The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term have included positive developments, most impressively at the border. But the president’s continued abuse of his tariff authorities has created massive unnecessary uncertainty that is undermining the rest of his agenda. It is not too late for Trump to end his tariff hikes and shift gears toward an agenda that builds the new housing, infrastructure, and energy projects that would leave a lasting legacy.
The first 100 days started strongly, with a commonsense agenda that included ramping up energy production, ending the corrupt and divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion practices that his predecessor imposed across the federal government, and, most importantly, ending President Joe Biden’s catch-and-release policies on the southern border.
Not only did Trump end Biden’s illegal Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela parole and CBP One app appointment programs, which were used to import almost 1.5 million illegal immigrants, but he also turned the app into a self-deportation program, facilitating the exit of thousands of illegal immigrants. Without passing a single new law, Trump reduced border encounters to their lowest in decades.
For this achievement alone, Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris was worth it.
Trump has made progress in other areas too, including bringing administrative agencies under democratic control and expanding the number of federal government employees not afforded collective bargaining privileges. His Environmental Protection Agency has begun the process of rolling back over 30 burdensome and unnecessary environmental regulations.
Trump reinstated service members discharged during the COVID pandemic repression, oversaw a historic surge in Army and Navy recruitment, and arrested the terrorist behind the 2021 Abbey Gate attack in Afghanistan.
But Trump has not been nearly as tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin as he needs to be to end the war he promised to stop on his first day in office. Ukraine, however, is not the cause of Trump’s slumping approval ratings; he is now almost 10 points underwater. The war in Ukraine began on Biden’s watch and largely due to that hapless president’s incompetence and weakness.
But the trade war the United States finds itself in against most of the world is entirely Trump’s fault. Voters are, unsurprisingly, punishing him for it.
According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump is now 15 points in the red on the economy among voters, and when asked about tariffs specifically, his disapproval rating reaches more than 20 points in some polls. The tariffs Trump announced on what he called “Liberation Day” were far greater in scope and far higher in rate than anything he did in his first term or promised on the campaign trail. The rollout was a complete disaster marred by miscommunication, incoherence, and bad math.
No one has any idea if the tariffs are designed to raise revenue, bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S., or promote free trade by lowering tariffs for U.S. goods worldwide. The country does not know because, quite clearly, the president does not know. It appears that various key members of the administration hold each of these beliefs and Trump floats between them based on who he most recently talked to. The result has been a cratered stock market, declining investment, and rising interest rates.
The worst is probably yet to come. Ports are at the start of what promises to be a steep fall in container traffic, with many analysts predicting shortages and empty shelves in retail and grocery stores across the country. Recession is likely.
AN OVERDUE INVESTIGATION OF ACTBLUE
Trump should take the opportunity of this 100-day marker to change course. Since no clear objective was identified on “Liberation Day,” it should be easy for a chief executive with Trump’s chutzpah to declare victory and reverse course. He has many strong policies that could become legacy accomplishments, but they are all now taking a back seat to his self-inflicted economic debacle.
Republican-governed states such as Texas, Florida, Utah, and South Carolina are leading the way in new home construction. Roads are being built. Power lines are going up. Families are thriving. All this will only get harder and more expensive if Trump’s trade chaos continues. A change in course is needed. Let the 100th day mark its beginning.