On April 18, Donald Trump proudly informed his audience that "no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days." This demonstrably false claim took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin. While he may be right about the first 100 days being "a ridiculous standard" for achievement, Trump rode his campaign to victory on some high promises for the first 100 days while criticizing Barack Obama. However, a quick look at Trump's first 100 days versus Obama's can paint a better picture of where he actually stands compared to his former rival.
During his campaign, Trump's signature promises included the deportation of immigrants deemed "illegal"; the construction of a wall bordering on Mexico paid by Mexico; the implementation of a travel ban with an addition of "extreme vetting" for those wishing to enter the United States; the elimination of funding for sanctuary cities; and the cancellation of Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Not to mention Trump's biggest pledge of all — repealing Obamacare.
Of these promises, only the deportation plan remains in effect. The "big, beautiful" wall has been placed on hold. The travel ban, which targeted six Muslim-majority countries, not only faced incredible amounts of well-deserved criticism from citizens across the country, but also got squarely halted by federal courts. The plan to eliminate funding for sanctuary cities has been stalled, and his American Health Care Act got brutally axed before a vote primarily due to infighting among moderate and conservatives Republicans. While the vow to end DACA has been withdrawn, it is pertinent to highlight here that the first DREAMer, Juan Manuel Montes, was deported on April 18.
In contrast, Obama's first 100 days did not suffer such profound legislative hiccups like Trump's presidency continues to witness. In 2009, upon first taking office, Obama exerted a considerable amount of effort to address the economic crisis America found itself in by passing a $787 billion stimulus package. Additionally, although it became a controversial subject later on, Obama revealed his plan to bring American troops back from Iraq by by 2010, a promise that relieved many Americans aching to see their families again.
Compared to Trump, Obama seemed to have taken a de-escalation route by vowing to reduce militaristic presence around the world. In the first 100 days, Trump, however, authorized the launch of dozens of Tomahawk missiles in Syria and the "mother of all bombs" in Afghanistan. Apart from that, his aggressive posturing toward North Korea is threatening an already-fragile relationship with China and South Korea.
Back then, Trump promised his supporters three cogent deliverables in the first 100 days of his presidency. It's best to quote him: "[This 100-day action plan] is a contract between Donald Trump and the American voter – and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington." So far, none of these three values have made a longstanding appearance in the White House — honesty, in particular, remains ephemeral.
Trump's critics aren't the only ones who can't name anything successful by him at this point. His very own press secretary Sean Spicer failed to name a single legislative victory in the first 100 days of his presidency.
Comparison indexes might sound trifling to some. But when a president endlessly boasts about a string of non-existent successes in the first 100 days of his presidency — while also claiming he's had 13 weeks of success when he was only 11 weeks in — it is always imperative (and sometimes undeniably amusing) to go do some historical fact-checking and see whether his proclamations can actually stand their ground. In the case of Trump's presidency, it's clear that his tweets echo louder than his actions.
