I try to stay away from what everyone else is saying. Trump’s presidency is 100 days in and everyone has a say. I wasn’t counting exactly, but observations are accumulating so here’s a brief unload. This is not intentioned to be symmetrical, comprehensive, or follow any specific sequence.
100 Days
Overall, I’m delighted. I previously declared it was either Trump or totalitarian oblivion and I haven’t changed my opinion. America got another chance. There was no other alternative and maybe this colors my view but I’m still absolutely confident that we got the most transformational President in modern times, at least. No one compares, not even Reagan. Never mind the TDS crowd, when I observe those that were or are nominally on the same policy page as Trump and they start nit picking an action, detail, or proclamation, I’m short with those opinions. It may look like I give a blanket approval, but I don’t as you’ll see. Using a numerical measurement, if you’re looking at the whole body of work that Trump is doing and single out a 1% portion of it and make that the basis to be 50% or 80% dissatisfied, this doesn’t add up and would be grossly unfair if that was the standard used to judge you and your work, so why do some people that support[ed] Trump go that route? Criticize away if you must, but don’t make so light of the fact that the alternative was authoritarian socialist woke hell with the borders flung even further wide open to take your job, land, social security, tax dollars, and quite possibly also rape you if you’re a woman or girl child. If you think I’m wildly exaggerating, just look at what’s happening in the suicidal EU. You’re stone clueless if you don’t think that couldn’t happen here and wasn’t already started down that road.
Most of the press and some private opinions are locked into a dualistic matrix of how Trump should be regarded to a much greater extent than any other modern Presidents. When the opinion shifts to the negative, it’s all or nothing. As I said, I do have some criticisms and yet I’m in the camp of ‘Promises Made, Promises Kept’. A great deal of what Trump is doing is an unmitigated success. There is another category of his acts that I’d call fluid. He makes a threat, a statement, or declares what seems at face value like an outrageous position. Too many look at it as an absolute statement, often a very ignorant, misguided, or mean sentiment and react accordingly when he’s simply making a bargaining position or trying out a concept. Once the point is made or objective fulfilled, or he observes that it didn’t work out to his expectation, he flips to the next idea. Many look at that as a fault of his even when we quietly do the same thing in our own matters or professional life. Lastly, there are faults or mistakes. He made a lot in his first term and I think he’d admit he’s made a few in this one. I’m not sure he really wanted to push the Canadians over to another Liberal leader through his rhetoric even though the Conservative guy didn’t help himself much. I think some DOGE tactics could have been done differently. I think he should pay more attention to Congress and what they are NOT doing for him. That’s a sample short list for you.
Some hot button issues that present either great potential good or failure would be as follows:
Congress is doing very little for him and he ignores it at his peril. They could be paving over all the oppositions he’s facing like with the judicial branch and I hear nothing. They did well with continuing spending resolution through, but I can’t think of anything else they’ve accomplished offensively. Congress is an important component Trump’s legacy. They need to pass his tax cut plans. They need to codify DOGE cuts. One fault to being an extraordinary executive is to forget that the legislative branch could use a little glory as well. You can’t executive-order your whole agenda. Start working some of that ‘art of the deal’ down at the other end of the National Mall.
A lot of people hate Trump’s tariff plans. I happen to think they won’t work exactly like he says they will work but I still think they’re critically essential. A year from now, most of them won’t be around any longer and we will have made deals with most of our trading partner countries. Trump will have single handedly corrected a century’s worth of trade imbalances and brought a trillion $ (or double triple that) of economic capacity back to our shores and if nothing else gets done, that will still be a wildly historic success. These will in turn be paying huge dividends back into our own economy. All the present naysayers will say: “So what”. No one can help that level of disingenuous ignorance. Trump may also succeed in cracking China. It’s too early to tell. Yet as a minimum, they will heel and ultimately obey. An economically obedient China will also temper its expansionist agenda. Amazing what strength will do for world peace as compared to weakness.
Judicial interference is the bane of Trump’s administration right now. Much of that would be mitigated immediately if Congress would do their job. Reflecting on past mistakes and future resolutions, I’d suggest that Trump think long and hard before appointing another woman to the Supreme court. Amy Coney Barrett is a singular cautionary tale here. Openly criticizing the courts and Supreme Court has limited effect so he must speak louder through acts. While courts have a valid role in checking executive power, there’s a deep flaw in a system where an elected President can be shut down when applying a law in a valid historical context and yet a lowly appointed judge assumes the power shut down that executive action pleading a novel application of law that has no case precedent. Trump is expected to submit and that the lowly judge rules until superseded by a higher court which may or may not happen procedurally. Trump must be prepared to break those violations to force it before the Supreme Court.
The DOJ and FBI are so far, disappointing. Sure, they’ve done some great timely things for Trump, but they’ve left the big stones unturned, and we can only assume they’ve been compromised or successfully stonewalled. If this is in fact the case, Trump must be prepared to upset the status quo to another magnitude. Of course I have no firsthand appreciation of how that would work, I can only kook at results. The Epstein list fiasco would be a good place to start. It’s not just that we don’t have them yet, its that they also pretended that it was happening a few months ago. We were obviously played even though no one will admit anything but excuses. Maybe operational security would have been compromised? Maybe that is really worth the price at the end of the day, I of course don’t know. Reading about Bondi and Patel, I almost think I’m reading about the Biden administration, only slow walking reform just a half step faster than their predecessors.
The end of 2025 will look far different than the end of 2024.
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