Adam
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
When it comes to doing interesting things in 100 days, Donald Trump falls far short of Napoleon. Between early March and late July of 1815, Napoleon mounted a return to France after his exile on the island of Elba, in an attempt to restore his rule and former glory.
It all came crashing down at the Battle of Waterloo, after which, Napoleon was permanently exiled to the island of Saint Helena.
The fact that Donald Trump’s first ‘100 days’ as POTUS is being discussed to death might be irksome to latent Bonapartists, but it is also becoming irksome to me.
Donald Trump is going to be President until 2020. Therefore, obsessing over the fist 100 days seems rather frivolous when one has some perspective.
With that in mind, here is a non-nonsense summary, of Trump’s 100 days…aka let’s get this over with….
Key Executive Orders:
During his first weeks in office Donald Trump used executive orders to do the following,
–End American’s negotiations to form the Trans-Pacific Partnership (The TPP free trade deal)
–Begin construction on the Mexican border wall
–Authorise the repeal and replacement of Obamacare
–An order to end Obama’s restrictions on off-shore oil drilling
–A hiring freeze on Federal employees
–The ordering of construction on the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access
–A temporary ban on foreign nationals from certain Middle Eastern countries
Foreign Policy:
On the 1st of March, Donald Trump gave his first address to a joint session of Congress. There he affirmed the following:
“We will respect historic institutions, but we will also respect the sovereign rights of nations.
Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people — and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path. My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America. But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict — not more.
We must learn from the mistakes of the past — we have seen the war and destruction that have raged across our world. The only long-term solution for these humanitarian disasters is to create the conditions where displaced persons can safely return home and begin the long process of rebuilding. America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align.
We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict. We want peace, wherever peace can be found. America is friends today with former enemies. Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these World Wars.
This history should give us all faith in the possibilities for a better world. Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just and more free”.
Just over a month later, on the 6th of April, Donald Trump ordered a missile attack on Syria during a dinner with President Xi of China.
In the weeks following, Trump has increased the US military presence around North Korea whilst simultaneously making worrying military threats against the DPRK.
Trump has gone from saying NATO is obsolete to being in the NATO fan club.
Any attempt at good relations with Russia seems to now be fully off the table. Trump’s attack on Russia’s partner in the war against terrorism, Syria, has gone some way to make Russiagate go away. However, many in the Democratic party may never let it go even though Trump’s Russia policy is now little different from that of Obama.
His foreign policy independence has been clearly compromised during the last 30 of these 100 days.
Candidate Trump won the election but lost the foreign policy battle to the deep state.
READ MORE: 6 BIG LEAGUE Trump U-turns in less than 100 days in office
Tax Policy:
As promised, Donald Trump unveiled a tax reform package that significantly simplifies the US Federal Tax code. The proposed reforms ease the burden on low and middle earners without imposing punitive taxes on any group. He has also proposed to eliminate inheritance tax (the death tax) in addition to incentivising people to bring foreign dollars back to the US.
The Second Amendment:
Donald Trump became the first sitting POTUS to speak before the NRA in 30 years. He affirmed his commitment to 2nd amendment rights.
The First Amendment:
This has been a real mixed bag. While Donald Trump continues to go after the ‘lying, dishonest’ mainstream media as much as ever, his administration has attacked Julian Assange, threatening him with arrest.Trump officials have stated that Assange is not entitled to First Amendment protections, something most legal scholars find puzzling to say the least.
Statements by Trump appointed CIA director Mike Pompeo and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions go far beyond anything said by the deeply anti-Assange Obama administration.
Ron Paul has expressed outrage at this decision.
READ MORE: An Israeli terrorist’s crimes are overshadowed by US persecution of Julian Assange
Donald Trump’s first 100 days have been an odd mixture of consistency in domestic affairs with wild U-turns in foreign policy.
This of course could all change over the next days, months and of course, years.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.