Trump Marks 100 Days In Office As Support Dwindles
By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Donald Trump on Tuesday clocked his first 100 days in office, in what is seen as one of the most radical and far-reaching presidencies in US history, as opinion polls shows that Americans are becoming disenchanted with the economic and political decisions taken by the government sworn in on January 20.
The 47th President of the US will mark the milestone in trademark style, seeking to rejuvenate his base with a rally in the battleground state of Michigan that swung his way in the November election as he soundly defeated then Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has shaken up the United States like few presidents before him.
His billionaire backer, Elon Musk, has led the decimation of the federal workforce, and the President himself has reshaped relations with the world by slapping sweeping tariffs, berating allies, and eliminating the vast majority of foreign aid.
Polls show Trump has seen the honeymoon that Americans historically accord presidents at the start of their terms evaporate.
A poll published Sunday by The Washington Post and ABC News revealed that only 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance so far.
The survey showed net disapproval even on what was his most popular issue — his aggressive crackdown on immigration — as controversy swirls over deportations without due process.
Trump angrily dismissed the polls, writing on his Truth Social platform that they are “fake”, and saying: “We are doing GREAT, better than ever before.”
After a 2017–2021 term in which some aides sought to rein him in, Trump has surrounded himself this time with unabashed loyalists.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth marked the 100 days with a video promoting a collectible miniature of Mount Rushmore in which Trump’s likeness has been added to presidential greats.
“The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys,” Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic magazine.
“And the second time, I run the country and the world,” he said, adding, “I’m having a lot of fun.”
Trump, since January 20, has also unleashed political revenge.
In the grand entrance hallway of the White House, he has moved a portrait of Barack Obama, the United States’ first Black president, to make way for a painting of himself surviving an assassination attempt.
He has used threats of cutting off government access and contracts to pressure law firms whose partners once were involved in cases against him, and he has frozen billions of dollars in funding for universities — hotbeds of criticism against the administration.
