Editor’s Note: For an alternative viewpoint, please see: Point: Trump Gets to Work Putting Americans to Work
On a weekly, daily and often hourly basis the nation is reminded, in stark terms, what a disaster Donald Trump is as president. Diplomatic flaps, Russia, internal strife, no tangible policy victories, and constantly unprofessional behavior have marked Trump’s first 100 days in office, not success. No amount of boasting, bravado, or Twitter ranting can change that fact.
Despite repeatedly promising to “drain the swamp,” Trump has consistently picked Washington and Wall Street “swamp” dwellers for Cabinet and high level positions. His appointees, often lifelong “swamp” dwellers, have track records in direct conflict with not only the jobs they have been tasked with but with promises that candidate Trump made in his election bid or as president. He has failed to drain the swamp but has instead roiled up the muck at the bottom of the pond and threatens to leave us with an abysmal legacy from which it may take us generations to recover.
While we don’t yet know the extent of the flames, the smoke around Trump and Trump associate ties to Russia and Russian interests is concerning at best and perhaps the undoing of our democratic safeguards. Investigations continue and must because we must know to what extent our democratic institutions have been compromised.
President Trump continues to conduct himself in an unorthodox manner as well with Twitter rants, undiplomatic language and statements, perhaps illegal acts of war making, and unparalleled disregard for freedom of the press, and all conducted within a constant bullying undertone normally reserved for dictatorships.
The gift to his adoring fans and voters has been that promise after promise is being broken. Whether through direct action via executive orders, through the president’s budget, or through constant flips and flops on policy as the wind changes.
Candidate Trump ran on keeping jobs in the United States, on protecting workers, on renegotiating unfair trade deals. President Trump has failed to take action effectively on any of these and has often taken actions that are making in worse for the American worker. Whether it’s refusing to challenge China on currency, allowing foreign steel to be used in pipeline construction, or introducing a budget that drains funding for infrastructure, job training and worker protection …President Trump’s first 100 days have failed to live up to candidate Trump’s rhetoric on the economy.
Candidate and President Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare with “insurance for everybody” that would be “far less expensive” but the plan he pushed and failed to advance would have 24 million people left without coverage and with an estimated increase in costs for the average enrollee at several thousand more dollars per year.
Trump’s budget proposal is a laundry list of broken promises on transportation, help for inner-cities, health research, clean air and water, among others. Critical funding for programs designed specifically to alleviate problems that candidate Trump pledged to solve has been deeply cut by President Trump’s budget.
Along the way President Trump has accumulated the worst favorability ratings of any modern president, awoken the previously under-motivated progressive majority, and done untold damage to our nation’s standing in the world. While he and his administration should take steps to professionalize his work as president, it is up to all of us ultimately to hold him and his congressional enablers accountable for his actions.
Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have been a “yuge” misadventure and the American people know it. A broad cross section of the public is angry and taking unprecedented action in resistance to his presidency. Marches, protests, town hall takeovers and citizen lobbying efforts continue to put pressure on elected officials and candidates for office. While Donald will boastfully tweet to the contrary, he has lost round one of his presidency.
