President Donald Trump promised big changes during his campaign—and in his first 100 days, he moved faster than the world could anticipate.
The 47th U.S. president has used his power aggressively. His supporters are witnessing his deliverances on his promises in stark awe, while his critics see his leadership doing lasting damage to various institutions.
Trump’s ratings have suffered a steep decline: he has the lowest ratings for a new presidential term since polls began during World War II, according to one survey.
The results from multiple polls show that Trump’s approval rating has dropped on key issues such as inflation, tariffs, and foreign policy, among others.
Below, we discuss 10 critical issues that have defined Trump’s presidency so far.
U.S. President Donald Trump has stirred significant controversy both domestically and internationally in just a few months
Image credits: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
1. Crackdown on illegal immigration
Trump had promised to take control of the border and curb illegal immigration, and he has surely given back on that promise. Border czar Tom Homan boasts of having deported over 139,000 illegal immigrants and turned away more at the southern border.
Trump has initiated one of the most aggressive immigration enforcement campaigns in U.S. history. He has reinstated the Remain in Mexico policy, which requires asylum seekers to remain in the neighboring country until their U.S. immigration court date, and expanded detention facilities.
The White House social media pages have even proudly shared videos of detainees in chains being deported from the U.S. Many have claimed they were wrongfully deported.
The Trump administration has highlighted a steep drop in the number of illegal border crossings, citing it as a significant sign of success.
Image credits: Nitish Meena/Unsplash
2. Introduction of tariffs and trade wars
“I will impose across-the-board tariffs on most foreign-made goods,” Trump said on the campaign trail, as he claimed countries were taking advantage of the U.S. in international trade. His clamp on tariffs and starting trade wars with big economies has been a huge follow-through on this promise.
The Trump administration has imposed a standard 10% tariff on all imported goods. A 25% tariff specifically targets steel, aluminum, cars, and auto parts. It also introduced country-specific tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico—and has set a deadline in early July to negotiate reciprocal tariff agreements with many other countries.
The tariffs on China are as high as 145%.
3. Rollback on environmental policies
The Trump administration has made many big international changes—the biggest being the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization.
The Paris Climate Agreement promised to create policies that limit the carbon emissions causing climate change. This order undermines U.S. efforts to curb climate change by blocking the transfer of funds to the International Climate Finance Plan.
The Trump administration imposed a standard 10% tariff on all imported goods
Image credits: Alexander Grey/ Unsplash
4. New Iran nuclear deal
In his first 100 days, Trump reopened back-channel talks with Iran, saying he wanted to negotiate a new nuclear deal.
He said if Tehran did not agree to renewed talks, Iran would be subjected to “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.” In response, Iran’s military said it would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. military bases in the region.
Iran’s leaders then agreed to open indirect talks. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, recently held a third round of talks in Oman.
“I think we're going to make a deal with Iran. Nobody else could do that,” Trump said in a recent interview with TIME.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was seriousness and determination on both sides, but he remains “extremely cautious” about the success of the nuclear talks.
Both sides have described the talks as positive.
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5. Rising prices
In an interview with NBC News, Trump admitted that rising prices were one of the main reasons he won the election. But 100 days into his term, Americans are already wavering on their faith in Trump to bolster the economy, leading to unfavorable results in the polls for the incumbent.
The Trump administration argued that the new tariffs would strengthen domestic industry and protect American jobs in the long term. However, in the short term, they’ve driven up import costs. Grocery prices have continued to rise, and inflation remains an issue. Despite this, the annual inflation rate dropped to 2.4% in March, hitting a six-month low.
In his interview with TIME, Trump claimed—much to the chagrin of many—that grocery prices were going down.
“The prices of groceries have gone down. The only price that hasn't gone down is the price of energy. The cost of energy,” he said. He defended his economic record by blaming inherited inflation and predicted a major rebound.
6. Push for Ukraine peace deal
Trump had promised to end the Ukraine war on Day 1 of his presidency—a comment he has since called an “exaggeration.” However, Trump quickly initiated discussions with presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but no deal has been achieved yet.
Despite initial U.S.-led discussions—including a meeting that could only be described as a disaster when Zelenskyy visited the White House in February—progress has stalled, and Trump has grown impatient.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently called the coming days “very critical” for the White House, as it will make a “determination about whether this [ceasefire talks] is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in.”
Trump and Zelenskyy’s meeting at the White House in late February did not go as planned for either party
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7. Plan to relocate Gazans
Similar to Ukraine, Trump had vowed to end the war in Gaza. Just before his inauguration, he had managed to broker a temporary ceasefire deal that collapsed soon after. Trump has since floated a controversial plan to relocate Gazans and redevelop the strip–a move that has been called a violation of human rights by many critics.
8. Inaction on health care
Despite repeated campaign promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Trump has taken no meaningful steps on healthcare reform in his first 100 days. In the U.S., premiums continue to rise, and no alternative plan has been introduced. A Fox News poll shows that 76% of participants are concerned about health care.
Image credits: Yassine Khalfalli/ Unsplash
9. Federal layoffs
A key initiative in Trump’s second term has been the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to streamline the federal workforce–in an attempt to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget. The department, unofficially led by Elon Musk, has dismantled several agencies and fired tens of thousands of federal workers.
In its first 100 days, DOGE offered about two million federal employees a “fork in the road” deal, and around 75,000 were expected to accept it, according to the Regulatory Review. The deal would allow federal employees to resign but receive full pay until September 30 of this year.
Despite the aggressive downsizing, there’s little evidence that DOGE has significantly reduced costs or improved efficiency within the federal agencies. The future is unclear in the wake of Musk’s impending step back from the department, as he tries to remedy Tesla’s falling profits.
Inflation dropped to 2.4% in March
Image credits: Brent Jones/NPR
10. A spate of executive orders
Since taking office, Trump has signed 142 executive orders, as reported by the Federal Register and the American Presidency Project.
In his first week alone, he signed 37 executive orders. By late March, he had issued his 100th executive order, surpassing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s record of 99 orders within his first 100 days.
Trump’s executive orders focus on reducing the size of the federal government, foreign policy and defense, immigration and border security, energy and natural resources, and tariffs.
Some of his pronouncements—such as a freeze on foreign aid and barring transgender individuals from serving in the military—have been temporarily blocked by the courts while legal proceedings unfold.
Image credits: Alyson Hurt and Rachel Treisman/NPR