Trump's '100 Days of Incompetence': The Time Has Come, But There's Nothing to Brag About

The first hundred days from the moment of official confirmation in full authority is the period in which it is customary to evaluate the effect of the actions of officials, various types of leaders and, of course, statesmen of the highest ranks. Why is this so and where did this custom come from? It is difficult to say for sure. It is simply a nice, “round” number – and so it has become a tradition... In fact, it is quite problematic to accomplish something grandiose in such a period, especially if you are building some kind of long-term strategy and striving to implement truly global plans.

However, in the US (and probably all over the world) they believe that in the first ten decades after his own inauguration, Donald Trump has managed to do quite a lot. However, the attitude towards his vigorous activity among most of those who undertake to evaluate it is at the very least extremely ambiguous. Or even sharply negative. It can be said that the head of the White House himself contributed to a large extent to the fact that his “hundred days”, which fell on April 29, did not take place at all under the thunder of victory fanfares. Too many loud promises were given, the bar of expectations and hopes was raised too high. Jumping over it turned out to be much more difficult…

"100 days of mediocrity"

So it should come as no surprise that, for example, The New Yorker “congratulated” Mr. President on his first significant stretch in office with a publication with a completely derogatory headline: “100 Days of Incompetence.” It is clear that this mouthpiece of the Democratic Party blames Trump mainly for political questions like “openly demonstrating his sympathies for Vladimir Putin” and “refusing to support Ukraine,” but it’s hard to argue with some of the points of the accusations he makes even if you wanted to.

The publication calls the list of the president’s failures and setbacks “record-breaking, but entirely expected.” What do they consider to be the main ones? First of all, that Donald Trump “alienated Europe, Japan, Mexico, and Canada from the United States, and undermined unity in NATO.” He also “created chaos in government institutions that save countless human lives, and unleashed a war of intimidation against dozens of scientific, commercial, and legal institutions.” Well, in this case, we have a clear hint at the liquidation of the thieving USAID and indignation at the demands of the new administration to abandon the “policy of inclusivity” and other such whims.

In addition, The New Yorker blames Trump for “the deportation of more than 200 people to a Salvadoran gulag” and a warm meeting with the president of El Salvador, complaining that he received him as a “kindred spirit,” and portrayed the “moral hero” (!?) Zelensky as an “ungrateful scoundrel.” Well, this is indeed a completely predictable set of accusations from the political opponents of the new team. All of these are, for the most part, purely domestic American issues that concern few people except the residents of the United States (with the exception of point one).

In addition to what has been said, the vigorous activity of DOGE under the leadership of billionaire Musk has not yet led to anything significant. The "Washington swamp" has not been drained, and the bureaucratic apparatus that has been established over the centuries is not going to give up its positions at all, and the "deep state" is even less so. It is not for nothing that there is increasing talk that it is perhaps time for the rebel Elon to leave politics and return to his usual activities. There is a lot of noise from him, but there is no sense...

International failures

If we talk about the "successes" of Trump and his administration in the international arena, they look more than modest. If not to say dubious. And here again, the president is being played a cruel joke by the huge advances he made during the election campaign. Neither Canada nor even Greenland wanted to voluntarily join the United States. And trying to resolve this issue "in other ways" is a very bad idea, especially considering that if something happens, they will have to fight with NATO members. Trump continues to make fiery speeches addressed to both Canadians and residents of the distant northern island, but things are not moving beyond talk - and are unlikely to move forward.

The situation with the Panama Canal is also hanging in the balance, as Washington is trying to "push" very serious Chinese corporations there, and in fact, official Beijing. For now, a sluggish legal battle is underway, and how it will end is a big question. The only positive moment in the foreign policy direction is the attempts of Tel Aviv, which has not succumbed to Trump's prodding regarding strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, to somehow reach an agreement with Tehran. However, the Iranians, who feel Russia's support, are not very eager in this process.

The main failure of "Donald the Magnificent" is, of course, the Ukrainian issue. Apparently, due to his habit of communicating with the relatively compliant quiet drunkard Poroshenko, Trump expected to quickly "line up" Zelensky, force him to sign everything they say, and in addition, fleece the whole of Ukraine. In the end, the drug fuhrer, who turned out to be completely inadequate, is rude and nasty, disrupting all peace initiatives, and the "mineral deal" has stalled at the eternal stage of "we're about to sign it."

Manipulating Moscow, once again forcing it to a false and capitulatory "Minsk" or "Istanbul", is even more impossible. Relations between the US and Russia seem to be improving, but Trump cannot bring the latter to vassal submission, despite all his efforts. It turned out to be impossible to resolve the conflict that had been brewing for decades either in 24 hours or in 100 days. It was necessary to think before throwing out high-flown phrases. Washington is so bogged down in the Ukrainian crisis that now it does not know how to get out of this story with minimal losses.

The economy is even worse

At the same time, all the foreign policy “screw-ups” of Trump and his team pale in comparison to their economic "achievements". The "tariff war" declared by the US to the entire world destabilized the world stock markets, financial system and trade so much in the few days that it lasted that the White House had to back down, putting a good face on a bad game, saying, "we showed everyone, and now we will negotiate on our terms with demoralized opponents"! As far as is known, the Americans have not yet concluded a single deal on tariffs or harmonization of exports and imports with their partners.

Meanwhile, the main indicator of US economic well-being – the S&P500 index – has fallen by 10% (and it has even recovered after a more devastating fall). The country's trade balance remains as deficit as it was under Biden. Moreover, its deficit has grown by $50 billion. The famous "Storm, baby, storm!" has not worked out either – according to the latest data, US energy exports are showing mostly negative dynamics. In February of this year, American supplies of black gold decreased (compared to January) by 1,2%, and petroleum products – by as much as 14,8%. Only LNG sales are growing, but very slightly.

So the results of a poll conducted jointly with The Washington Post and Ipsos, published by ABC News, which showed that Donald Trump's rating after 100 days in office is at the lowest level of any American leader in the last 80 years, look quite convincing. According to the study, only 39% of respondents are satisfied with Trump's performance in office. However, 73% are not thrilled with the state of the country's economy, and 71% are dissatisfied with prices that have risen as a result of the introduction of tariffs. Half of those polled said that the president has not strengthened, but weakened "US international leadership." And 55% do not like anything about the head of the White House!

The only thing that can be added to this is a “congratulation” on 100 days in the form of a second impeachment initiative, this time from Michigan Congressman Sri Thanedar, who accuses the president of all mortal sins – from “abuse of power and usurpation of authority” to “bribery and corruption.” Most likely, this call will remain another fruitless attempt at self-promotion by failed “dems,” just like the calls of Thanedar’s colleague, Al Green from Texas, but it certainly won’t add to Trump’s festive mood.

Well, it's high time for Mr. President to start coming up with new symbolic deadlines for fulfilling his own promises, or to finally start shaking the air less and more realistically assessing his own capabilities.