alternatehistory.com
14: The First 100 Days
The First 100 Days
They say a President is defined by their first 100 days. Whether this is true or not, the first 100 days of the American Presidency set the tone for the eight years to come. Even if it takes a 1000 days for the President's agenda to come to fruition, it's the first 100 days where they must hit the ground running. No little wonder then did President Donald Trump want to get to work right away on his ambitious agenda of reform.
No sooner then when he had wrapped up his inauguration, did the President get right down to business. The first course of action was to sign orders nominating the members of his cabinet, and proclaiming the start of a new Administration. However, that was not the only executive action taken on that day. Several more orders were signed on various parts of his agenda, including some regulatory reform, and the beginning on actions to secure the border and halt the drug trade. He also began on his quest to reform healthcare, with Reform congressman introducing the start of legislation to that end.
The President and the First Lady soon departed to the inaugural gala, concluding the night with a stunning rendition of My Way.
The most important part of Trump's agenda however? Electoral reform. Within the first 100 days, the President would introduce the proposal of electoral reform to Congress, but he knew that the debate would take much longer than that. His end goal was simple, end the two party duopoly's control over the American political system and fufil his promise from his inaugural address, to "restore control of our government to the American people". President Trump knew that any Republican or Democrat president could introduce single payer healthcare, or new tax cuts. If he was to leave a legacy, as the first independent since Washington, he needed to fundamentally change America's government for the better.
The first step was the imposition of term limits on Congress. Many expected this to be a trying and difficult goal, but through hard work and compromise, work on the 28th Amendment was already well underway by day 100.
In addition, the American Health Act of 2001 (TrumpCare) was passed in the first 100 days, creating a two tiered Public and Private healthcare system, a tremendous accomplishment. Education reform was already well underway at the same time. Immigration reform and work on securing the border was in the works, and numerous executive actions were being taken to implement Trump's reforms.
By day 100, a bi-partisan campaign reform act had been passed, as well as comprehensive tax cuts and tax reform, hailed as a signature accomplishment of the Trump Administration.
In addition, negotiations on NAFTA and other trade deals had begun. Trump had already negotiated the return of thousands of jobs to the United States, and vetoed China's entrance into the WTO, subject to further negotiation. He was making good on his promise to put American, and American workers first.
Nevertheless, Trump still faced problems dealing with Washington, as numerous other Presidents had. The President was frustrated with the obstructionism, and the slow movement on Capitol Hill. He wanted to move faster, and despite being probably the most active President in quite a while, he wanted to do more. He would soon address these problems in his first address to a joint sessions of Congress.
On the foreign policy front, Trump was doing well. He had already met several important world leaders, and had started a good working relationship with Russia's new President, Vladimir Putin. In fact, discussions had already begun on a new START treaty, and bond between the US and the new Russia was strong.
However, the relationship with China was another matter. After Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail and his disapproval of the One China Policy, a deep feud was growing between China and the United States, some feared the start of a 21st Century Cold War. These tensions came to a head with the Hainan Island Incident. This crisis was the first major test of the Trump Administration
Tensions were already growing over China's actions in the South China Sea, and the mid-air collision on April 1, between USN and PLAN aircraft only exacerbated these tensions. The 24 crewman were captured by the Chinese military and a tense standoff lasted for over two weeks until cooler heads prevailed, and the crisis was resolved.
The crisis came to an end, with the exchange of the Two Letters of Understanding, which some consider an apology and some consider merely an agreement. The US expressed sorrow for the death of the Chinese pilots, and agreed to support the One China Policy. The PRC also expressed regret for the long winded custody of the American crewman.
At the time, Trump's backing off on some of his more hardline policies was seen as a defeat. However, that was not how the White House saw it. In fact, it was a strategical diplomatic victory for the United States, in the sense that in the aftermath of the crisis, the US and China reached an agreement on a policy that was never in dispute (the One China policy).
Some also see the crisis as an important turning point in Sino-American relations. Perhaps the heated crisis had prevented (albeit paradoxically) US-China relations from descending into an all new Cold War. US-China relations would improve from that point on, with the US later managing to extract important concessions from China on trade.
The crisis, despite criticism of its handling, also burnished President Trump's foreign policy credentials, and those in the media would take President Trump more seriously from now on.
Trump's first 100 days were a great success overall, but there were still more things to be done. Plenty more things to be done. At Trump's de facto State of the Union address on May 1st, he would not only recap the first 100 days, but set the stage for the next 1000...
