Trump’s 5 biggest mistakes of his first 100 days
Trump’s 5 biggest mistakes of his first 100 days.
by Niall Stanage/The Hill - 04/29/25 6:00 AM ET
1. The ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.
Easily Trump’s worst political mistake to date.
On April 2 — “Liberation Day” — Trump announced much heavier tariffs than expected against dozens of nations around the world.
He has inveighed against the supposed unfairness of trading arrangements for decades, and advisers inside and outside the White House like Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon have encouraged him along that path.
He may come to rue it all.
The day after “Liberation Day,” the financial markets cratered — and kept falling. Other nations soon announced plans for retaliatory tariffs, retailers warned of increased prices or supply shortages, and economists predicted the tariffs would heighten inflationary pressures.
A fundamental problem was exposed, too — the strategy behind the tariffs was, at best, unclear.
Trump and his allies sometimes argue they are intended to spark a rebirth of American manufacturing — an untested thesis that would require holding the levies in place for years.
At other times, they suggest the tariffs are a short-term move intended to wring more favorable trade deals from other nations.
Trump on April 9 bowed to the pressure — from bond markets as well as stock markets growing “yippy,” as he put it — and suspended many of the tariffs for 90 days.
The damage to Trump’s standing on the economy — previously one of his stronger issues — has been considerable.
A Fox News poll released April 23 found that, on tariffs, 58 percent of registered voters disapproved of his performance and just 33 percent approved. On the economy at large, 56 percent disapproved and only 38 percent approved.
2. Giving Elon Musk the spotlight — and real power.
Elon Musk spent almost $300 million to help elect Trump in 2024.
Musk’s role as the owner of the social platform X is also vital to the president, who has been fixated on his public image for decades before social media even existed.
But if Trump’s appreciation of Musk’s support was understandable, it led him to a highly questionable decision — giving the businessman real prominence, prestige and power.
Musk has become synonymous with the quasi-official Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and with its sweeping cuts.
The problem is, Musk is broadly unpopular.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed 57 percent of Americans disapproving of how Musk is handling his role within the Trump administration. Just 35 percent approved.
An Economist/YouGov poll, also within the past two weeks, showed Musk personally being seen unfavorably by 55 percent of Americans and favorably by 39 percent. Among independents, just 29 percent held a favorable opinion of Musk while 61 percent viewed him unfavorably.
Many Americans agree with the underlying ethos of DOGE: that the federal government has become bloated and should be pruned back. But their dislike of Musk — as well as his propensity for unverified claims and self-promoting antics — is undercutting that case.
Musk has also been a fractious personality within Trump World, clashing with big names including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Musk has become slightly less prominent since his ostentatious efforts to elect a conservative candidate to the Wisconsin Supreme Court failed.
But his prominence so far has done Trump no favors.
3. The hard line on deportations.
Immigration was Trump’s strongest major issue during last year’s campaign against Harris.
But the hard line he has pursued in relation to deportations has eroded his edge.
The trend is somewhat unexpected, even among liberals, and it belies the argument made from the White House that the topic is a politically potent one for the president.
The April Fox News poll asked respondents separate questions about three intertwined topics: border security, immigration and deportations.
Trump scored very highly on the first topic, but not nearly so well on the other two.
Whereas 55 percent of registered voters approved of his performance on border security, only 47 percent did so on immigration and just 45 percent on deportations. Narrow pluralities disapproved of his performance on immigration and deportations.
The resistance on deportations likely stems, at least in part, from two high-profile court clashes.
One involves the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that Trump controversially invoked to speed the deportation of Venezuelans.
Another centers on the deportation of 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. without authorization but had been living in Maryland with a wife and three children, all of whom are American citizens.
The court saga over the Alien Enemies Act has included a judge ordering deportation flights to be turned around, and that order being disregarded
Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador despite an immigration court order stating he could not be removed to that nation.
The specifics are a window onto a broader question, however: whether the Trump administration is willing to submit to the law.
