100 days of Trump 2: a world turned on its head?
Yesterday marked 100 days since Donald Trump was sworn in as US President for the second time - a perfect opportunity for the press to take stock. Trump's actionism in both domestic and foreign policy gives commentators plenty of food for thought.
Demagoguery is short-lived
If there ever was a plan, it didn't work, Iefimerida puts in:
“The US president currently has the lowest approval ratings - just 41 percent - of any president after his first 100 days in the White House. ... Clearly, Trump's calculation was that by causing chaos he could stir up the American people and at the same time confuse the real or imagined 'enemies' of the United States - and perhaps even shock Washington's traditional allies and force them to close ranks. None of this has happened so far. The only thing that has been confirmed is what we already knew from past experience: populism and demagoguery are short-lived and only make things worse.”
Dissatisfied with both parties
Even if the polls testify to widespread doubts about Trump, this is small consolation for the opposition, stresses Expressen:
“Democrats may be rejoicing over the results of the 100-day polls, but there are warnings for them too here. Because Trump's ratings may be bad, but the Democrats aren't doing any better. In ABC/Washington Post polls, for example, 37 percent say they trust Trump to solve the country's biggest problems, while 30 percent say the same about the Democrats in Congress. And while 60 percent believe Trump doesn't understand the concerns of the average American, 69 percent say the same about the Democrats.”
Destroying the old but creating nothing new
Sociologist Igor Eidman describes Trump's modus operandi on Facebook:
“Trump sets unrealistic goals: peace in 24 hours, buy Greenland, everyone has to pay the US huge tariffs, and so on. His servile entourage salutes and launches chaotic, unreflected and contradictory measures that either produce no results or are counterproductive. Then Trump backs down. ... However, he is not in a position to create anything to replace what has been destroyed, nor even to organise the kind of new fascism that many around him would like to see. ... So after 100 days of Trump there is good and bad news: there won't be a dictatorship in the US, but chaos will reign until the end of the Trump administration.”
There's method in his madness
Ilta-Sanomat reflects:
“At times it seems as if Trump were deliberately trying to provoke crises and even drive the US towards political and economic ruin. There are those in Trump's inner circle who believe that only a catastrophe can create something new that the next administration will be unable to reverse. ... A profound crisis could even work in Trump's favour. He is said to have toyed with the idea of placing the entire country under martial law, which would allow the president to deploy the armed forces to quell protests and arrest opponents, for example.”
The populist who haemorrhaged popularity
Hospodářské noviny's gives a damning assessment of the situation so far:
“Without a doubt, Donald Trump will set a series of records for his second term in office. One of these has already been achieved: he has become the most unpopular president in the first hundred days in office so far - despite the fact that popularity with the voters is his top priority. ... The main audience that Trump is putting on his unpredictable political show for is the American people. ... But the American people are frustrated. According to a survey in the New York Times, for 66 percent of respondents the word that best describes Trump's second term in office is 'chaotic', followed by 'scary' and 'annoying'.”
A textbook con man
Trump should not be taken at his word, NRC writes:
“He brandishes the black pen that he uses to pass decrees like a magic wand. This fits perfectly with the picture of a man who used the tabloid press and reality TV to con the nation into thinking he was an economic genius. Trump gives the illusion of being powerful, like an influencer 'manifesting' success and wealth on Instagram. But decrees are not panaceas. From a political standpoint they are actually a sign of weakness. ... As long as the US still has free elections, the nation won't (yet) be the dictatorship that Trump wants it to be. The forces of democracy should neither be cowed nor demoralised by his playing the potentate.”
Direct attack on rule of law
US columnist Alan Friedman rails in La Stampa:
“In just 100 days, Donald Trump has accomplished what pessimists feared but did not dare to imagine: a systematic assault on democracy, the rule of law and the fundamental civil rights that have defined our nation for over two centuries. Immediately after taking office, Trump began dismantling the foundations of the democratic state. ... His first act in office was to pardon 1,600 rioters responsible for the uprising of 6 January 2021: his henchmen. Since then, Trump has ignored Supreme Court rulings, intimidated leading law firms and instructed the Attorney General to prosecute his political opponents. The independence of the judiciary is now under direct attack.”
Trump discredits conservatives
Berlingske editor-in-chief Tom Jensen laments missed opportunities:
“Aspects of Trumpism hit the nail on the head: a showdown with stifling identity politics was called for, illegal immigration had to be curbed, China's abuse of the international trade system needed to be tackled. ... But Donald Trump is in the process of undermining the conservative current whose torchbearer he could have become. ... Trump's problematic personality is most obvious in his trade policy. ... Economic uncertainty and inflation could soon be Trumpism's Waterloo. And it may be a long time before a conservative comes to power again in the US.”