Disrupter, firebrand, or provocateur – call him what you will – but in the first 100 days of his second and last term, President Donald Trump has shaken and stirred American progressives to their core. His commanding presence is not for the faint of heart, as he proceeds at breakneck speed to fulfill his campaign promises. Today (April 29), which marks the 100th day of his presidency, is cause for reflection. And unsurprisingly, satisfaction with his priorities, projects, and plans has fallen along party lines.
Tariffs, immigration, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headline the start of Trump’s second time around as commander-in-chief, and all three have caused hysteria on the left – and that’s not an exaggeration. Progressives have been reduced to firebombing Tesla dealerships, keying cars, assaulting Tesla owners, and more. The reason for this appears to be the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, who stands at the helm of DOGE. The fact that Musk was a former darling of the left seems to be lost on them, as is the reality that their actions signal what -- that they support government waste, fraud, and abuse?
At this writing, the website DOGE.gov reports $160 billion in savings from a “Combination of asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions.” According to DOGE calculations, the bottom line is a saving of almost a thousand dollars per taxpayer. That the left finds this reason to protest is unfathomable.
100 Days of Immigration Reform
The first few months of the Trump presidency have demonstrated – beyond any reasonable doubt – that the United States was never in need of additional immigration legislation to defend US borders, but rather a chief executive who had the courage to enforce the laws already on the books. Many Americans intuitively knew this, but somehow it got drowned out by all the Swamp noise. So how has the president performed thus far?
Border Czar Tom Homan, not one to be trifled with, asserted yesterday, “Well, today as I'm standing here, we have the most secure border in the history of this nation and the numbers prove it.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in the White House briefing room yesterday that illegal immigration has been down 95% in March of this year compared to 2024. She also reported that more than 85 miles of a new “border barrier” is now in various stages of construction, with “75 additional miles of temporary barriers across the southern border.” Both Homan and Leavitt maintain this massive reduction in crossings has severely limited fentanyl distribution in the United States, and deaths of women and children trying to make their way across the southern border have been almost entirely eliminated.
The progressive response to the crackdown on illegal immigration has been the rabid defense of one suspected MS-13 gang member who lived in Maryland. This sparked a coalition of Democratic lawmakers to travel to El Salvador seeking the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Their chief aim was to return him to the United States. Yet another example of tone-deaf hysteria, considering roughly three-quarters of Americans support the removal of illegal gang members from US shores.
Tick-Tock, It’s Tariff Time
Perhaps the most controversial move in his first 100 days has been Trump’s ratcheting up US tariffs worldwide. It’s a policy in its early stages that needs time to play out. And this is what has many so jittery, especially on Wall Street. Still, the president is moving forward with renegotiating long-standing unfair trade deals one country at a time. Where this change in policy lands could be Trump’s most significant victory or his most agonizing defeat. However, it is a necessary move for the future of US economic stability and the one systemic economic problem that no other president has been able to rectify. The simple truth is that the United States is bathed in red ink, mired in an untenable situation that cannot last much longer.
The economy, immigration, and government spending make up the trifecta of Trump’s first 100 days in office. Changes are coming fast and furious, and the chaos of such large-scale shifts in US policy has reduced the left to ironic and, many maintain, laughable actions. The legacy media still stands athwart these presidential priorities, bashing them daily with front-page headlines and negative political analysis.
Remarkably, the president does not seem to care. He’s acting very much like a man on a mission who will not be diverted from what he believes is right for the United States and what he contends Americans voted for when they put him back into the Oval Office against all odds. But, above all, President Trump’s first 100 days have been a wild ride, and if the past is prologue, tough days lie ahead for the status quo and those who support it.
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