Concerns on that point are clearly not confined to the far left, despite Trump’s claims otherwise.
4. A focus on culture-war issues and recriminations.
Trump has taken aim against a large number of targets in his first 100 days.
He has sought to strip security clearances from law firms that represented his enemies, seemingly trying to put them out of business.
He has tangled with major colleges — including Columbia (which caved) and Harvard (which didn’t) — accusing them of not doing enough to counter antisemitism, while critics say he is interfering with academic freedom.
He has withdrawn security details from people with whom he has clashed in the past, fired inspectors general from numerous government departments, and directed the Justice Department to investigate two critics from his first term, Miles Taylor and Christopher Krebs.
Concerns about Trump’s use of the powers of the presidency have grown acute. Liberal opinion writers argue repeatedly that he is a danger to democracy itself.
A CNN/SSRS poll released Sunday found that 54 percent of Americans have “no real confidence” he will use the powers of the presidency responsibly. Just 25 percent had “a lot of confidence” he would do so, while 21 percent expressed “some confidence.”
The added electoral danger in Trump’s approach is that it leaves voters who want action on kitchen-table issues feeling ignored and disenchanted.
A CBS News/YouGov poll, also released Sunday, found 69 percent of Americans asserting the Trump administration was not focusing enough on lowering prices.
5. Blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion.
The most spectacular foreign policy moment of Trump’s first 100 days came Feb. 28.
That was when the president and Vice President Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oval Office clash that reverberated around the world.
The basic argument from Trump and Vance was that Zelensky was being insufficiently grateful for American help in the wake of Russia’s invasion of February 2022. But the visuals told their own story.
The tensions have continued, albeit in less explosive fashion.
Earlier this month, Trump again appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, saying “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.”
To be sure, there are genuine divides in American society over the right level of support to give Ukraine.
Trump has also recently shown more impatience than before with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Trump, who claimed during the campaign that he could end the war in one day, is now reportedly on the brink of abandoning talks aimed at securing that goal.
A New York Times/Siena College poll in recent days found just 35 percent of registered voters approving of Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine, while 56 percent disapproved.
by Niall Stanage/The Hill - 04/29/25 6:00 AM ET
1. The ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.
Easily Trump’s worst political mistake to date.
On April 2 — “Liberation Day” — Trump announced much heavier tariffs than expected against dozens of nations around the world.
He has inveighed against the supposed unfairness of trading arrangements for decades, and advisers inside and outside the White House like Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon have encouraged him along that path.
He may come to rue it all.
The day after “Liberation Day,” the financial markets cratered — and kept falling. Other nations soon announced plans for retaliatory tariffs, retailers warned of increased prices or supply shortages, and economists predicted the tariffs would heighten inflationary pressures.
A fundamental problem was exposed, too — the strategy behind the tariffs was, at best, unclear.
Trump and his allies sometimes argue they are intended to spark a rebirth of American manufacturing — an untested thesis that would require holding the levies in place for years.
At other times, they suggest the tariffs are a short-term move intended to wring more favorable trade deals from other nations.
Trump on April 9 bowed to the pressure — from bond markets as well as stock markets growing “yippy,” as he put it — and suspended many of the tariffs for 90 days.
The damage to Trump’s standing on the economy — previously one of his stronger issues — has been considerable.
A Fox News poll released April 23 found that, on tariffs, 58 percent of registered voters disapproved of his performance and just 33 percent approved. On the economy at large, 56 percent disapproved and only 38 percent approved.
2. Giving Elon Musk the spotlight — and real power.
Elon Musk spent almost $300 million to help elect Trump in 2024.
Musk’s role as the owner of the social platform X is also vital to the president, who has been fixated on his public image for decades before social media even existed.
But if Trump’s appreciation of Musk’s support was understandable, it led him to a highly questionable decision — giving the businessman real prominence, prestige and power.
Musk has become synonymous with the quasi-official Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and with its sweeping cuts.
The problem is, Musk is broadly unpopular.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed 57 percent of Americans disapproving of how Musk is handling his role within the Trump administration. Just 35 percent approved.
