The speed and scope with which President Donald Trump has tried to remake the relationship between the government and the citizenry in the first 100 days of his second term have been nothing short of breathtaking. That\u2019s true for his fans and his critics alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Trump travels to politically legendary Macomb County, Michigan, on Tuesday<\/a> to mark the milestone, he will be able to point to his novel interpretations of the powers of the presidency to slash the federal workforce<\/a>, withhold funds for foreign<\/a> and domestic aid<\/a>, stem the flow of illegal immigration<\/a> through the U.S. border with Mexico, boost cryptocurrency<\/a> and strangle trade<\/a>, punish independent institutions \u2014 universities<\/a>, law firms<\/a> and media outlets<\/a> among them \u2014 for failing to support his views and effectively outlaw diversity initiatives<\/a> within the federal government and entities it supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump and his allies have relentlessly attacked federal judges<\/a> who have rendered decisions slowing or stopping some of those policies \u2014 and, in one high-profile immigration case, did not comply<\/a> with a district court judge\u2019s order to halt deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In times of war and economic crisis, past presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt, have tested the constitutional limits of their office in the name of protecting the nation from both foreign and domestic enemies and from the perils of financial ruin. None have tried to exercise so much power, across such a broad range of issues and with such disregard for Congress and the courts, as Trump has in a time of relative peace and economic stability in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Trump has separated himself from predecessors by ignoring Congress and with his zeal for tearing down institutions, inside and outside the government, rather than building them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been 100 days without a major bill. So it\u2019s the opposite of FDR, who was focused on as much legislation as you can,\u201d Zelizer said. \u201cA lot of this has really been much more of a destructive mindset. … It\u2019s hard to think of a president so uninterested in using the time for a legislative achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s use of those powers to reward allies and penalize adversaries \u2014 real and perceived \u2014 defies modern comparison and harks back to President Andrew Jackson\u2019s spoils system<\/a>. His heavy flirtation<\/a> with serving more than two full terms<\/a>, which critics say is an effort to lay the groundwork to remain in office indefinitely, is without precedent since the 22nd Amendment\u2019s two-term limit was ratified in 1951. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the chief advocates for Trump\u2019s seeking a third term, \u201cWar Room\u201d podcaster and former White House official Steve Bannon, said the opening of Trump\u2019s second term has redirected the country in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Trump Project is a revolutionary project,\u201d Bannon said in a text-message exchange. \u201cHe has accomplished more in 100 days to return America to her former greatness than any leader since [President Ronald] Reagan.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Macomb County, a cluster of Detroit suburbs where Trump will tout the actions of his first 100 days Tuesday, was the heart of the white, working-class \u201cReagan Democrat\u201d contingent in 1980 and 1984. Trump won it in each of his three elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But while there is little question that Trump stormed back into Washington proclaiming his election as a mandate to expand presidential authorities over nearly every aspect of American life, his failure so far to address the most pressing issue of last fall\u2019s campaign \u2014 the economic crunch felt by hundreds of millions of people \u2014 is dragging down public approval of his presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An NBC News Stay Tuned poll<\/a>, powered by SurveyMonkey, found that 55% of adults disapprove of his handling of his job, while 45% approve. The Pew Research Center, which has long tracked presidential survey numbers, found that approval for Trump stands at 40%, down from 47% two months ago. Those are just two examples of the many surveys that show a decline in his popularity \u2014 a decline fueled by rejection of his economic policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Forty-nine percent of Americans say Trump has made the American economy weaker, compared with former President Joe Biden, while only 37% say he has bolstered the economy, according to Pew<\/a>. Confidence in Trump\u2019s ability to make good decisions about the economy has dropped among Republicans, from 92% to 80%, in recent months<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n White House officials say Trump has delivered on two signature campaign promises: securing the southern border and curbing inflation. The number of illegal border crossings has plummeted<\/a>, according to government data, with about 84,000 recorded this year through the end of March. Over the same period last year, the figure was more than 555,000. The rate of inflation has come down in recent months, too, but it remains higher than most economists would like, at 2.4% year over year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Coupled with Trump\u2019s imposition of tariffs on goods from other countries \u2014 and the damage they have inflicted on U.S. markets and confidence in the dollar \u2014 many Americans find that Trump\u2019s overall approach to the economy has imperiled their personal finances. So, even as inflation has slowed \u2014 Trump promised to end it on \u201cday one\u201d of his term \u2014 he has stoked, rather than stemmed, fears of investors and consumers. That raises questions about his competence as a steward of the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is widely viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, said it is important for Democrats to focus on that aspect of Trump\u2019s second term amid a flurry of executive actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe foundational thing that we should be focused on is how he\u2019s wrecked this economy,\u201d Newsom said in an interview last week. \u201cThat is the issue that should animate us, because it\u2019s the issue that got him elected. … And he\u2019s completely betrayed folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce and domestic aid programs \u201camount to an attack on working Americans,\u201d said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. Goldman, a former prosecutor who was counsel to House Democrats during Trump\u2019s first impeachment, said that \u201cthe true danger lies in his methodical attack on the rule of law \u2014 and specifically that he has from day one started assaulting every form of accountability in our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In moving so quickly, Trump has been forced to admit some mistakes \u2014 many of them committed by the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is fronted by billionaire Elon Musk, in its efforts to close down whole parts of the federal government and fire hundreds of thousands of government workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In one high-profile case, the administration sacked nuclear safety workers and then scrambled to rehire them<\/a>. Trump has backtracked on tariff threats<\/a> \u2014 in the face of uncertainty in the stock and bond markets \u2014 and reversed himself<\/a> by saying he no longer wants to fire Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n