Social media sites are brimming with snippets, photographs, tweet-threads, factfinders, explainers, and what not about U.S. President Donald Trump’s completion of 100 days of his second term. Mr. Trump crossed the 100th day finish line on April 29, 2025, since taking oath on January 20, 2025 as the 47th President of the U.S.
The 100-day report-card analysis was not exclusively designed or developed targeting Mr. Trump. In fact, there were 100 days of Barack Obama, 100 days of Joe Biden, 100 days of George W. Bush and so on. Even India caught 100-day report-card fever and coined terms such as 100 days of Modi government [1.0], 100 days of Modi 2.0 and the latest being 100 days of Modi 3.0. So, what’s all the fuss about these 100 days, which was the birthplace of the report-card fever and who started the 100-day gauging ceremony? Let’s get back to the roots and find out where the plot thickened.
To begin with, the 100-day measure is not a picture-perfect yardstick, which is scientifically backed up or carved and time-stamped in the historical stone. Many critics have indeed termed it as an artificial yardstick. It’s a given that a fresh wind clears the cobwebs. There goes a famous adage in the English-speaking world – A new broom sweeps well.” But both the words, fresh or new, do not indicate any number. So, how the magical number ‘100’ jumped out of the blue. Well, the number tumbled out from the speech of none other than the former 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who assumed office on March 4, 1933.
Roosevelt coined the term in a radio address on July 24, 1933. Interestingly, the then President did not refer to his first 100 days of administration; instead, he was touching on the 100-day session of the 73rd United States Congress from March 9 to June 17, 1933. Though a coincidence, he was the one who pioneered the 100-day concept for gauging the effectiveness of the Presidency. Nine decades on, a tone that was set in 1933 still lingers on.
When Roosevelt assumed power in 1933, America was limping economically, financially and politically, what with its catastrophic Great Depression and the resultant bank failures, unemployment rates, loss of confidence in people, loss of life-savings by people, bankruptcy of business houses, poverty, all that crapolas and the whole shebang. It was a dark and dreary era then and America needed reassurance by a leader who could bail his citizens out from the national emergency. Against this backdrop, his mentioning of 100-days in the radio address was prominent.
A fast-forward to Donald Trump 2.0 Presidency. Much water has flown under the bridge now. Same political stage but the play, the players and the audience have all changed. Before his Presidential curtain was lifted above, Mr. Trump vowed to re-alter the cultural- and the political landscape of the United States.
On day one of his reign, he issued a flurry of Executive Orders (26) and Directives that included the end of birthright citizenship, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, withdrawal from the World Health Organization, withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate accords, and the pardoning of more than 1,500 convicts on charges of January 6 Capitol riot.
A quick rewind to his 721-day election campaign from November 15, 2022. Throughout his campaign, Mr. Trump consistently promised to end the Ukraine-Russia war and in fact he went overboard saying the war would end in just 24 hours. The reality sucks – the campaign promise was a failure and the conflict grinds on.
In a stunning encounter on February 28, 2025, President Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the war in Ukraine. He accused Mr. Zelenskyy saying, “You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.” It was a kind of ‘deal or no deal’ attitude. “You either make a deal or we are out,” was Mr. Trump’s curt statement.
Israel-Gaza war is another episode. In a surprise or an unprecedented attack, Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets on Israel, near the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, killing hundreds of people. In a campaign speech, President Trump said the attack would not have happened in the first place had he been the President at that time. Further, he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. On several occasions, Mr. Trump promised that he would restore peace to the Middle East; once again reality bites and the war is on.
Some of his other poll-campaign promises were: Sealing the border (especially the southern border with Mexico), carrying out mass deportation operation in the history of the U.S., ending birthright citizenship, imposing tariffs and improving the economy, banning transgender athletes in women's sports, eliminating the Department of Education. Of all the poll-campaign promises, some failed, some were kept and some have mixed reactions.
In his first 100 days, President Trump took several bold and controversial steps in the political history of the United States. Through an Executive Order as soon as he took control of the reins, Mr. Trump established a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and made Tesla CEO Elon Musk the head. As part of cost-cutting measures, the DOGE has cancelled several Federal contracts and leases and fired thousands of workers. I overheard what you said: “Move fast and break things.”
In the 100 days, Donald Trump took a hardline stance on illegal immigration. On February 5, 2025, a C-17 U.S. Air Force aircraft landed at Amritsar airport, Punjab, carrying 104 Indians who were suspected to have used illegal means to enter the U.S. The United States Border Security Police arrested 18-year-old Robin Handa, from U.S.-Mexico border on January 22, 2025, and was brought back to Amritsar, face covered with a mask, feet tied with ropes and hands cuffed.
This far only a tip of the iceberg – just teasers and trailers. The real show, the wildfire started raging after his announcement of trade tariffs that targeted countries across the globe, including India, China, Mexico, Columbia, Canada and Japan.
On January 20, 2025, the first day of his Presidency, Mr. Trump said he expected to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico from February 1, 2025. On January 26, he threatened 25% tariffs on all Columbia imports. Columbian President Gustavo Petro announced a 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods. On the next day, Columbia reversed its decision, and the two countries halted the trade dispute. On February 1, Mr. Trump signed an Executive Order to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Two days later, he agreed on a 30-day pause on the tariff threats to Mexico and Canada. On March 5, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. goods. These were just whispers, but President Trump roared on April 2, 2025, with the raft of punishing tariffs or the Liberation Day tariffs.
On the day, Mr. Trump announced a strategy called ‘reciprocal tariffs’, at the White House Rose Garden ceremony. He said, the strategy would correct decades of “unfair trading relationships” that do not benefit American manufacturers and workers. He coined the day as Liberation Day and described it as "one of the most important days” in the history of the United States. Mr. Trump justified the tariffs saying, “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.” (BBC.com).
Further, on the same day, Mr. Trump said the heaviest blows are for nations that treat the U.S. badly.” This included 34% on goods from China, 26% on India, 20% on European Union and 24% on Japan. For the rest, a “baseline” tariff of 10%, including Britain.
As a retaliatory measure, on April 4, 2025, China roared that it would impose a 34% tariff on the imports of the U.S. products from April 10, matching the U.S. “reciprocal tariff” of 34% on Chinese exports. The trade-tariff fire continues. On April 9, 2025, ‘Trump tariff’ of 104% on China came into effect and that sent markets across the globe into a tizzy. Further, on the same day, he paused imposing the punishment tariffs for 90 days, with 10% tariff universally, for all countries but not China, whose tariff was hiked to 125% on that day. The next day, China retaliated with 84% tariff on the U.S. goods. A few days later, the White House clarified Chinese imports would be taxed at 145% and not 125%. In the next retaliation against the U.S., China announced that it would impose 125% duties on U.S. goods not 84%.
In the global arena, the tariff wildfire is still ablaze. Who will put off the fire? Will there be mild showers at least? Only time will tell.
‘Buying spree:’ President Trump also said Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. Not just this, he threatened with the annexure of Greenland. Further, in his inaugural speech, he proposed that the U.S. “take back” the Panama Canal. Surprisingly, Mr. Trump also said the U.S. “will take over” the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. He said, the U.S. would “own it” and develop it economically and would create “unlimited numbers of jobs and housing.”
Thank God! He hasn’t shown interest in Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, the Indian Ocean, Gujarat’s Kachchh and Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati temple. Hope he doesn’t stumble upon this blogpost.
Overall, much drama unfolded in the first 100 days of Trump 2.0.