It is nearly upon us: that 100-day mark in the new president’s reign, a marker that he himself has both referred to as “ridiculous” and then endorsed by boasting that in “the first 100 days” no other president before him “has done nearly what we’ve been able to do.”
As April 29th approaches, we thought we’d take a look at some of the curious collateral surrounding the Big Day and the 99 other days that led up it. Beyond the obvious political punditry that traditionally accompanies a president’s 100th day in office, we had no idea what a lightning rod this milestone is for people in all sorts of quarters. It’s as if April 29 were a giant platform for Trump’s supporters, detractors and everyone in between to rant, rave, boast, belittle, trash, opine or simply crow.
Pumped-up Investors
According to the UBS Investor Watch Report, Trump’s First 100 Days have energized investors and business owners who are optimistic about the economy. Two-thirds of business owners plan to increase investment, and more than half plan to increase hiring.
Here are the report’s key findings:
61% of all investors are optimistic about the 12-month economic outlook
66% of investors are optimistic about the short-term outlook for stocks
91% of investors believe that investing in infrastructure will positively impact the economy
90% of investors believe that the U.S. government should spend more time coming up with a better healthcare solution
74% of investors think that government should focus on tax reform next
66% of small business owners plan to invest more in their businesses
56% of small business owners intend to increase hiring
A Website Drenched in Irony
The White House has launched a new webpage touting Trump’s first 100 days in office, even after the president said judging presidents at the 100-day mark is a “ridiculous standard.”
“In his first 100 days, President Donald J. Trump has taken bold action to restore prosperity, keep Americans safe and secure, and hold government accountable,” the webpage says.
So which is it?
At this website, at least, it’s all gooooood, as Michael Scott on The Office might say.
The website breaks down Trump’s wonderfulness into three categories: economic prosperity, security both at home and abroad, and government accountability.
“At an historic pace, this President has enacted more legislation and signed more executive orders than any other president in over a half century,” the site says.“With a focus on rebuilding the military, ending illegal immigration, and restoring confidence in our economy, the President is keeping his promises to the American people.”
Meanwhile, in that other world outside the bubble of this new website, Trump has in recent days been downright hostile toward the 100-day milestone. During an interview with the AP last week, he called a president’s first 100 days “an artificial barrier.”
“I think the 100 days is, you know, it’s an artificial barrier. It’s not very meaningful,” he said. “I think I’ve established amazing relationships that will be used the four or eight years, whatever period of time I’m here.”
The Twittering Mocker
Hardly surprising, but the online social-commenting universe is filled to the brim with 100-day commentary. On the one side, we have a large crowd of people throwing tweets onstage at the president like so many digital tomatoes. In this case, they’re going with a musical twist, hashtagging their effort as #TrumpsDay100Songs. Check it out:
@Mayne1Carrie: And he’s buying a stairway to prison. @CraigRozniecki: “Sweet Home Mar-a-Lago.” @TheGoodGodAbove: Imagine there’s no Trump/No more looking at his face/No dumb wall to build/We launched him into outer space. @much_too_tall: “This is the dawning of the age of embarrassment, age of embarrassment, embarrassmeeent.” @paul_lander:Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man. @PistonBaroque: Don’t know much about history/Don’t know much biology/Don’t know much about science books/Also, we’re cutting the EPA. @Francesahen1: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
Trump Supporters in the Hinterlands
This week, NPR’s David Green hosted a forum of Americans on all sides of the political equation to talk about the president’s first 100. We’ll leave out the detractors, who’ve had their say above, and see what correspondent Don Gonyea, who has been roaming the country to gauge voter sentiment, heard from the pro-Trump side of things. Here’s an excerpt from the forum, which can be found in full form here:
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: I think he’s right on schedule. I’m proud of him. I’m happy with everything that he’s done so far.
GARY FREDERICK: You have to give him an A-plus because he’s done a great job.
ROXANNE WALLACE: I’m glad that we finally have what I consider a leader. Doesn’t mean we’re going to like it but at least he’s doing it.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: If you want the best, you voted for Trump. You want a mess, you voted for the rest.
GONYEA: In the mix there you heard voices from Ohio, New Jersey and North Carolina. Now let’s allow them to explain themselves a bit, starting with Gary Frederick. He’s 64 years old and owns a diner in Trumbull County, Ohio, a place that went big for Trump after previously going Obama in ’08 and ’12. I first met him two days after the election.
He voted Trump and he was then looking forward to the demise of Obamacare. Last week, I went to see him again and we talked about that.
FREDERICK: Yeah, it still sucks (laughter).
GONYEA: You guys all wanted it repealed right away.
FREDERICK: Yeah.
GONYEA: It was a big problem.
FREDERICK: Yep.
GONYEA: What was your take on that?
FREDERICK: Well, that’s more of Congress, not Trump’s doing.
GONYEA: And that’s a pretty common reaction from Trump supporters. There is a lot of finger-pointing at U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan for being too establishment. Trump also gets a lot of praise for naming Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
And his backers don’t seem too concerned about whether he’ll keep a promise to make Mexico pay for a wall along the Southern border. Here’s Roxanne Wallace. She was at a recent candidate town hall in Flanders, N.J.
WALLACE: I think he’s finally addressing the immigration issue. I think — I hope he does something about the taxes, at least he’s willing to address it. What I like is he’s not giving lip service like so many politicians do just to get elected and then they forget about everything.
GONYEA: Now, let’s go down to Rock Hill, S.C., where John James was having lunch. He works for the local school district and says he likes that the president is keeping Democrats and Republicans off balance.
JOHN JAMES: And I kind of — I like them to be unsettled. And so it wasn’t necessarily what Trump was saying, it was more like what he represented in terms of anti-establishment.
President Trump: A True Work of Art
Just before Trump was sworn into office, the folks at NPR affiliate KQED launched its “Arts’ series, First 100 Days: Art in the Age of Trump,” which seeks to highlight the responses of artists and other creative types during the first hundred days. And it was off to the races for the arts community, contributing piece after piece as KQED’s steward posted them online.
