired down in chaos and confusion. DOGE has made numerous factual errors. Elon Musk hoisting a chainsaw to dramatize DOGE is not a way to build confidence in the important business of rightsizing government. Fifty-nine percent of Americans see the administration is being “too careless” in how it is making cuts which they believe will have more negative than positive results.

 

President Trump should be recognized for trying to tackle some of America’s political, economic, and cultural challenges. Gerard Baker opined in the Wall Street Journal, “The goals of his second term are ambitious. But so far, the execution has been strikingly incompetent.”

 

There is opportunity for President Trump to make mid-course corrections if he presents a clearer understanding of where we are, where we want to be, and builds alliances to get there.

 

Gary Sasse served as Director of the Rhode Island Departments of Administration and Revenue and President of RIPEC.