Donald Trump said last week that no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days of a US presidency.
ADVERTISEMENTDonald Trump said last week that no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days of a US presidency.
Well, now that it is a hundred days, Euronews’ Washington Correspondent, Stefan Grobe, was asked to assess what Trump has achieved in that time.
Stefan Grobe:
“I think that these first three months, these first 100 days, were characterised by a lot of chaos, because Trump is not used to the business of governing. So Trump is still trying to find his footing, find his position. He did a lot of things. He was very active, but at the end of the day, much of what he did could easily be undone because he had to rely on executive actions rather than bills passed in Congress becoming law. So successful? I’m not sure about that, but certainly very entertaining.”
Alasdair Sandford, euronews:
“And as far as other promises are concerned – repealing Obamacare and replacing it, building a wall and also the travel ban – of course he’s come unstuck.”
Stefan Grobe:
“He promised to deliver fast within the first 100 days. The fact is, he hasn’t done so. Because he ran into the intricacies of Washington, of Congress. So healthcare is dead, it may be on life support. I’m not sure whether we will see a final replacement bill. The big border wall for Trump – this is the most cherished item on his wish-list. But it’s a joke for most members of Congress, even if they don’t say so. Trump said Mexico will pay for it. Mexico said No. So what’s going to happen? The taxpayer will eventually foot the bill if a wall is ever constructed. His immigration policy has been blocked by the courts. So what’s left? He promised to bring jobs, especially manufacturing jobs, back to America. That is something that is beyond his control. What he accomplished so far is certainly that his core base is loyal to him, sticks with him. And as long as they do that, he has a lot of political liberty to act, which gives him a strong position in the arm-twisting with Congress.”
Alasdair Sandford:
“On the world stage ‘America first’ was his big rallying cry at his inauguration, as it was before. We expected a very isolationist stance and yet on Syria, North Korea, well … he hasn’t been quite as isolationist as we expected.”
Stefan Grobe:
“Yeah, absolutely. And it has been heavily criticised by conservative commentators that he’s just another US president who once he gets the temptation to act and throw some bombs at an airfield in Syria he would do so. This had no impact whatsoever on the situation on the ground in Syria. But it showed that Trump is willing to act at least timidly when it comes to this conflict. He reversed himself on China. He reversed himself on NAFTA, on NATO. So there are a lot of issues where Trump the president is different than Trump the candidate.”
Alasdair Sandford:
“And just finally, Stefan. The Trump style, the Twitter storms, the accusations of fake news, the promoting of fake news. Is it still the same old Donald Trump or is there a sign that he is becoming a bit more presidential?”
Stefan Grobe:
“My impression is that he is exhausting Americans by all this. And there is a little less interest. I remember a time when every single Tweet was the No. 1 headline in the news here. These times are definitely over. The professional Trump watchers are still looking at what’s going on in the building behind me. Even at seven in the morning. But Trump is a piece of art. He has not changed so far, and I doubt that he ever will be changed.”