A 100-day whirlwind from the White House
Donald Trump has rapidly and dramatically reshaped the USA on nearly every front. Today, he hits the symbolic 100-day milestone of his second term as president.
Twitter/X has been replaced with Truth Social, and the Republican Party backing Trump has changed – dissenting voices are weakened and Trump's platform is the undisputed ideology.
"Trump's entire first term was like an unfinished MAGA takeover. There were many attempts to do the same as now, but they were stopped by the adults in the room," Hilde Eliassen Restad tells the Norwegian news agency NTB.
She is an associate professor at Oslo New University College.
"Existential crisis"
She calls what has happened in the first hundred days proof of "what pure 100 per cent MAGA means." Restad points to Secretary of State Marco Rubio – who during the first term would have had many others to support him when he wanted to limit Trump's policies, but who now must be completely loyal.
Professor Hilmar Mjelde at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences agrees.
"Trump's presidency is an existential crisis for American democracy. Democracy and political freedoms are in serious danger, and it's happening at a rapid pace," he tells NTB.
Loyalty
Trump's policies have so far faced little resistance in Congress. The courts have imposed some limitations, and according to Restad, the Supreme Court is not likely to offer him unconditional support either. Some of Trump's ministers have landed themselves in trouble on their own – notably in the high-profile Signal case, where Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth added a journalist to a group chat.
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"The problems caused by incompetence and carelessness also appeared during the first term. Trump prefers to appoints people who are loyal rather than competent. He learned in his first term that if he does the opposite, it backfires," says Restad.
Clash with institutions
Trump is using his power to go after his perceived enemies and institutions he dislikes. Even the judiciary has come under scrutiny: a judge in Wisconsin was arrested by federal police but quickly released. Trump has also threatened impeachment against a judge who ruled against him.
The Associated Press (AP) has lost its place in the White House, Harvard University has lost federal funding, and pro-Palestinian student protesters have been arrested and expelled.
His administration's pushback on DEI –diversity, equity, and inclusion policies – has led to the removal of Pentagon web pages highlighting Black soldiers. Meanwhile, several countries have issued travel advisories for transgender individuals. Climate policy has been shelved, with active efforts underway to block renewable energy projects.
Cuts
Another Trump promise was to appoint billionaire Elon Musk to spearhead a reduction in government spending. His office, DOGE, has operated using the same methods seen in the tech industry, according to AP: break things first, then figure out what needs fixing. Thousands have been laid off, and entire agencies have been shut down with little to no impact assessment.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has slashed research funding and cut back on several agencies responsible for public health – including the US Food and Drug Administration. Exactly how much money is being saved remains unclear. An estimate cited by the New York Times suggests that the cuts could cost taxpayers 135 billion USD this year.
Musk has now announced that he is withdrawing from the DOGE project, though it remains unclear when that will happen.
"In the first phase, it's been an endless tsunami of attempts to attack every possible aspects of the USA. Now that things are finally moving up through the court system and Musk is stepping down, we might start to see these waves recede," says Restad.
Mjelde disagrees.
"Experiences from countries like Peru, Venezuela, Turkey, and Hungary suggest that the USA is heading towards larger and more acute crises," he says.
Deportations without trial
Immigration policy has also been in the spotlight. Trump has authorised deportations outside the usual legal framework and has sent hundreds of alleged gang members to a mega-prison in El Salvador – without trial. His administration has faced massive opposition in the courts over these actions. The president has also threatened to revoke constitutional birthright citizenship for those born on American soil. Meanwhile, the number of border crossings from Mexico has dropped sharply.
"He's managed to gain control of the border with Mexico. That was absolutely necessary. States must control their borders, or it creates bigger and broader problems across other policy areas," says Mjelde.
Economic shockwave
The fight against institutions has also extended to foreign affairs, where Trump has taken a hard line against many of the USA's allies and has all but shut down the country's aid agency, USAID. At the same time, there have been threats of annexing Canada, Greenland, and Panama – leaving key allies uncertain about whether they can still trust the USA. Attempts to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine have so far been unsuccessful.
The biggest economic shockwave came on April 2. That day, Trump announced the core of his trade policy: punitive tariffs on nearly every country in the world. In the following weeks, stock markets were thrown into turmoil, amplified by Trump's erratic changes. One day, tariffs against China were drastically raised; the next, they were put on hold. The full consequences are not yet known – but consumer confidence has plummeted, stock markets have turned negative, and investor confidence is declining.
"Trump is in the process of causing serious damage to the American economy. Trump didn't foresee this because he doesn't understand how a trade war actually works," says Mjelde.
On the verge of his 100th day as president, polls from Pew Research show declining confidence in Trump. Only 40 per cent now believe he is doing a good job as president.
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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