As we are now nearing the monumental benchmark of President Trump’s 100th day in office, I feel it’s only fair to mark the occasion with a celebration of his greatest hits. By now, everyone is already aware of the remarkable man that now sits in the White House as the most powerful man in the world. However, we all seem to have this preconceived image that he isn’t a successful or progressively modern president when, in actual fact, he has achieved so much in his first 100 days.
To begin with, Trump’s Greatest Hits start with his domestic policies and the fact that he has signed 28 bills into law since he took office in January – with 13 being bills to reverse Obama-era policies that improved the lives of millions of Americans. This is in addition to the fact that Trump has signed 24 executive orders, 22 presidential memorandums and 20 proclamations so far. Some good examples of the impact of Trump’s brilliant penmanship include; an order suspending the refugee programme and entry into the USA for travellers from several mostly Muslim countries, a review of the Clean Power Plan which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants and, the implementation of two multi-prolonged orders on boarder security and immigration enforcement that includes the authorisation of the US-Mexico border wall. Now, I don’t know about you, but these executive orders and bills can be seen as nothing short of brilliance – especially as they all contribute to the worsening of international relations, prejudice towards Muslims, a decline in the lives of many under-privileged Americans and further destruction of the world as climate change is allowed to metabolise.
We also cannot forget to mention the success Trump has experienced with his foreign policies. For example, the executive order (aka Muslims ban) to suspend Muslims entering the USA from a list of identified dangerous countries did wonders for international relations – especially as it meant that thousands of Syrian refugees were now left without the possibility of escaping the horrific human rights abuses they were suffering from their own government. Additionally, there is also the minor breach of state sovereignty Trump authorised on Syrian soil; after President Assad’s government conducted a chemical weapons attack on their own citizens that really wasn’t very nice, Trump detonated 59 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian airbase that law professors and attorneys say he didn’t actually have the authority under international law to authorise. This attack resulted in a heated response from the Kremlin, who declared the attack was ‘an act of aggression’ on their ally, whilst also ensuring that US-Russian relations were at their lowest point since the Cold War. Of course, I can’t finish without mentioning Trump’s tough new approach to North Korea – which could result in ‘tensions coming to a head’ between North Korea and the rest of the world according to The Guardian.
So yes, Trump has been massively successful in his first 100 days as president – if you can call the worsening of international relations, the possibility of war with North Korea, the decline in the quality of lives for some Americans and everything else he’s managed to royally screw up a success. He really is one of the most disastrous things to happen to America – and I wish the entire world good luck in dealing with his idiocy!
Lauren Walker
(Image courtesy of KCTV5)