Horowitz: President Trump’s First 100 Days
Tuesday, May 02, 2017
I respectfully disagree. While there were a few bright spots and the occasional hopeful sign that President Trump is learning on the job, Trump’s first 100 days were among the worst--if not the worst--of any modern President.
That is not just my verdict; that’s the verdict of the American public. With an approval rating of only 43% and a disapproval rating of 52%, according to the Real Clear Politics average of national polls, he has by far the lowest approval rating of any modern president at this point in their presidency. More telling, perhaps, a substantial majority of Americans believe Trump is dishonest. As President, he has continued to tell blatant falsehoods, demonstrating an unmatched, reckless disregard for facts and the truth that is all the more jarring now that he occupies the Oval Office.
Too much is made of the fact that Trump has been able to maintain his base. That’s a pretty low bar 100 days in. Trump lost the popular vote against an unpopular opponent. To be a successful President who is able to move public opinion and as a result Congress towards his goals, he needs to expand beyond his core support. Since he was sworn in as President there is little or nothing he has done to broaden his appeal and much he has done and said to repel the majority of the electorate who did not vote for him.
His so far failed attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare is a case in point. The proposal he backed had the support of less than 1-in-5 Americans. This ill-advised legislation. combined a giant tax cut for the rich with 24 million people losing their health insurance, along with a hollowing out of essential care requirements for some of those who remain insured.
When the legislation originally died in the House several weeks ago, President Trump had an opportunity to reset by reaching out to Democrats to repair and reform Obamacare by doing common sense fixes. Instead, he has doubled down, still working with only Republicans on legislation that will end up taking away health insurance from millions of Americans. And judging by his interview this past Sunday with John Dickerson on Face the Nation, President Trump is still not conversant with the details on a topic where the details matter greatly.
Combined with his failure to get any major legislation passed in his first 100 days, are his ill-advised and poorly drawn up travel bans—both of which have been rejected by US Courts. These ham-handed actions to temporarily ban people from first 7 and then 6 majority Muslim nations as well as permanently ban Syrian refugees have served only as a propaganda bonanza for ISIS.
To be fair, with the replacement of Lt. General Michael Flynn with Lt. General HR McMaster as National Security Advisor, President Trump now has a solid foreign policy team in place. This appears to be paying off with the President making smart decisions to reverse ill-advised campaign rhetoric and embrace NATO, work to strengthen ties with China, renegotiate--instead of pull out of NAFTA-- and keep Russia at a distance. While there has been some missteps on Syria and North Korea, the strike at the Syrian airfield and the concentrated push to get North Korea to restrain its nuclear ambitions have been handled more deftly and prudently than this observer expected.
President Trump still has time to fix his presidency and one hopes he does so for the nation’s sake. But to do so he must recognize that he is President of all the people-not just the ones that elected him. This will be difficult because it is not just a matter of some policy adjustments; it goes to Trump’s essential character. Successful Presidents put country first, ahead of petty grievances, settling scores, feeding one’s own ego and self-dealing. They appeal to the better angels of our nature—not our fears and dislikes. So far, there is little evidence that Trump has what it takes inside to make this kind of fundamental change in his approach. But it would sure be a welcome one.
Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.
Related Slideshow: Trump Inauguration
Related Articles
- Horowitz: Email Redux
- Horowitz: Hillary Clinton in the Driver’s Seat
- Horowitz: The Trump Victory
- Horowitz: President Obama - A Consequential and Successful Presidency
- Horowitz: “Facts are Stubborn Things”
- Horowitz: Trump Has Opportunity to Reset on Health Care
- Horowitz: Famous American Mobility On The Wane
- Horowitz: Progress On Climate Change is Possible Despite Trump
- Horowitz: Gorsuch Filibuster - A Really Stupid and Futile Gesture
- Horowitz: Trump Has It Backwards on Releasing His Taxes
- Horowitz: After Fidel
- Horowitz: 2-Out-of-5 Ain’t Good
- Horowitz: Trump’s Election Is Rigged Gambit Backfires
- Horowitz: Trump’s Wiretap Claim Adds to his Growing Credibility Problem
- Horowitz: Trump Takes Aim at Environmental Protections
- Horowitz: Trump & Clinton Voters Live in Different Media Worlds
- Horowitz: Republican Heavyweights Advocate Carbon Tax
- Horowitz: Enemy of the People
- Horowitz: Obamacare Ain’t Easy to Kill
- Horowitz: Science Rightly Featured on Earth Day
- Horowitz: Trump Can’t Wish Russian Election Hacking Away
- Horowitz: It’s Time for Trump to Stop Peddling Falsehoods
- Horowitz: In Trump Era, It will be Up to Cities & States to Lead Way on Climate Change
- Horowitz: 5 Reasons for New Year’s Optimism
- Horowitz: Trump & Team’s Grudging Concessions Are Not Enough on Russian Hacking
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It