House Speaker Mike Johnson has called Donald Trump the most consequential American leader of the 21st Century.
Love Trump or hate him, he has indeed been consequential.
With a record 142 executive orders in his first 100 days in office, Trump has been at work, upending American politics and the entire global system.
“We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan. “We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t even seen anything yet.”
Trade war
The American president has started a trade war against the rest of the world, imposing tariffs on allies and rivals alike.
Trump argues that the measures are needed to revive manufacturing in the country by forcing companies to move their operations to the US.
While Democrats have been quick to criticize the levies, the Detroit-based United Auto Workers (UAW) welcomed Trump’s tariffs on cars.
The long-term effects of the trade war remain to be seen. But for now, the tariffs have shaken the stock market and spooked many investors.
Trump is leaning heavily on deregulation, arguing that increased energy production and tax cuts will eventually stabilize the economy, bring down prices and create jobs.
Trump has also gone to war with the civil service to shrink the US government, ordering the closure of the Department of Education and letting go of thousands of government employees.
Immigration crackdown
The US administration has launched an enormous deportation drive, invoking a 1798 wartime law to send suspected gang members to jail in El Salvador without due process.
The anti-immigrant campaign has sparked dozens of lawsuits and an outcry from rights advocates.
But Trump has painted the immigrants he is deporting as criminals and invaders.
“Removing the invaders is not just a campaign pledge,” Trump said in his 100 day speech. “It’s my solemn duty as commander-in-chief. I have an obligation to save our country.”
He has also revoked the visas of hundreds of students who have participated in protests against Israel. Moreover, he has dispatched ICE agents to detain students, including Green Card holders, in what critics have described as abduction.
That crackdown – coupled with ending funding to universities over pro-Palestine protests – has raised alarm bells about free speech in the US.
Trump has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice at the White House, pushing on with Washington’s unrestricted support for Israel.
And despite claiming credit for the ceasefire on the first day of his presidency, Trump allowed the truce to collapse and backed Israel as it resumed its genocidal assault in Gaza.
Foreign policy
The US administration has intensified strikes on Yemen in an effort to get the Houthis to end their attacks on Israel and shipping lanes in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians.
But Trump has resisted Netanyahu’s push for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Instead, he is holding talks with Tehran in order to resolve the crisis peacefully.
Supporters of diplomacy have hailed the negotiations, and Trump has repeatedly said that an agreement is possible.
The president appears aware that another war in the Middle East could be disastrous for the US and the entire region, overruling hawks in his party and administration.
“We’ll have something without having to start dropping bombs all over the place,” Trump said after the third round of Iran talks.
He is also trying to broker a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine, bucking the conventional push in Washington to perpetually fund a stalemate by continuing to arm the Ukrainians against Russia.
That effort shows that Trump is willing to break with the bipartisan consensus to pursue an approach outside of the narrow margins of the foreign policy establishment.
When Trump took office in January, he said: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be.”
So far, he has not succeeded in uniting the country, and his peace-making efforts have been tainted by the bloodshed he is enabling in Gaza.
