Donald Trump has spent his first 100 days as America’s 45th president. Based on what we’ve seen so far, what can we expect from the next 100 days and beyond?
PROMISES PROMISES Trump is supremely confident in his deal-making abilities but convincing 270 House members and 50 to 60 senators to play ball with you requires a different type of leverage than what Trump is used to in the real estate business. To solidify his rule he must unify and not divide Republicans (Photos: AFP Imagebank)
A s the end of his first 100 days in office approached President Trump lashed out at — who else? — the media by offering two opposing narratives. After a good day at the Oval Office Trump said he had done more than any other US president in his first 100 days. On a different bad day he said the whole 100-day concept is outdated and overrated.
Trump is correct in the sense that measuring presidential performance by its first 100 days is not enshrined in the Constitution. It’s a 20th-century invention first invoked in 1933 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office at the height of the Great Depression. Backed by the tailwind of a three-to-one Democratic majority in the House and a 23-seat Senate majority he pushed 15 major bills and a total of 73 laws through Congress in his first 100 days resuscitating an economy bedeviled by high unemployment widespread mortgage defaults and bank failures.
On the other hand having made his fame and fortune in the corporate world Trump should know better than most that any senior manager is subject to a trial period. Michael Watkins a Harvard professor wrote the book on that in his 2012 bestseller: The First 90 Days Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter.
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