An Economist/YouGov poll, also within the past two weeks, showed Musk personally being seen unfavorably by 55 percent of Americans and favorably by 39 percent. Among independents, just 29 percent held a favorable opinion of Musk while 61 percent viewed him unfavorably.
Many Americans agree with the underlying ethos of DOGE: that the federal government has become bloated and should be pruned back. But their dislike of Musk — as well as his propensity for unverified claims and self-promoting antics — is undercutting that case.
Musk has also been a fractious personality within Trump World, clashing with big names including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Musk has become slightly less prominent since his ostentatious efforts to elect a conservative candidate to the Wisconsin Supreme Court failed.
But his prominence so far has done Trump no favors.
3. The hard line on deportations.
Immigration was Trump’s strongest major issue during last year’s campaign against Harris.
But the hard line he has pursued in relation to deportations has eroded his edge.
The trend is somewhat unexpected, even among liberals, and it belies the argument made from the White House that the topic is a politically potent one for the president.
The April Fox News poll asked respondents separate questions about three intertwined topics: border security, immigration and deportations.
Trump scored very highly on the first topic, but not nearly so well on the other two.
Whereas 55 percent of registered voters approved of his performance on border security, only 47 percent did so on immigration and just 45 percent on deportations. Narrow pluralities disapproved of his performance on immigration and deportations.
The resistance on deportations likely stems, at least in part, from two high-profile court clashes.
One involves the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that Trump controversially invoked to speed the deportation of Venezuelans.
Another centers on the deportation of 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. without authorization but had been living in Maryland with a wife and three children, all of whom are American citizens.
The court saga over the Alien Enemies Act has included a judge ordering deportation flights to be turned around, and that order being disregarded
Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador despite an immigration court order stating he could not be removed to that nation.
The specifics are a window onto a broader question, however: whether the Trump administration is willing to submit to the law.
Concerns on that point are clearly not confined to the far left, despite Trump’s claims otherwise.
4. A focus on culture-war issues and recriminations.
Trump has taken aim against a large number of targets in his first 100 days.
He has sought to strip security clearances from law firms that represented his enemies, seemingly trying to put them out of business.
He has tangled with major colleges — including Columbia (which caved) and Harvard (which didn’t) — accusing them of not doing enough to counter antisemitism, while critics say he is interfering with academic freedom.
He has withdrawn security details from people with whom he has clashed in the past, fired inspectors general from numerous government departments, and directed the Justice Department to investigate two critics from his first term, Miles Taylor and Christopher Krebs.
Concerns about Trump’s use of the powers of the presidency have grown acute. Liberal opinion writers argue repeatedly that he is a danger to democracy itself.
A CNN/SSRS poll released Sunday found that 54 percent of Americans have “no real confidence” he will use the powers of the presidency responsibly. Just 25 percent had “a lot of confidence” he would do so, while 21 percent expressed “some confidence.”
The added electoral danger in Trump’s approach is that it leaves voters who want action on kitchen-table issues feeling ignored and disenchanted.
A CBS News/YouGov poll, also released Sunday, found 69 percent of Americans asserting the Trump administration was not focusing enough on lowering prices.
5. Blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion.
The most spectacular foreign policy moment of Trump’s first 100 days came Feb. 28.
That was when the president and Vice President Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oval Office clash that reverberated around the world.
The basic argument from Trump and Vance was that Zelensky was being insufficiently grateful for American help in the wake of Russia’s invasion of February 2022. But the visuals told their own story.
The tensions have continued, albeit in less explosive fashion.
Earlier this month, Trump again appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, saying “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.”
To be sure, there are genuine divides in American society over the right level of support to give Ukraine.
Trump has also recently shown more impatience than before with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Trump, who claimed during the campaign that he could end the war in one day, is now reportedly on the brink of abandoning talks aimed at securing that goal.
A New York Times/Siena College poll in recent days found just 35 percent of registered voters approving of Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine, while 56 percent disapproved.
