Students React to Trump’s First 100 Days
We are almost 100 days into the presidency of Donald Trump, and there have been mixed reviews on how he has done so far. The idea of grading the first 100 days of a president in office came from Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he actually referred to the first 100 days of a special Congressional session to fight the Great Depression.
While the first 100 days of a president in office isn’t extremely important in the grand scheme of things, it is a good introduction for the people to see what they can expect from a president. But some of the greatest presidents in American history have had a quiet first 100 days, so at the end of the day, it’s hard to measure success in such little time.
However, that hasn’t held people back from sharing their views on how Donald Trump has fared as president so far. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll, Trump has a 42 percent approval rating, which is the lowest rating of any president since polling began. Along with that, 53 percent have disapproved of his performance thus far.
While data shows that most people don’t like the way President Trump has started out, many of the people who voted for him have been pleased. From the same polling, it shows that 94 percent of Trump voters approve of what Trump has done thus far, while only 1 percent of Clinton voters favor.
It is clear that there is a partisan divide, as most Republicans that voted for Trump are pleased with what he is doing, and Democrats and members of the #NeverTrump movement are not happy with President Trump’s actions.
Students here at Faith Lutheran said that some of President Trump’s biggest moves included choosing the new Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch, an Executive Order for a temporary travel ban (which is currently blocked by a lower court in Washington state), passing a new healthcare bill, and firing missiles at Syria in response to President Assad gassing his own people.
“I think President Trump has been solid so far,” said conservative-leaning student Brecker Brees. “However, in my eyes, Donald Trump will won’t have a successful presidency until he attempts to prosecute Hillary Clinton, and fulfills some of his other big promises.”
Personally, I feel that Trump’s performance as president so far has been somewhere in the middle of what both Republicans and Democrats view him: just okay. He has done a few good things, such as choosing a conservative judge for the Supreme Court, and strengthening immigration laws. But on the other hand, he has done things I haven’t liked, such as creating a healthcare bill that is almost identical to Obamacare, and hasn’t been the conservative president many people wanted.
But the biggest problem with the Trump administration is the amount of credibility they are losing every day. We constantly see the administration not being fully honest, whether it is Trump himself, Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway, and others. In order for President Trump to have a successful presidency, he must be able to have the trust of the American people, and right now, he does not. We still have at least over three and a half years left of Trump, so we will get a better chance to re-evaluate his performance in a few years.
Michael, Senior, has attended Faith since sixth grade. This is his first year in Broadcast Journalism, as he has an interest in becoming a sports journalist. ...