As Donald Trump approaches the end of his first week in office, the newly inaugurated president must face his first major challenge. Similar to his predecessors, the first challenge of his second term will be to leave a good impression on Americans and largely set the tone for the rest of his presidency, which will start during his first 100 days in office.
The basis of judging a president’s capabilities early in their term by this metric dates back to FDR. In a radio address to the nation, the president coined the phrase “First 100 Days”” to reflect on 15 major bills that he had passed during his first three months in office. Since then, other presidents have been judged by their capabilities early in their terms, following that precedent, with varying success.
The first 100 days of Trump’s first term, like much of his presidency, were divisive within themselves. While he did please conservatives by rolling back much of Obama’s actions through executive orders, and also by getting conservative judge Neil Gorsuch put on the Supreme Court in April of 2017, Trump ran into roadblocks as well. His push for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, famously known as “Obamacare,” was one of his top campaign promises in 2016, but the United States Senate eventually sided against the repeal. His first 100 days also saw mass protests around the country, like the “Women’s March” the day after his inauguration holding the title of the biggest protest in U.S. history up to that time.
These protests and mass unrest are likely to happen during his second term as well. However, politically, Trump’s first challenge, and one he didn’t face at the beginning of his first term, is the confirmation of his rather divisive cabinet. Some nominees like Marco Rubio, a current U.S. Senator who has been chosen for Secretary of State, will likely be confirmed rather easily. However, Trump’s more controversial nominees, such as Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon, are seen as picks that have little experience in the fields required in their respective departments.
Another thorn that is likely to be in Trump’s side is the highly slim margin for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Of the 435 seats in the chamber, Trump has chosen two of those members for different positions in his administration. One Republican, Matt Gaetz (R-FL), resigned his seat in November after being reelected earlier that month. This means that entering the new administration Republicans will have a two seat majority over the Democrats in the chamber until special elections for the vacant seats can be held. The U.S. Senate, while having more Republicans percentage-wise, can also cause a kerfuffle for the White House. Senators like Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Susan Collins (R-ME), former Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and newly-elected John Curtis (R-UT) have had their own personal issues with the president in years past. They may oversee the takedown of some of Trump’s more controversial objectives, such as mass deportation of migrants or major tariffs on certain nations, which he campaigned on heavily last election.
Internationally, Trump’s job as a world leader and Commander in Chief will be put to the challenge as well, since the new president is inheriting a very chaotic world abroad in addition to the issues that America still faces. The Russo-Ukrainian War is entering its fourth year, and American allies such as South Korea and Canada are facing political turmoil within their borders, as both of their respective leaders have gone down, either because of inner-party turmoil in Canada’s case, or a failed takeover via martial law in South Korea’s case.
Some good news for the president, however, is that most of Congress sees him as a legitimate president, which he in his first term, and his direct predecessor Joe Biden, could not say. Because of this legitimacy, largely being gained from his decent marginal wins in swing states, as well as his win of the popular vote, more moderate Democrats may be willing to help the president on certain issues, and even more progressive Democrats such as Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have voiced their openness in supporting some of Trump’s initiatives. Another win for him is that the initial shock and horror that some felt after his upset win in 2016 seems to have subsided in some ways, and so while the aforementioned protests may happen, it is likely they will be smaller than in years past.
Internationally, Trump seems to have gotten a last-minute gift in that, while the previously mentioned issues still persist, the Israeli-Palestine War, which has been going on since 2023, seems to have started the motions of a ceasefire. If handled properly, this could lead to the war ending altogether. Another gift to Trump is that as America took a rightward shift in 2024, other countries have been seeing similar shifts in their own electorates in the past few years, meaning that many world leaders seem to see eye-to-eye with President Trump on some issues and are most likely going to be willing to help him through his term internationally.
With all of this being said, Donald Trump’s second term seems like it’s shaping up to be busy for the new president’s second stint in Washington, and no matter what forms during these first 100 days, just like his win in November, it is likely to be historical regardless of the outcome.
Photo courtesy of Oleg Nikishin.
