Trade pact as his 100th day looms
On doorstep of tycoon’s tower the verdict remains split failed to convince Congress
who is notoriously thin-skinned would be unconcerned with his first report card is about as likely as him giving a job to Hillary Clinton.
Mr Trump has made 280 promises in speeches, or on Twitter, including his “Contract with the American voter” — a list of pledges for the first 100 days. He has inspired new confidence in the US e c o n o my, slashed regulations, appointed judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, all of which were campaign promises.
But almost all have been accomplished through executive orders — as of Tuesday Mr Trump had signed 32 of them, more than any other president in modern history in their first 100 days.
Mr Trump has been unable to broker any deals with Congress, meaning that the man who wrote The Art Of The Deal has so far been defeated by Capitol Hill. His biggest failure was repealing and replacing Obamac are, President Obama’s signature healthcare law, even though Republicans control both the House and Senate.
Both of Mr Trump’s attempts to ban travellers from Muslim-majority countries were blocked by federal judges.
This week he signalled that US funding for the wall on the border with Mexico — which he originally said the country would pay for — was up for negotiation to avoid a government shutdown. Despite pledging to “drain the swamp” on Capitol Hill, his lobbying executive orders made it easier for industry executives to get government jobs. The first 100 days of the Trump presidency have been a collision of the fiery candidate with the realities of Washington deal-making.
The president pivoted on his support for the Sy r i a n government and launched air strikes after its forces used chemical weapons. Mr Trump also changed his mind on Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing FBI inquiry into his election campaign’s ties with Russia.
So far the president’s supporters are sticking by him and a Washington Post poll found that a staggering 94 per cent of Trump voters still back him.
Among all voters his approval ratings are 42 per cent, the lowest recorded at this stage of a presidency since Dwight Eisenhower. Yet if the election was run again today he would still beat Mrs Clinton by 43 per cent to 40 per cent. theatre student Jose Pelegri, 19, disapproved of the new president but said he was “proud” of the way the city has reacted since he took office.
“The city has changed. There’s more activism now that there’s something to work against,” he added.
Although New York voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton — the Democratic candidate won 79 per cent of the city’s votes overall — Mr Trump tri- umphed in Staten Island. Downtown, the tone of residents as they came off the Staten Island Ferry was in sharp contrast to their Manhattan counterparts.
One young Republican, who would only give her first name, Rosemary, proudly said: “I agree with most of the things he is doing. He’s just started but he’s going to do great.”
Eric Moore, 50, a Staten Island resi- dent, added: “[I’m] 50/50. I like that he reinstated the border enforcement, I like that he’s encouraging companies to come back. What I don’t like is so much on Twitter, it causes unnecessary drama.”
But most importantly he wanted to see action on healthcare, for which he currently pays $514 (£400) a month. “It’s killing everyone who owns their own business,” he said.