The Politicker: Trump's first 100 days disappoint US citizens (Left Lens)

As difficult as it may be to believe, 100 days have passed since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, a candidate whom the liberal establishment hoped would be a joke but quickly became all too real. During his campaign, Trump released a “contract” with his voters wherein he listed all of his promises and what he hoped to accomplish during his first 100 days in office. They were phrased less as “hopes” and more as “absolutes” that would become the initial successes of his administration. These promises included eliminating the practice of offshoring jobs through tariffs, ending Obamacare, implementing extreme vetting and creating a rule which mandates the elimination of two regulations if a new one is to be implemented.

As of yet, none of these promises have achieved any kind of visible progress. The attempts at stalling immigration resulted in backlash and court orders of suspension. Obamacare has yet to even be replaced, and the most popular provisions are still going to be kept even if it is replaced. Trump’s administration has taken no measures to implement the labor plans that they believe will keep U.S. jobs sustainable.

This is due to one reason: the Trump administration does not have a clue about what they are doing. The administration is currently under the leadership of someone whose ability to determine policy rests on his advisors who have agendas all along the conservative spectrum, from the radical far-right agendas of Steven Bannon to the establishment code of Reince Priebus.

It also does not help that the Democrats in Congress are fighting every measure he is trying to establish, uniting in a way that is similar to the way the Republicans did under former President Barack Obama, though perhaps with a better modus operandi than the Republican credo of “Everything Obama does is wrong.” Trump’s attempts to push through policies have been used as blunt objects against the people that Republicans have been disenfranchising for years so, naturally, the Democrats are not going to let these policies go through without a fight. Incompetence and partisanship stymied the fulfillment of Trump’s so-called “contract.”

One would think that someone like Trump would understand that a contract needs to be fulfilled. However, judging by his business dealings, Trump has a long history of not fulfilling any form of contractual obligation if he can get away with it. This is the crux of it: Trump is getting away with these things, and he is facing zero consequences aside from the lowest approval ratings since his first days in office. To the president, however, these approval ratings mean nothing so long as he can tell people that they are being fed misleading statistics, which, in turn, sends the media into a frenzy proving him wrong. These first 100 days have proved that Trump’s concern for his voters, if there was any in the first place, has taken a backseat to his chair at the Oval Office’s resolute desk.

It will remain like this for the next two years unless congressional elections create a major shift in the balance of power. If not, the United States is in for a long couple of years of Republicans creating new rules, such as shifting the number of votes needed to approve a Supreme Court nomination.

The emperor has no clothes and he is very well aware of this, but he just does not care. He will gladly stroll along Capitol Hill in the nude if it means someone will pay more attention to that than another drone strike in the Middle East.

If the surrealism of the campaign trail was a shock to the political consciousness of the United States, then the remainder of his time in the White House will only spiral U.S. politics into a new era of corruption and blatant misleading. If the president of the United States can be a liar and a thief, then everyone else should try it themselves.

Reuven Glezer is a sophomore studying Literary Form and Writing. He is a frequent contributor to The Ticker and an editor for Refract Magazine.