By Grace Vuoto
President Donald Trump is marking 100 days in office of his historic second term. Many of the headlines, including those featured in conservative outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, present a negative view of his tenure, especially citing low poll numbers on his handling of the economy. Yet, these interpretations are a disservice to Trump’s phenomenal achievements.
The president’s most impressive accomplishment is that he defeated the Democratic Party and prevented another disastrous term. Otherwise, there would have been more open borders, crime, inflation, censorship, and a host of generally idiotic woke policies. The mere removal of Democratic rule renders the nation healthier. He halted the gradual Biden-Harris or Harris-Walz slide toward socialism.
In foreign affairs, Trump has prevented World War III. Former President Joe Biden had empowered Ukraine in its controversial bid to join NATO. During the ensuing war with Russia, President Vladimir Putin was increasingly threatening to use nuclear weapons to combat the Western alliance against his military campaign. Upon assuming office, Trump validated the key Russian principle that a bordering neighbor cannot be a member of NATO. The Russia-Ukraine war rages on, with no peace deal yet—but at least nuclear war is off the table. Trump has been wise enough not to paint the Russians into a desperate corner.
Equally important has been Trump’s uncompromising commitment to Israel. The previous administration meandered in its support of both Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, satisfying no one. Trump has brought clarity to the Middle East: America and Israel are inseparable, especially in the objective to destroy Hamas. As a result, Iran and all its murderous proxies are at their weakest point in decades.
At home, Trump has restored free speech, bringing an end to all forms of censorship. The dragnet cancel culture of the left is being defeated. Trump halted the trend toward increasing centralized control of all forms of communication—the totalitarian death spiral that currently plagues many Western democracies.
Moreover, Trump has sealed the border, exposing the blatant lie—kept alive for decades by both Republicans and Democrats—that this could not be done. He has thus restored our national sovereignty. Closely aligned to this is the triumphant return of law and order: there has been a massive crackdown on illegal immigration and crime.
Furthermore, by launching and supporting the Department of Government Efficiency, led by the brilliant tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has given a precious gift to future generations. Americans now grasp how widespread is the fraud and waste; the size and scope of government must be permanently scaled back.
Musk also proved that Democrats stole the 2020 election: he showed that millions of illegal aliens, new arrivals, were given social security numbers and were registered to vote. This unlawful conduct tilted the scales of the election and was part of a deliberate program to disenfranchise American citizens. Musk has further empowered the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to collaborate to find and deport illegal immigrants. The traitorous Democratic ploy to flood the nation with illegal voters is now over.
In addition to all this transformative work, Trump has also brought an end to all DEI policies in government, urging private corporations to do the same. And he has been a phenomenal cultural warrior, especially in combatting the LBGTQ agenda in women’s sports and in our armed forces.
There have also been a few major mistakes, too. Trump nominated the completely inept and inexperienced Pete Hegseth as our Defense Secretary. The president expended tremendous political capital in this confirmation battle and was subsequently boxed in. He has therefore not responded forcefully enough to the Signalgate scandal in which, undeniably, classified information was compromised. Both Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz need to be removed from their positions before there is any further harm to our national security.
Trump should not proceed on his bizarre proposal to have America take over Gaza—a policy that is a colossal betrayal of every America First Policy position he ever uttered. And his other pet projects like freeing the Panama Canal and taking over Greenland do not resonate with Americans right now.
His biggest error, however, was the so-called “Liberation Day,” April 2nd, which was really a Day of Destruction. Trump’s tariff policy was poorly conceived to the point that it led to a rout in the Bond market, forcing him to veer course and place a 90-day pause on many of the tariffs he had announced indiscriminately on friends and foes alike. Trump’s tariff policy is the worst blunder of both his terms combined. Had he been more targeted, cautious and judicial in the timing and execution of tariffs, he would be presiding over an economic boom by now. Instead, he caused unnecessary uncertainty, likely leading to an economic slowdown. The sooner he climbs out of this quicksand and focuses on deregulation, tax cuts and reducing inflation, the better he and the public will be.
He has also antagonized our closest friends and allies—Canadians and Europeans—with reckless rhetoric. It is fine to want to renegotiate trade deals or demand a higher level of contribution to our joint defenses—but Trump has gone beyond this, repeatedly wounding the national pride of our cherished allies. He should not say our allies have “robbed us” and treated us like “suckers” in referencing deals we voluntarily signed, nor should he say that Canada ought to be our “51st state.” This kind of arrogance and hubris can come back to bite him; it is also detrimental to our national interests as we need economic and foreign policy collaboration with key players around the world. And regardless of our self-interest, it is plainly wrong to chastise and taunt other friendly nations with deeming language.
In conclusion, it is true that Trump’s 100 days have had a few thorns. Yet, no president is perfect. The overwhelming record of his second term thus far is one of outstanding success that will reverberate for decades to come.
During his 2024 election campaign, Trump promised to “Save America.” Many of his policies have truly saved the nation from decline. In 100 days, the president has reversed the previous trajectory toward creeping socialism, rampant corruption, lawlessness, censorship and globalism. For these deeds, he deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Indeed, no other single leader in our lifetime has done more to restore America to its foundational principles and former greatness. He and all his supporters can be mightily proud of this stellar record.
-Grace Vuoto, Ph.D. is a political commentator and columnist. She can be heard Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am on The Kuhner Report WRKO-AM 680.
Image courtesy of Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News / Getty Images