They say a President is defined by their first 100 days. Whether this is true or not, the first 100 days of the American Presidency set the tone for the eight years to come. Even if it takes a 1000 days for the President's agenda to come to fruition, it's the first 100 days where they must hit the ground running. No little wonder then did President Donald Trump want to get to work right away on his ambitious agenda of reform.
No sooner then when he had wrapped up his inauguration, did the President get right down to business. The first course of action was to sign orders nominating the members of his cabinet, and proclaiming the start of a new Administration. However, that was not the only executive action taken on that day. Several more orders were signed on various parts of his agenda, including some regulatory reform, and the beginning on actions to secure the border and halt the drug trade. He also began on his quest to reform healthcare, with Reform congressman introducing the start of legislation to that end.
The President and the First Lady soon departed to the inaugural gala, concluding the night with a stunning rendition of My Way.
The most important part of Trump's agenda however? Electoral reform. Within the first 100 days, the President would introduce the proposal of electoral reform to Congress, but he knew that the debate would take much longer than that. His end goal was simple, end the two party duopoly's control over the American political system and fufil his promise from his inaugural address, to "restore control of our government to the American people". President Trump knew that any Republican or Democrat president could introduce single payer healthcare, or new tax cuts. If he was to leave a legacy, as the first independent since Washington, he needed to fundamentally change America's government for the better.
The first step was the imposition of term limits on Congress. Many expected this to be a trying and difficult goal, but through hard work and compromise, work on the 28th Amendment was already well underway by day 100.
In addition, the American Health Act of 2001 (TrumpCare) was passed in the first 100 days, creating a two tiered Public and Private healthcare system, a tremendous accomplishment. Education reform was already well underway at the same time. Immigration reform and work on securing the border was in the works, and numerous executive actions were being taken to implement Trump's reforms.
By day 100, a bi-partisan campaign reform act had been passed, as well as comprehensive tax cuts and tax reform, hailed as a signature accomplishment of the Trump Administration.
In addition, negotiations on NAFTA and other trade deals had begun. Trump had already negotiated the return of thousands of jobs to the United States, and vetoed China's entrance into the WTO, subject to further negotiation. He was making good on his promise to put American, and American workers first.
Nevertheless, Trump still faced problems dealing with Washington, as numerous other Presidents had. The President was frustrated with the obstructionism, and the slow movement on Capitol Hill. He wanted to move faster, and despite being probably the most active President in quite a while, he wanted to do more. He would soon address these problems in his first address to a joint sessions of Congress.
On the foreign policy front, Trump was doing well. He had already met several important world leaders, and had started a good working relationship with Russia's new President, Vladimir Putin. In fact, discussions had already begun on a new START treaty, and bond between the US and the new Russia was strong.
However, the relationship with China was another matter. After Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail and his disapproval of the One China Policy, a deep feud was growing between China and the United States, some feared the start of a 21st Century Cold War. These tensions came to a head with the Hainan Island Incident. This crisis was the first major test of the Trump Administration
Tensions were already growing over China's actions in the South China Sea, and the mid-air collision on April 1, between USN and PLAN aircraft only exacerbated these tensions. The 24 crewman were captured by the Chinese military and a tense standoff lasted for over two weeks until cooler heads prevailed, and the crisis was resolved.
The crisis came to an end, with the exchange of the Two Letters of Understanding, which some consider an apology and some consider merely an agreement. The US expressed sorrow for the death of the Chinese pilots, and agreed to support the One China Policy. The PRC also expressed regret for the long winded custody of the American crewman.
At the time, Trump's backing off on some of his more hardline policies was seen as a defeat. However, that was not how the White House saw it. In fact, it was a strategical diplomatic victory for the United States, in the sense that in the aftermath of the crisis, the US and China reached an agreement on a policy that was never in dispute (the One China policy).
Some also see the crisis as an important turning point in Sino-American relations. Perhaps the heated crisis had prevented (albeit paradoxically) US-China relations from descending into an all new Cold War. US-China relations would improve from that point on, with the US later managing to extract important concessions from China on trade.
The crisis, despite criticism of its handling, also burnished President Trump's foreign policy credentials, and those in the media would take President Trump more seriously from now on.
Trump's first 100 days were a great success overall, but there were still more things to be done. Plenty more things to be done. At Trump's de facto State of the Union address on May 1st, he would not only recap the first 100 days, but set the stage for the next 1000...
- Abraham Washington
- Word Count: 1k