The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term have been a whirlwind of activity, punctuated by action at the border, tariffs, turbulent markets, the Department of Government Efficiency, multiple lawsuits, and constant headlines.
From White House celebrations to the Washington Examiner’s report card for Trump’s initial months in office, here is the latest coverage on the second Trump administration’s first 100 days.
The White House is hosting several events this week to commemorate Trump’s first 100 days in office. His 100th day is on Wednesday, April 30.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held court with social media influencers on Monday as part of a special new media briefing. Among those in attendance was Sean Spicer, Trump’s first-ever White House press secretary, who now hosts a YouTube show.
Trump is also slated to hold a rally in Macomb County, Michigan, on Tuesday. This will be Trump’s first visit to the state since he won it in the 2024 election.
WATCH LIVE: KAROLINE LEAVITT AND SCOTT BESSENT HOLD PRESS BRIEFING ON TRUMP’S 100TH DAY
“President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate his first 100 days in office,” Leavitt said in a statement on Wednesday. “Michiganders are benefiting from President Trump’s agenda to revitalize our American economy and secure the southern border, and the best is yet to come!”
Meanwhile, another celebration marking the 100th day of Trump’s return to the White House has found a new venue following its initial cancellation at the Kennedy Center.
The celebration, scheduled for Tuesday evening, had its reservation canceled last week due to “contract violations,” prompting event host Alysia McMillan to search for a new venue. McMillan confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the event’s new location will be in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
Trump’s approval ratings have plummeted to the lowest of any president this early in his presidency.
New polling found that Trump’s approval rating has dropped below 40% — the lowest for any president at the 100-day mark of their first or second terms in office in about 80 years.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted among more than 2,500 people showed that only 39% approved of the way Trump is doing his job. Roughly 55% said they disapproved, including a massive 44% who said they “strongly” disapproved.
Meanwhile, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS was slightly more favorable to the president, with 41% saying they approved of the job Trump is doing.
But confidence drops further when looking at specific issues. The poll, conducted among 1,678 people, found that 35% approve of Trump’s handling of inflation and only 39% approve of his handling of the economy. On tariffs specifically, only 35% still offer their approval.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
Trump tariffs: Rollout gets failing grade
Trump came into office promising sweeping tariffs, but the rollout of his trade policy has roiled markets and hurt his approval ratings.
Trump surprised some voters by not imposing tariffs on Inauguration Day. Instead, he waited a few weeks while his administration crafted a plan. But now, 100 days into the second Trump presidency, U.S. trade policy has been reworked, and dozens of allies and adversaries face steep tariffs.
The rollout has gotten poor marks from most economists. The markets have sunk in response to the tariffs, and Trump’s approval rating among voters has dipped.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Trump’s tariff rollout has been disastrous.
“It’s the biggest unforced error in American economic history — I really think it deserves that title,” Young said.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
Immigration: Trump tackles border but hits setbacks on deportations
Trump took office in January and quickly moved on his campaign vow to seal off the southern border, but he faces an uphill battle carrying out the “largest-ever” deportation operation of illegal immigrants.
On Day One, the Trump administration began to wipe out policies of the Biden era that Republicans claimed triggered the most significant influx of immigrants at the border in national history.
Trump declared a national emergency at the border and surged federalized troops there, ended “catch and release,” ordered the continuation of border wall projects, designated cartels and foreign gangs as foreign terrorists, suspended refugee resettlement, ended birthright citizenship, and barred migrants from seeking asylum at the southern border — all of which occurred in his first few days in office.
Although the number of immigrants arrested by Border Patrol while attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico has dropped precipitously under Trump, the Trump administration has struggled to carry out its interior immigration operation.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
What conservative analysts say
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump loudly broadcast his plans to hit the ground running, making sure not to waste any time.
In Trump’s first administration, Paul Bedard’s Washington Secrets compiled an annual list of achievements that totaled hundreds of promises kept at the end of the first term. In just 100 days, Trump has already topped that.
But by delivering quickly, Trump has increased America’s appetite for more, especially on overhyped trade deals and improvement in the economy. His recent polls have shown some signs of skepticism from supporters, though he remains in a better position than he was at this point in his first term.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin and Democratic pollster John Zogby offer up two very different views of the first 100 days.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Trump once said, “No dream is too big. No challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.”
At 100 days of his second term, the president is proving that’s true.
The greatest visions we could have for our country are being realized every day. This milestone is only the beginning for our new Golden Age of America, yet where we stand today as a country already presents a stark contrast from where we were less than a year ago.
Our nation was fully immersed in an identity crisis — and a leadership crisis. If it weren’t for those dark days, however, we might not truly appreciate this new dawn of American exceptionalism.
One hundred days in, the president is rolling out the mandate that the people handed him in November.
Read more of Chavez-DeRemer’s analysis here.
Illinois Rep. Mary Miller
As we reach the first 100 days of Trump‘s second term in the White House, it is abundantly clear: Christians across America once again have a powerful, unapologetic advocate in the Oval Office.
As 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
The president understands that America doesn’t just need policy change — it needs a heart change, which starts by turning back to God and seeking His help. Scripture reminds us in James 4:6, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Over the last four years, the Biden White House embraced every radical anti-Christian agenda imaginable. From the blasphemous declaration of “Transgender Day of Visibility” on Easter Sunday to the weaponization of the FBI to surveil and persecute Christians to the targeting of innocent pro-life advocates, American Christians were under attack.
But now, after just 100 days in office, the president has inspired a spiritual revival in our nation. He’s reminding Americans that our rights come from God, not government, and he’s unafraid to lead with biblical truth.
Read more of Miller’s analysis here.
Project 2025: Is Trump running the playbook?
Democrats frequently pointed to Project 2025 last year as a Day One playbook for how a second Trump administration would upend the federal government.
Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly levied attacks linking Trump to policies outlined in the 900-page blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation. Trump, for his part, distanced himself from the project during the campaign.
But now, nearly 100 days into Trump’s term, the country is getting a sense of where Trump’s platform intersects with the controversial document and where he’s chosen new policy paths entirely.
Trump has signed 129 executive orders since January, some of which seem to be lifted wholesale from Heritage’s mandate. That list includes the dissolution of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, purging the government of transgender-friendly policies, regressing Biden’s clean energy agenda, prioritizing school choice options while simultaneously dismantling the Department of Education, and actively shrinking the federal government’s budget and workforce, installing loyal, prevetted political appointees in their stead.
