Trump 2.0 at 100 days: A tale of enablers and resisters
In just over three months, the president’s second term has been defined by broken promises, sweeping executive actions and growing resistance across the country.
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House after the 2024 election marked one of the most turbulent openings to a presidential term in American history.
Allow me to explain: Despite campaign promises of stability and immediate policy wins, his first 100 days have been defined by unilateral executive actions, intentional tensions, and sweeping domestic crackdowns.
While congressional Republicans have largely backed his efforts, public resistance has been intense and widespread, reshaping the political landscape yet again.
Trump campaigned heavily on a pledge to immediately reduce inflation, lower gas prices, and make basic goods more affordable.
In reality, inflation has remained sticky, and grocery prices, utilities, and housing costs continue to strain American families.
The president’s tariff escalation has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, increasing prices on imported goods and disrupting supply chains.
What they’re saying: Critics like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) point out that aside from the rhetoric, the administration has proposed few meaningful policies to reduce everyday expenses directly.
“Donald Trump is crashing the economy, and these rubber-stamp Republicans are actively letting it happen,” Jeffries told me. “And that’s why the American people have said, inside of 100 days: Enough, this is a disaster.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was far more candid on the Senate floor this morning when he characterized the first three-plus months of Trump 2.0 as sent from hell.
“In record time, the president has turned a golden promise into an economic ticking time bomb,” Schumer added. “It’s getting worse every day, and he calls it progress.”
In the know: Without broad legislative achievements, Trump has relied almost entirely on executive orders to pursue his agenda.
Major executive actions have included mass deportation directives, tariff expansions, restrictions on agency diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and environmental regulations, and orders instructing federal agencies to prioritize loyalty reviews among civil servants.
This governing-by-decree approach has led to legal challenges, bureaucratic confusion, and mounting tensions between federal agencies and the White House.
Trump ordered mass deportations within his first week, directing ICE and CBP to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients and asylum seekers whose cases are still pending.
Multiple federal courts have issued injunctions halting or restricting these operations.
In response, Trump and DHS have largely defied court orders, with agents continuing raids and deportations.
Civil rights organizations describe the policy as a humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of families separated, many without due process.
The constitutional crisis deepens daily as federal judges, immigration lawyers, and advocacy groups clash with an executive branch openly ignoring the rule of law.
Trump has dramatically expanded tariffs against China, Mexico, the European Union, and Canada, reigniting a global trade war.
Key sectors affected include agriculture, automobiles, tech, and consumer goods.
American exporters, particularly farmers and manufacturers, have been squeezed by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
Trade experts warn that Trump’s second-term policies could permanently damage U.S. credibility and leadership in global trade systems, already fraying the post-World War II international economic order.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of annexing Canada, describing it in speeches and interviews as “unfinished business.”
He also revived his first-term idea of “purchasing” Greenland, suggesting the U.S. could seize it by force if necessary.
Although many world leaders dismiss it as unserious, the rhetoric has strained U.S. relations with Canada, Denmark, NATO, and the EU.
Canadian leaders have publicly condemned Trump’s comments, sparking diplomatic protests and calls for strengthened continental alliances against U.S. aggression.
Then there’s DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency—the temporary agency he created and appointed Elon Musk to oversee as its de facto head.
Musk’s tenure, which is expected to end in a few weeks, has drawn intense criticism for laying off federal workers in key regulatory agencies (including the EPA and FDA), pushing to automate federal services without sufficient cybersecurity safeguards—which has led to several major breaches of sensitive data—and abruptly terminating contracts that have paralyzed services from veterans’ benefits processing to rural broadband deployment.
Critics argue Musk’s disruptive approach has hollowed out critical government functions in the name of “efficiency,” while providing little measurable improvement in services.
How we got here: Congressional Republicans have overwhelmingly supported Trump’s second-term agenda.
Leadership in both chambers has blocked Democratic efforts to investigate alleged overreach.
Attempts to curb Trump’s unilateral actions legislatively have failed due to opposition or indifference from the GOP.
Some Republicans have even echoed Trump’s rhetoric on annexation and praised Musk’s role in “streamlining” government.
This dynamic has effectively removed traditional checks on presidential power, deepening concerns about the erosion of democratic norms.
By the numbers: President Trump’s approval ratings have reached historic lows as he marks the first 100 days of his second term.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, only 39 percent of Americans approve of his performance. In comparison, 55 percent disapprove, marking the lowest 100-day approval rating for any president in the past 80 years.
“That’s extraordinary,” Jeffries said of the data. “This is the same group that bragged to all of you and the American people that they had some extraordinary mandate. We said from the very beginning there was no mandate. News of our demise was greatly exaggerated.”
Additional polling attributes the decline to several factors:
A YouGov poll conducted for The Times reveals that only 11 percent of Americans feel better off since Trump’s re-election, with 51 percent believing the economy is deteriorating. Tariffs are seen as his biggest mistake, while immigration enforcement is viewed as his top achievement.
A Pew Research Center survey indicates that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the administration’s tariff increases, and 55 percent disapprove of the cuts the administration is making to federal departments and agencies.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 42 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s performance, down from 47 percent in the hours after his January 20 inauguration, as Americans showed signs of wariness over his efforts to broaden his power.
The erosion in support is evident across various demographics, including independents and younger voters. Even among Republicans, enthusiasm has waned compared to what it was during his first term.
Not so fast: As he often does when faced with unpleasant news, Trump denounced the polling—a tactic designed to delegitimize dissenting information sources and control the public discourse.
He went so far as to claim in a recent interview in The Atlantic that he doesn’t think Democrats have a leader or know what they’re doing.
“This is just a deflection by the president for promises that he has been unable and unwilling to achieve,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told me. “So it doesn’t concern us that he wants to play politics because he can’t deliver for the American public.”
A closer look: Resistance movements have reignited across the country, echoing the early days of Trump’s first term but with even greater intensity.
Thousands have mobilized in cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, and McAllen, Texas, to protest mass deportations. In contrast, a coalition of labor unions, cities, and nonprofit groups has filed lawsuits challenging federal workforce cuts orchestrated by Elon Musk’s DOGE.
Student protests, particularly those opposing Trump’s foreign policy in Gaza, have faced crackdowns that free speech advocates warn could set dangerous precedents.
Meanwhile, demonstrations under the “Hands Off!” banner have united critics of Trump’s domestic and foreign policies, and senior judges—appointed by Republicans and Democrats alike—have spoken out against rising threats to the judiciary.
Taken together, the pushback signals that public resistance to Trump’s agenda is not only alive but evolving.
The big picture: The next 100 days will test three forces.
Congressional Republicans’ ability to legislate: They’re racing to pass a sweeping reconciliation package that would deliver on much of Trump’s legislative agenda—including deep tax cuts, expanded oil and gas drilling, strict new border security measures and a boost in military spending.
The world’s willingness to absorb or resist Trump’s confrontational style: Countries like China may escalate retaliation against Trump’s tariffs, upending supply chains and intensifying diplomatic isolation.
The economy’s resilience under the weight of tariffs and uncertainty: Early signs of a recession are already flashing. If inflation persists while growth contracts—a phenomenon known as stagflation—public dissatisfaction could deepen dramatically heading into the midterms.
Looking ahead: Democrats show no signs of letting up, warning that allowing Trump and congressional Republicans to pass their agenda unchecked would come at an unacceptable cost to the American people.
“It’s a matter of life and death at this moment,” Jeffries said. “We’re going to continue to show up, stand up and speak up in a variety of ways—inside the Capitol, outside the Capitol, on the Capitol steps, in Democratic districts, in Republican districts, and throughout America.”